Rihanna’s Style Evolution
A look back at the singer’s transformation from girlish cookie-cutter pop star to the fierce, fashion-forward femme she’s become. Read the complete interview from our February issue HERE.
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For her debut album, 2005’s Music of the Sun, the 16-year-old singer’s image was sexy-cute, but generic.
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In baggy jeans and, yes, rainbow suspenders, Rihanna (here at Arthur Ashe Kids Day during the 2005 US Open) radiates youth and beach-babe innocence.
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A still-girlish Rihanna in a baby-doll sundress and flats at Baby Phat’s spring 2006 show at Radio City Music Hall.
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Traditional elegance: Rihanna at the CFDA Fashion Awards at the New York Public Library in 2006.
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She dips her toe into the fashion world, walking the runway at Dsquared’s spring 2008 show in Milan.
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New ‘do: Rihanna shocks her fans in 2007 when she bobs her hair and dyes it black, inspired, she says later, by Charlize Theron’s character in Aeon Flux.
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Sporting body paint and an a-symmetrical cut in her breakthrough “Umbrella” video, Rihanna cements her edgy new image.
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The rising star, in Gucci, at the label’s UNICEF fund-raiser.
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Sassy in ankle boots and an even shorter haircut, in 2008.
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Regrets? Rihanna—in a not especially flattering metallic gray cut-out dress—with then-boyfriend Chris Brown at the 2008 MTV Movie Awards.
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Channeling Michael Jackson: Rihanna in Balmain.
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In a sea of girls in gowns, Rihanna wears a Dolce & Gabbana tux to the Met Costume Institute gala in May 2009, her first major appearance after the Chris Brown incident.
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Stripper chic: the singer pushes new boundaries.
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Look but don’t touch: At the 2009 American Music Awards, she performed in a bandage-inspired cut-out bodysuit, shot through with spikes.
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She rocks a pair of Kerin Rose “Barracuda” shades at Fashion’s Night Out 2009.
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Rubberized bodysuit and bare legs: Onstage with Kanye West and Jay-Z at Madison Square Garden.
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Scoping out Gareth Pugh’s show, sporting drastic new highlights and deep purple lips.
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Perhaps not her best moment: Rihanna attends the 2009 Glamour Women of the Year awards in a controversial accordion-style Stephane Rolland gown.
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Tough as nails: The singer’s Rated-R album cover, released November 2009.
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