Fenty: The Reign & Fall Of The Celebrity Merge
Fenty, a brand run by successful musician, artist and designer Rihanna, has ended its journey after its two year reign. Fenty was highly anticipated to be a ground-breaking fashion house, and with it’s multitude of record breaking moments, including the usage of models of all shapes and sizes and the blended experience of music, fashion and art, proved that it had what it took to be highly constitutionalised in the LVMH umbrella. So, what went wrong?
According to Vogue, one of the main reasons as to why they stopped production for Fenty was the pandemic, citing:
“Indeed, the pandemic left Rihanna estranged from the Fenty atelier in Paris and it’s Italian manufacturing outlets that are vital to the direct-to-consumer retail model. For a hands-on designer – who once told British Vogue, “I know what’s gone into the making of every single piece… if I can’t wear my stuff then it just won’t work” – this separation, during an incubation period when Rihanna was still getting a handle on the luxury fashion market – proved too costly. While the US-based Fenty Beauty soared in popularity, the European Fenty maison never gained global traction.”
Even though there is substantial evidence to prove that this is one of the main contributors for a-lot of fashion downfalls including this one, (with retail sales of clothing products seeing its most dramatic decline with 43.5 percent of drop in sales according to statistics on the covid-europa relation, though, now there has been an increase,) there is a unique opportunity to look at current fashion developments and study what other things have potentially gone wrong for the brand. It’s this insight that will give us a conclusion on the current fashion movement towards influencer culture and how we as smarter consumers are buying into fashion.
One of these developments are the specifics on the criteria of Fenty’ demographic. In the creation of the brand, It was clear that LVMH was trying to capitalise on the dramatic growth in sales Savage X Fenty was getting due to Rihannas popularity and push towards inclusivity and diversity. Founded in May 2018, the brand is forecasted to have made roughly “150 million in revenue (that is not profitable):” according to The Times and BusinessInsider. But it seems like the mixture of demographic for both companies, with such distinct different financial points, has caused a conflict for Rihannas fans. The average price for an item at Savage X Fenty is approximately 31 pounds, so to expect the same demographic to pay for luxury clothing can cause conflicts of interest. For the perspective of LVMH, it’s understandable to put investment into Rihanna as a influencer of consumerism for fashion due to her successes, but this investment might of been too quick to produce without careful consideration into how the brand would be marketed and produced. On top of this, Rihanna has just started her brands relatively recently, and as a creative director it can be daunting producing expensive ready-to-wear products on a consistent basis without enough research into who her demographic is in the long run.
Instagram was used considerably in the advertising in her brand, with a-lot of instagram influencers being sent Fenty clothing as a ploy to get younger audiences to purchase into the brand. Again, the execution of this is difficult, because even though you are reaching a-lot of the mass audience on the site, you run into the potential threat of the brand being converted into instagram culture. Like Burberry when they got closely associated with Chav culture, I believe this brand got closely associated with influencer culture, which can be off-putting for a-lot of potential clients online. Also, part of the package with luxury clothing is the exclusivity put behind it, but with many main-stream influencers wearing the product for all to see, how exclusive can the project be presented? This creates dilemmas.
Rihanna also mentions that Fenty clothing had to fit her, as an homage to those who don’t fit the skinny criteria of luxury fashion. Though this was incredible for the fashion world and its push towards diversity and inclusivity, its important to recognise that not everyone looks or feels like Rihanna. Something that looks nice on Rihanna, might not look good on the average individual, regardless of the sizing of their clothes. This comments on Rihannas adaptability in her clothing design and how instead of focusing on how she is creating signature pieces, she focuses on how her fashion statements work on herself. This isn’t to damn or negate her work in inclusivity, but it also plays a part in influencer marketing where the clothing design has to mimic the essence of the creative director.
Finally, its also significant to mention the fact that Fenty did not have any physical stores, putting the brand in a disadvantage compared to other businesses in the brands price-range. This means that Fenty did not have enough substantial on-ground presence (minus the pop-up stores) for consumers to become acquainted towards the brand. This doesn’t allow people to become loyal to the brand, which is expected for ready-to-wear brands like Fenty to keep afloat.
Regardless, Rihanna has opened many doors for people interested in fashion brand design. As an influencer and celebrity, the opportunity to build an empire is much more in reach than just being in the circle of the fashion monoliths. Let it not be forgotten though, connections are the most important tools in exploring the fashion industry, but making a blueprint by yourself is also achievable.
Recommended Resources:
Vogue’s insight into Rihannas first collection: Click Here
Fashion Victims Podcast - What To Do, What To Do With FENTY: Click Here
I-D magazine’s short description of the reasons why Fenty is being put on hiatus: Click Here