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Savage x Fenty: A Well-Rounded Brand for the Well-ROUNDED Ladies

Inclusivity. This is Robyn “Rihanna” Fenty’s mission statement with her lingerie brand Savage x Fenty.

This September, Rihanna launched her brand’s informercial on Amazon Prime Video. However, the word “infomercial” undermines the concept behind the mini-documentary.

The entire show is just the kind of disturbance the fashion/lingerie industry needs. Every lingerie brand can and should learn something from Savage x Fenty. It’s not just a fashion show, it’s a body positive show meant to highlight that all body types and skin tones can be sexy.

“I’m looking for unique characteristics in people that aren’t usually highlighted in the world of fashion, as it pertains to lingerie and ‘sexy’,” says Rihanna in one of the opening lines of her documentary.

The fashion industry has long maintained the idea that the only bodies worthy of showcasing in terms of sexy lingerie are thin, fit, and predominantly white ones. This is an insult to every body that does not meet the criteria. That only a set body type is deserving of sexy garment is, by extension, implicit that every other body cannot be sexually desired. Rihanna stomps on this notion. A Barbadian, full frame herself, Rihanna knows that if not for her platform, most lingerie brands would look down upon her body image.

Rihanna defied all norms when putting her vision for exposition. She took the opportunity to turn the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY into a showcase hall as opposed to the typical, mundane catwalk you see in every other fashion show. She showcased her lingerie on bodies that society would not usually pick as the best exhibition of lingerie. Plus size and regular size, trans models, and even paraplegic models dignified themselves to a playlist made my Rihanna herself that included a wide array of empowering, and upbeat songs.

The show itself is an evening strong movement and hip-hop floor show. It was designed to show designers’ clothing moving in the context of dance. These components put together made for an inclusive reflection of culture.

Prominent names such as Laverne Cox, Isis King, and one of RuPaul’s Drag Race season winners, Aquaria, were featured models in the show.

"I literally am seeing their bodies as pieces of art," Rihanna says in another scene in the documentary, when discussing how to achieve the biggest visual impact.

Inclusivity wasn’t just at the forefront of the show. Backstage, Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty was the official makeup brand for the models. If you know Fenty Beauty, you know that the brand is known for its versatile shade range in complexion products like foundation and concealer. This is proof that the mastermind behind the mini-doc strives to make bodies and skin tones on both ends of the spectrum feel beautiful and sexy regardless of the unrealistic expectations that society instills on these individuals.

“It’s very important that the casting stand for what the brand stands for,” Rihanna says about inclusivity. “That’s what I stand for with everything that I create.”

Via the Savage x Fenty show, Rihanna improved conditions in the lingerie industry by elevating the argument about who deserves to be sexy, which was the underlying theme of the mini-doc. Rihanna was also clearly set on redefining the concept of what a fashion show can be. Fully executing the show in a six-week timeframe with components of the show that were being produced around the world, an extensive theatrical set is what she constructed.

One might say that the birth of the Savage x Fenty show followed the death of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion show. In its prime the VS show was nothing but a show of models being strutted by an owner who is unmindful of the participant’s or society’s concerns. Rihanna, instead is “telling a story that is from my own perspective.” The Savage x Fenty show participant dresses for her own pleasure.

Viewers reaction to Rihanna’s diverse disposition and its manifestation in the Amazon show is in contrast to the negative reaction that brands like Victoria’s Secret have earned by remaining on the wrong side of the inclusion argument.

When Rihanna said in the beginning of her show, “We ‘bout to f*ck it up,” a stronger choice of words could not have been used to address the notoriously close-minded fashion industry.

Client: An individual who specializes in fashion and pop culture

Summary:

Rihanna turned the heads of fashion industry officials when she launched her Savage x Fenty fashion show on Amazon Prime Video. The mini-documentary showcased inclusivity in body image and skin tone through a theatrical fashion show that defied societal norms. Through her documentary, Rihanna redefined sexy and what a fashion show is supposed to be.

Keywords:

Savage x Fenty

Rihanna

Lingerie

Amazon Prime video