Rihanna and River Island

The edgy new line “Rihanna at River Island,” debuted at this years London Fashion week. The 120-piece collection showcased designs that were inspired by the 90’s and had a laid-back, chic, flirty, and sexy appeal. The launch of Rihanna’s line makes her the latest celebrity to cross over into fashion and design. However, this deal between River Island and Rihanna has brought about a lot of controversy.

The fashion industry has become very skeptical about the idea of untrained designers that put their work on the catwalk, particularly those who tend to be cashing in on their name. Many critics feel as though Rihanna has agreed to start this line with River Island, in order to cash in on the 800 million pounds promised to her in the deal. According to an article in the Guardian, fashion enthusiast who looked forward to London Fashion week were not pleased with the collection brought forth by the pop star. Critics’ reviews from the show were quite mixed. Many assumed that the line would make a sexy, creative, and influential debut to the fashion world but it was borderline pornographic. Based on the reviews, the deal between Rihanna and River Island may not become a cash cow as both parties hoped. Prior to the launch, the new partners began on rocky grounds.

On Valentine’s Day, Rihanna gave her new partners a headache by positing pictures on twitter of what looked like a flower- shaped cannabis bud that had the written text, “ Roses are green! Somebody knows how to make me happy.” River Island was not pleased with this. It was not the publicity they were looking for before the launch and words were exchanged. River Island sought it necessary to pursue damage control over this matter to protect their product and brand image. As a result, River Island reined Rihanna in for the weekend, in order to avoid any more scandals during their launch.

If the beginning of this partnership between Rihanna and River Island is an indication of what will transpire throughout the rest of the agreement, it could be a watershed moment for River Island; a chain that has been trailing behind.