Man Down: Rihanna’s Fenty fashion line closes after two years
Pop star Rihanna is closing her Fenty fashion line less than two years in production.
Luxury goods group LVMH announced it was putting the brand “on hold” but pledged to concentrate on the “Fenty ecosystem” which includes Rihanna’s lingerie and beauty ranges.
The singer and Louis Vuitton owner launched the brand in May 2019 and was the first label LVMH had fully created in decades.
Rihanna is chief executive and artistic director of Fenty while Jean Baptiste Voisin, chief strategy officer at LVMH, oversaw the launch of the fashion house.
LVMH’s finance chief Jean-Jacques Guiony called it a “work in progress” in an earnings call last October.
According to WWD, which first reported the news, a skeleton staff remains at Fenty’s Paris headquarters to wind down remaining operations.
“While this move is clearly regrettable, the immense social media following and brand association that has been painstakingly built around the Fenty brand should rightly be kept on the stocks until the market rebounds,” Ruth Griffin, retail director at law firm Gowling WLG said.
“However, taking new demographics, behaviours and pocket depths into consideration will be key when this does happen, as the new normal comes to bear on the prospects of the luxury retail market.”
The Fenty lingerie brand today announced it had secured $115m investment from L Catterton, in which LVMH has a stake, to help support an expansion into retail.