The world begins and ends with Rihanna, and so did Tuesday night.
At 9:30 pm sharp, the superstar appeared front row center at her own Savage x Fenty fashion show, performing a dance routine choreographed by Parris Goebel that was fierce, fearless, and (in the parlance of Dance Moms) technically perfect. Kacey Musgraves screamed. Ashley Graham screamed. Chris Rock looked pleased. And yes, we screamed.
Fast forward a bit—past Gigi’s magnetic strut in a boned black corset, past Cara’s swish-swish with a sequined paddle, past Laverne Cox taking no prisoners in a Barbie-pink bustier and matching stiletto booties, past DJ Khaled chanting “Deeeeeejay Khaaaaaled,” and into the witching hour of 2 am.
That’s when Rihanna arrived in an Alexander Vauthier couture dress and a matching aura of shimmering accomplishment. (There were also sparkly sunglasses.) Being very lucky and very scared, we crept forward to commune with Our Lady of Baddest Bitches. Here’s how it went.
Dimitrios KambourisGetty Images
You’ve spoken at length about making space for all women’s bodies in your Savage x Fenty line. That’s so meaningful.
It’s important, right? You belong in these pieces. You, me, trans women, women of all sizes, paraplegic women, all women are important women! All women belong here, on the biggest platform I can give them.
How does that extend to what kind of artists you make space for on your stage? Why did you choose Halsey or Normani, for example, to perform in your show?
I wanted to highlight women who are powerful. To me, power in whatever way you master it is very sexy. And with someone like Normani, you know, she’s an incredible dancer, and dance is athleticism. Dance is powerful. It would be a shame to miss out on the opportunity to have that kind of beauty and power in the show.
How do you test out your Savage x Fenty pieces for approval? Do you just see how they look, or do you move around in them and dance in them, too?
I do what I can! Look, I’m not nearly as good a dancer as Normani, but I will try. I will dance in these pieces in my kitchen until we get it right! Which is what I did, believe it or not. I only had two-and-a-half hours of rehearsal so I had to, like, get it where I could fit it in. Usually it was while I was doing other approvals. People are like, “Hey, pick this model! Pick this look!” And I’m like this—[She starts doing the opening moves from her dance number.] No, listen, it happens! I’ll rehearse anywhere because I want it to be perfect. If you’re passionate enough about something, you’ll get it done.
The Savage by Fenty show airs September 20th on Amazon Prime. So… what’s the last thing you bought on Amazon Prime?
Wait… wait! OH! Cufflinks. I kid you not. I swear to god, the last thing I bought was cufflinks.
You bought yourself cufflinks?!
Not for me!
I don’t know, you could have been doing a full YSL tuxedo situation?!
You know, it’s irrelevant who they were for. But I will tell you, I bought a pair of Darth Vader cufflinks off Amazon. He’s an evil dude, but the cufflinks were great. And they only cost 17 bucks, too! How good is that?!
So good. So listen, I need some help. I like a guy.
Hmmm…
He should probably see how I look in some Fenty lingerie. What’s the best way to take an underwear pic for a crush?
Oooooh, well listen. You know your assets, right? What do you want to show off? Your jawline, your ass, your legs, your waist, your tits? We’ve all got things we love about our bodies, and so what’s great is, we make things that highlight every type of body. So what are you, a tits girl, right? Find your assets, show them off, and you’re good. Also, chances are, your man will tell you what he wants to see. Is he an ass man? Is he a tits man? He’ll tell you. They always do.
