Rihanna has lost a massive amount of money due to her failed collaboration with a luxury brand (via Daily Mail). While her beauty brand Fenty Beauty and lingerie brand Savage x Fenty went on to become massively popular brands, her fashion line didn’t last very long. She launched the Fenty clothing line in collaboration with Louis Vuitton in 2019.
According to the accounts of Denim UK Holdings, Rihanna invested $34.86 million into the partnership at the time of the launch. Louis Vuitton put $34.88 million through its parent company, LVMH. She was a 49.99 percent shareholder in the venture. Despite the initial hype, the business had to shut down in 2021.
Rihanna and LVMH announced putting their clothing line on hold in a joint statement to WWD. The statement read, “LVMH and Rihanna reaffirm their ambition to concentrate on the growth and the long-term development of the Fenty ecosystem, focusing on cosmetics, skincare, and lingerie.”
According to Pop Thingz, the singer lost $34-37 million after her clothing line shut down in 2021. The Daily Mail put the estimate at $36 million, sharing that it put a significant dent in the singer’s net worth.
Why Did Rihanna’s Fenty Clothing Line Fail?
There were several reported reasons for the failure of her fashion brand. A year after she launched her brand, the pandemic hit. The lockdown and subsequent travel restrictions made it impossible for the Umbrella singer to check on the clothing collection in the Fenty atelier in Paris and the Italian manufacturing outlets.
It was also reported that the products were really expensive. According to the Daily Mail, the clothing label targeted the high-end market and was intentionally pricey. It cost nearly $1000 for a padded denim jacket and $810 for a corseted shirtdress. It did not generate interest to justify the high prices.
Her brand never took off in the European market, despite its soaring popularity in the U.S. market. As opposed to her clothing line, her beauty care brand, Fenty Beauty, and her lingerie brand, Savage X Fenty, were more affordable. Interestingly, Rihanna introduced her clothing line as versatile comfort wear. She shared at the time of its launch:
[Women] are multifaceted, complex, vulnerable yet bulletproof, and Fenty speaks to all of our intricacies. Some days I want to be submissive, many days I’m completely in charge and most days I feel like being both… so it was imperative that we created a line versatile enough to embrace and celebrate us in that way. The collections are easily worn together and meant to be staples in our wardrobe. I’m just hyped to see people in my clothes, man.
Rihanna paused her music career back in 2017 to focus on her business. In 2022, she made history by becoming the country’s first self-made female billionaire at the age of 34.
Rihanna’s Other Business Ventures That Made Her a Billionaire
According to Forbes, Rihanna’s real-time net worth is estimated to be $1 billion. She has nearly a 50% stake in Fenty Beauty, with LVMH owning the other half of the shares in the cosmetic brand. She also owns a 28% stake in the Savage x Fenty lingerie line. She partnered with TechStyle Fashion Group for the brand and later brought in investors like the LVMH-backed L Catterton.
Fenty Beauty reportedly generated $500 million in revenue in its first year. Savage x Fenty was valued at over $3 billion in 2022. She also launched Fenty Skin in 2020, which quickly became popular in the U.S. The key products of the brand, like the Total Cleans’r and Hydra Vizor moisturiser, became best sellers.
She also collaborated with other big fashion brands, including Armani, Dior, and Puma. As for her music, Rihanna has sold more than 250 million records worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling musicians of all time. She has nine Grammy Awards, 12 Billboard Music Awards, 13 American Music Awards, and eight People’s Choice Awards.
Her other brand collaborations include a $25 million contract with Samsung in 2015 to promote the Galaxy series of phones. In 2016, she became a co-owner of Jay-Z’s music streaming service, Tidal.
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