Rihanna’s Fenty Is On “On Hold,” But Savage Is Thriving
And just like that, Fenty might be no more. On Wednesday, it was reported that Rihanna’s LVMH-backed luxury fashion label was halting its operations, just two years after debuting. “Rihanna and LVMH have jointly made the decision to put on hold the [ready-to-wear] activity, based in Europe, pending better conditions,” LVMH said a statement. According to WWD‘s sources, a handful of Fenty staff members will continue working out of the brand’s Paris headquarters as they “wind down remaining operations.” The brand’s e-commerce site, which is where most of its distribution comes from, will be turned off.
This news arrives just four months after the release of LVMH’s third-quarter sales, which showed that the brand was underperforming. “We are still in a launching phase and we have to figure out exactly what is the right offer,” said LVMH chief financial officer Jean-Jacques Guiony at the time. “It’s not something that is easy. We were starting entirely from scratch.” A pandemic that left many fashion businesses struggling certainly hasn’t made matters any easier.
Rihanna’s brief foray into luxury fashion with LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton has come to a halt. https://t.co/a7jvlLHuuP
— WWD (@wwd) February 10, 2021
At the same time that Rihanna and LVMH were announcing the pause on the luxury line, Savage x Fenty, Rihanna’s wildly popular line of lingerie, announced that it’d secured $115 million in funding from a number of investors — including private equity firm L Catterton, in which LVMH has a large stake — that will “support the company’s rapid growth and upcoming expansion into retail,” according to a press release. LVMH confirmed the news of the fundraising round in the statement announcing Fenty’s closure: “LVMH and Rihanna reaffirm their ambition to concentrate on the growth and the long-term development of Fenty ecosystem focusing on cosmetics, skincare, and lingerie.”
In today’s retail landscape, it comes as no surprise that Rihanna’s accessible and industry-disrupting brands would outperform Fenty — a brand with price tags, which range from $300 sunglasses to $800 denim dresses, that made it unattainable for the average consumer. In a time when unemployment rates are at an all-time high, many can’t afford to buy luxury items, no matter how much they idolize — and want to support — the designer behind them. Affordable, quality, and inclusive items — including lingerie and beauty products — are things they will buy.
Allegedly, another go at a luxury fashion house like Fenty isn’t off the table for LVMH and Rihanna, with WWD citing that the brand’s “ability to attract repeat customers, mostly professional, high-net-worth women who buy other luxury brands,” was promising. The two entities also allegedly have other projects “in the pipeline.”
The news of Fenty’s shutdown follows a year of retail closures due to the pandemic, with luxury labels (Sies Marjan) and fashion-forward indie retailers (Need Supply and Totokaelo), department stores (Lord & Taylor and Century 21), and long-standing retail stores (JCPenney) alike being forced to shutter most of, if not all, their doors for good.
Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
Shop Savage X Fenty’s Valentine’s Day Collection
Powered by WPeMatico