Designer Desmond Handon
Produces Showcase for
Rihanna’s Debut Collection
BY KENTON RAMBSY
On Wednesday, September 7th, Rihanna’s clothing
line made its store debut at Shoe City in Baltimore,
Maryland. The store hosted a private viewing
party for the Barbadian beauty’s 2016 Fenty
Collection sponsored by Puma.
“As Creative Director, [Rihanna] fuses her
independent approach to music and fashion with
the sport-driven design of PUMA,” the brand’s
Instagram account said in an announcement on
August 22. “The result is fearless.”
Rihanna has been Puma’s creative director since
2014. However, the recent launch is her first full
collection for the Puma brand. In the past, she’s
designed shoes and slides and appeared in several
ads for the company.
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DC native and creative director of EthniCITY,
Desmond Handon, served as the show producer
for the event. “When I got the call to produce
the show, I was so excited,” Desmond said about
the showcase. “I love Rihanna, and I wanted to
create a show that was sexy, sporty, confident, and
unfiltered—just like the collection.”
Desmond is no stranger to the fashion world.
Founded in 2010, his fashion and production
company, EthniCITY has quickly become one of the
fastest emerging companies in the DMV area. Over
the past two years, Desmond has had tremendous
success growing EthniCITY’s national visibility. He
has served as a BET red carpet correspondent for
VH1’s 2014 Fashion Rocks, a personal stylist for a
wide range of celebrity and professional clients, as