Rihanna Brings Back a Noughties “It” Bag

Allow Rihanna, a perennial “It” Girl, to prove that a noughties “It” bag never goes out of style. Yesterday, the Bad Gal hit the streets of New York City in an off-duty look that she topped off with some major faux fur, a divisive shoe, and a cult-favorite accessory for good measure.

Rihanna slipped into a plunging gray tank top that she sported with an exposed black Savage x Fenty bra. She continued to embrace 2000s fashion with a Marc Jacobs-era Louis Vuitton bag. Her specific piece, the “Alma,” is a part of Jacobs’s 2001 collaboration with the American artist Stephen Sprouse. Rihanna’s top handle bag was emblazoned with Sprouse’s signature black and white graffiti style and featured gold hardware. Similar throwback numbers have been sported recently by everyone from Blackpink’s Lisa to Kylie Jenner.

To finish it all off, Rihanna cloaked herself in her favorite John Galliano vintage mink coat. She’s worn the piece many times before, but this go around she styled it loosely around her shoulders. The Fenty mogul threw in a bit of a curveball with her see-through PVC heels before topping everything off with silver jewelry, black sunglasses, and a natural hairdo.

There’s no denying that Rihanna’s fashion archive is rather extensive—especially considering that she wears these pieces not for a red carpet, but mostly to just walk around town. Almost on the daily, the mogul emerges with an even more mind-bending vintage pull than the last, having worn everything from ’90s zebra outerwear to 2000s Commes des Garçons of late. Her Louis Vuitton moment, however, is only a continuation of her fascination with Jacobs’s stint at the French brand.

Back in 2022, Rihanna incorporated another Louis Vuitton x Stephen Sprouse accessory into one of her signature off-duty looks. This one, a mini pochette version, featured the brand’s signature monogram canvas and the artist’s bold graffiti work. Along with Jacobs’s collaboration with Takashi Murakami, the pieces he designed with Sprouse are some of Louis Vuitton’s most coveted items—even well after two decades since they debuted on the spring 2001 runway.

Rihanna may or may not be “retired,” but her appreciation for archival accessories is going absolutely nowhere.