Rihanna Debuts Colorful FentyxPuma Collab at Paris Fashion Week
Rihanna fans, Paris Fashion Week watchers, and streetwear lovers, the time has finally come: Rihanna premiered her second Fenty x Puma collection at Paris Fashion Week. Rihanna described her collection to the New York Times as, “…if Marie Antoinette were going to the gym and needed something to wear.”
The collection was shown at the iconic Hotel Salomon de Rothschild in Paris this week. The decadent hotel has featured Valentino and Yves Saint Laurent for their couture shows in the past. The show was livestreamed on Tidal like a stylized music video featuring a soundtrack of “violins mixed with trap beats.”
Featuring streetwear staples like hoodies, track bottoms, tennis-ready silhouettes and Puma sneakers with a feminine touch, the collaboration has proved to be a tour-de-force on the runway. Floral prints, pearls, lingerie fabrics, and hints of lace blurred traditional gender expectations on women’s and men’s clothes. A soft palette of ivories, pastel pinks, nudes, and army greens graced the runway to further enhance the aesthetic. The inspiration took off from her FW16 Fenty x 
Puma collection at NYFW in 2015, which was chic minimalist black and white Japanese-inspired streetwear.
The collection was highly styled with covetable accessories and Riri’s iconic Puma sneakers. The custom Puma creepers are a staple in any streetwear collection. There were baseball caps with corset ties, lace do-rags, sliders with oversized pink silk bows, and frilly gym bags in pink and army green. Many models featured a pearl-adorned metallic hoop centered on the bottom lip, giving a subversive yet classic touch. Both the FW16 and SS17 Fenty x Puma collaborations capture the duality of streetwear from the hard, gothic edge to the soft, feminine tones.
Following the models, Rihanna came out in her own frilly pink gown/tracksuit, long strand of pearls, and a fan reading “Puma.” Sashaying around, Rihanna seemed to embody Marie Antoinette and had fun up on the runway.
“Mixing athletic wear with regal touches was a challenge and I hope everyone loves the results. I cannot wait to wear this collection,” commented Rihanna.
Rihanna’s work has paid off since her collection has been positively received. Twitter blew up over the collection calling it “life giving” and the “look of the century.” Unlike Kanye West’s Yeezy collections, which have received mixed to negative reception in the past, most fashion writers and even the stiffest of fashion editors have enjoyed Rihanna’s collection.
This collection and pieces from it are not up for sale yet, but pieces from the previous collection can be found on the Puma website as well as the signature shoes designed by RiRi.
