Dress it loud February 2015 | Seite 16

rihanna: the story of a fashion icon

She was crowned a 'Fashion Icon' by Anna Wintour, has landed herself on the cover of Vogue magazine six times, launched her own fragrance line and clothing line with high-street store River Island and all by the tender age of 26 - there's just no stopping RiRi.

Breaking into the music industry in 2007, staying true to her Bajan roots, the Diamonds singer topped the charts with classic hits such as Pon De Replay and S.O.S, but the singer's fashion sense was exposed with the release of 2009 album 'Rated R'. The dark, seductive side of Bad Gal RiRi was born.

Regularly attending red carpet events and topping the charts with the rather

raunchy 'Rude Boy', Rihanna's career was still only just beginning. The singer soon became an icon when the world was welcomed to an array of red weaves and wigs, which were a favourite of the singers during the release of album 'Loud' in 2010, with Rihanna saying she didn't have to "dress loud" because her "hair [was] loud".

2012 saw the release of Rih's seventh album, titled 'Unapologetic'. Keen to promote the album, Rihanna jetted to seven countries, for seven days, to perform seven shows as a part of her '777 Tour', in which she stopped off at Westfield, Stratford to switch on the Christmas Lights.

With Rihanna's relationship with fashion ever-growing, it was revealed in early 2013 that the fashionista was set to release a four-part collection for high-street store River Island titled 'Rihanna for River Island'. A mix of the Spring and Summer collection was showcased at London Fashion Week along with numerous promotional campaigns advertised in stores. The collection was destined to be a hit and pieces sold out soon after their release, the collection even featured 'Rihanna for River Island' carrier bags to happy shoppers.

June 2014 saw Rihanna be hailed a 'Fashion Icon' at the CFDA, to which she wore an Adam Selman custom-made

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