Rihanna to design for River Island

Rihanna regularly makes the headlines by her sometimes revealing and risqué outfits. Not only does she have an army of fans and Twitter followers, but the Bajan pop songstress has also built up a strong following when it comes to the style stakes, with young women up and down the country here in the UK trying to emulate her style, whether it be her latest hairdo, or her rebellious combinations of clothing.

RiRi – as she is often affectionately referred to – has made quite an impression here in the UK, and regularly displays her support of UK designers and high street brands. One of the high street brands which Rihanna has made no secret of being a fan of, is River Island. Speculation started some months back, when she was spotted leaving their HQ, that she may be partnering up with the store in some way. It has now being revealed that she is, in fact, designing her own collection. “I’ve been wanting to design my own collection for some time,” Rihanna said. “River Island is the perfect partner for me to collaborate with and working with a British, family-run business also really appealed to me. I find London really inspiring and River Island loves to have fun with clothes. I’m looking forward to working with them and creating something really special.”

River Island also released a statement following the news: “We are thrilled to be collaborating with Rihanna and to be the first fashion brand to work with her in this way.” River Island chief executive Ben Lewis added: “Rihanna is a style icon; from street to chic she enjoys her fashion. As soon as we started to work together we knew this was a perfect fit. Rihanna will be designing the collection and we will be sharing our fashion experience with her to develop a range her fans will love.”

The talented singer/actress informed Ryan Seacreast recently that she was planning to add another string to her bow, saying: “I’m really pursuing a fashion line of my own. I want to design. This is also a road that I want to earn it. So I’m working with designers. Designers that I respect, and [fashion] companies that I respect. I want people to really trust me before I just say ‘Buy it, because it’s mine.’”

However, this is not the first time Rihanna has tried her hand at fashion, giving us a sneak peek of her abilities with an edition of Armani jeans, which she also modelled,  and an  Emporio Armani underwear collection. But this will be the first time Rihanna will really get to show us her true style.  We can hardly wait! But as good things come to those who wait, sometimes, we’ll be counting down until spring 2013, when the collection hits the stores. 

Siobhan Copland