Happy birthday, Robyn Rihanna Fenty! Since breaking into the scene in 2005 with the drop of her seminal studio album Music of the Sun, the Barbadian singer has blossomed into a trailblazing entrepreneur who has pushed the frontiers of beauty and fashion with her namesake brands Fenty Beauty, Fenty Skin and Savage x Fenty. So much so, the nine-time Grammy winner was named America’s youngest self-made female billionaire in 2022.
Beyond her life of achievement, Rihanna’s legacy also includes being a style icon. From internet-breaking award season looks and fashion week ensembles to her dynamic everyday street style, the multi-hyphenate knows how to make a lasting impression.
To celebrate the star’s special day, Tatler re-traces her journey to superstardom through her top 10 style-forward moments.
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2024 Fashion Awards
A$AP Rocky and Rihanna at the 2024 Fashion Awards red carpet (Photo: Getty Images)
Rihanna at the 2024 Fashion Awards red carpet (Photo: Getty Images)
Fuzzy feelings were felt when Rihanna showed up to the 2024 Fashion Awards in archive Christian Lacroix. Walking hand in hand with rapper and beau A$AP Rocky, the star’s fall-winter 2002 couture ensemble turned heads with its furry fabrication and bright robin egg blue hue.
Dior’s spring-summer 2024 couture show
Rihanna at Dior spring-summer 2024 couture (Photo: Getty Images)
Rihanna at Dior spring-summer 2024 couture (Photo: Getty Images)
Rihanna took Paris Couture Week by storm, donning a full Dior look by Maria Grazia Chiuri at the French house’s spring-summer 2024 couture show in Paris. In 2015, the star was named Dior’s first Black ambassador. Nine years later, Parfums Christian Dior announced that she was the new muse of its iconoclastic fragrance J’adore.
2023 Met Gala
Rihanna at the 2023 Met Gala (Photo: Getty Images)
Rihanna at the 2023 Met Gala (Photo: Getty Images)
At the 2023 Met Gala, Rihanna made one of fashion’s biggest nights of the year her own. Taking inspiration from the annual spectacle’s theme Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, she wore a custom all-white Valentino ensemble by Pierpaolo Piccioli. The look featured an avant-garde jacket overflowing with camellias—a floral nod to Chanel, the French house where the late Lagerfeld notably left a mark on the industry with his historic tenure.
2023 Oscars
Rihanna at the 2023 Oscars (Photo: Getty Images)
Rihanna performing at the 2023 Oscars (Photo: Getty Images)
Rihanna, who is now a mother of two, has undoubtedly changed the game when it comes to maternity looks. At the 2023 Oscars, the first-time nominee proudly showed off her baby bump in a chocolate brown Alaïa ensemble that layered a leather gown over a sheer turtleneck. She then surprised with an outfit change, performing her Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) hit Lift Me Up in a custom Maison Margiela embellished set by John Galliano.
2023 Super Bowl half-time show
Rihanna performing at the 2023 Super Bowl (Photo: Getty Images)
Speaking of Rihanna’s maternity looks, there is perhaps none as iconic as the all-red look that she wore during her electrifying 2023 Super Bowl half-time performance. Doubling as her second pregnancy announcement, the singer embraced a custom Loewe silk jersey catsuit styled with a flight suit and sculpted leather corset. Over top, she threw on a leather puffer coat with built-in gloves by Alaïa.
2019 Fashion Awards
Rihanna at the 2019 Fashion Awards (Photo: Getty Images)
Rihanna at the 2019 Fashion Awards (Photo: Getty Images)
Before Rihanna built her beauty and fashion empires with Fenty Beauty, Fenty Skin and Savage x Fenty, there was Fenty—her high-end ready-to-wear line under the fashion conglomerate LVMH. Soon after it was founded in 2019, the multi-hyphenate was spotted at the 2019 Fashion Awards in London wearing none other than her namesake label. The self-designed ensemble featured a satin mini-dress with a sweetheart neckline underneath a sheer shawl. Later that night, she would take home the Urban Luxe Prize award.
2018 Met Gala
Rihanna at the 2018 Met Gala (Photo: Getty Images)
Rihanna at the 2018 Met Gala (Photo: Getty Images)
It’s not the first time Rihanna has magnetised at the Met Gala. In 2018, she rocked up to the celebration of fashion in her version of Sunday Best (the annual event’s religious themed dress code) à la an embellished Maison Margiela by John Galliano look marked by a bejewelled crown.
2016 Street snap in New York
Rihanna captured in New York City (Photo: Getty Images)
Rihanna captured in New York City (Photo: Getty Images)
Rihanna has had many memorable street snaps but this one from 2016 tops the list. Pictured on the streets of New York, the pop star looked cosy in the one-and-only Saint Laurent heart coat by Hedi Slimane. She ended up loving this red fox fur coat so much that paparazzi captured her re-wearing this statement piece six years later.
2015 Met Gala
Rihanna at the 2015 Met Gala (Photo: Getty Images)
Rihanna at the 2015 Met Gala (Photo: Getty Images)
The look that established Rihanna as one of the top celebrities to watch at the Met Gala? This golden 25kg dress and cape look by trailblazing Chinese couturier Guo Pei. The ensemble was so impactful that it sent social media into a meme-like frenzy with netizens likening it to a pizza and an omelette.
2014 CFDA Awards
Rihanna at the 2014 CFDA Awards (Photo: Getty Images)
Rihanna at the 2014 CFDA Awards (Photo: Getty Images)
Sorry to break it to you, Bianca Censori wasn’t the first to make a splash with a “naked” dress. A decade prior, Rihanna took home the CDFA Fashion Icon Award in a dazzling sheer Adam Selman gown decorated with 216,000 Swarovski crystals.
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