Bad Gal Riri is shutting down the internet with her new British Vogue Cover in a du-rag.
Rihanna born Robyn Rihanna Fenty is the first person to wear a du-rag, an iconic type of hair clothing used especially by black people and popularized by hip-hop rapper likes Jay-Z and 50 Cent on Vogue magazine.
“The tainted fabric has been reclaimed as a symbol of black beauty, a signifier of style worn on the streets, the catwalk, the red carpet…and now the cover of Vogue,” says Funmi Fetto, a journalist with Vogue
Styled by British Ghanaian editor, Edward Enninful, the May 2020 issue covers were released on Monday a few days after the 32-year old Barbadian singer released a new song “Believe It,” with PARTYNEXTDOOR.
In the new issue, Riri, as she is affectionately referred to, speaks on her successful Fenty skincare, music and plans to have kids.
“Ten years? I’ll be 42! I’ll be ancient. I’ll have kids three or four of ’em.
I feel like society makes me want to feel like, ‘Oh, you got it wrong…’ They diminish you as a mother if there’s not a dad in your kids’ lives. But the only thing that matters is happiness, that’s the only healthy relationship between a parent and a child. That’s the only thing that can raise a child truly, is love.”
Norwegian-born British writer with Ghanaian roots, Afua Hirsch who interviews Rihanna also puts the ‘Riri story’ under a multicultural lens in her introductory paragraph on Vogue. She writes:
"She’s the woman with a powerful voice. In her music – yes, of course – but also as a multibillion-dollar businesswoman and an advocate for tolerance. Rihanna talks to Afua Hirsch about life, love, her desire to become a mother… and the importance of owning it in the May issue of British Vogue."
For the first cover, Rihanna wears Burberry by Riccardo Tisci and a durag by Stephen Jones Millinery and was photographed by @StevenKleinStudio.
The second cover sees her in a @MaisonMargiela Artisanal jacket by @JGalliano, a @SavageXFenty lace body, a @StephenJonesMillinery durag and @ChromeHeartsOfficial jewellery.
