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Rihanna Is Louis Vuitton’s Latest Response To Contemporary Culture

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By CultureBanx Team

  • Rihanna is the first woman of color to have a label under LVMH
  • In 2018 the Louis Vuitton’s Fashion & Leather Goods business achieved organic revenue growth of 15%

Culture and fashion have truly collided thanks to Rihanna’s luxury deal with European juggernaut LVMH Moët Hennessy (LVMUY -0.17%), the parent company of Louis Vuitton for her Fenty brand. The pop singer’s partnership marks two major milestones for the industry including, the first woman of color to have a label under LVMH and the first woman to start an original brand for the world’s largest luxury group. With Fenty under the LVMH umbrella, will this help craft a larger conversation about representation and diversify the business of fashion from within?

Photo: Rihanna
Photo: Rihanna

Why This Matters: Rihanna’s Fenty brand is the first house established by the group since Christian Lacroix in 1987, and will join legacy brands like Dior, Givenchy and Fendi. She will be a 49.99% shareholder in Project Loud France, the official name of the company that owns the new label, via her company Denim UK Holdings, according to BoF. Louis Vuitton is the biggest revenue driver at the French luxury goods group LVMH. In 2018 the Fashion & Leather Goods business at the company achieved organic revenue growth of 15%.

This new deal is the second venture between Rihanna and LVMH after they shared immense success with her Fenty beauty line, it generated $558 million in its first full year in operation. The $445 billion beauty industry is a gold mine with companies like LVMH constantly mining new ways to get a larger share of the market, and right now the industry is expanding at 3% a year.

Reconciliation with culture across the fashion industry has seen a huge uptick in the past year. Gucci which is owned by Kering (KER.PA +0.02%) brought hip hop’s original tailor Daniel Day known as “Dapper Dan” into the fold, by backing his exclusive Harlem atelier.

Rihanna has committed nearly $36 million of “in-kind” contributions to the venture and LVMH has put up $36 million in cash

We’ve also seen Louis Vuitton incorporate more cultural streetwear with the appointment of Virgil Abloh to helm its menswear division. He joined black fashion designer elites including, Olivier Rousteing who is the creative director of Balmain, and Ozwald Boateng, who was the designer for Givenchy menswear from 2003 to 2007.

What’s Next: Rihanna has committed nearly $36 million of “in-kind” contributions to the venture and LVMH has put up $36 million in cash. The Paris-based Fenty line which will include ready-to-wear clothing, shoes and accessories launches this spring.

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