It’s the end of an era. Nearly two years after debuting her clothing brand Fenty, housed under luxury conglomerate LVMH, Rihanna and LVMH are officially shutting down operations.
Fenty marked the first luxury brand LVMH launched from the ground up since launching Christian Lacroix in 1987. But according to WWD, Fenty’s demise is due largely to the ongoing pandemic and the challenges that arise operating a brand remotely, a luxury one that’s produced in Paris and Italy at that. “Rihanna and LVMH have jointly made the decision to put on hold the RTW activity, based in Europe, pending better conditions,” LVMH shared in a statement to WWD. Travel bans kept the singer stateside, which allowed her to prioritize Fenty Beauty and Fenty Skin as they’re both based in Los Angeles. WWD reports that LVMH views Fenty Skin as a “home run”—which sources predicted pulled in $30 million in e-commerce sales in just four months—and will shift its focus to strengthening Rihanna’s other ventures. The Fenty site will likely go ghost in the next few weeks.
Business of Fashion reports that another disconnect Fenty faced was securing loyal customers. The luxury line launched as an extension of Rihanna’s own personal style but the brand’s higher-priced items ($300 sunglasses or $800 heels, for example) didn’t pique the interest of fans who are regular shoppers at Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty, Fenty Skin, and Savage X.
