The Rise and Fall of FENTY 

If you enjoy celebrity fashion house fails, who would you like to see in the future? (I was thinking Pastelle, but idk if theres enough content there)

As a customer, the deciding factor to not purchase from the Fenty brand is greediness. I wanted to buy cute overprized Rihanna underwear. I did NOT, however, want to pay the ridiculous OBLIGATED $50 a month subscription to be able to purchase from the brand (which was supposed to provide “benefits” such as early access to launches). In this economy, the Fenty business model does not fly with me.

Unfortunately the failure of this project was pretty predictable. The first problem to me is that Rihanna is neither a stylist nor a designer. Her brand had no identity not even a specific style to it, or at least a particular trait that would make it unique and stand out from the other brands on the market. In addition her fanbase could not afford a 2000 $ dress or a 500 $ pair of sunglasses. Their marketing strategy for Fenty beauty was successful and smart. It was inclusive, different and offered high quality products at an affordable or at least accessible price, because unlike Fenty, a lot of people can buy a lip gloss or a lipstick even if it's a 30$ or 25 $. Clothing however is something else. This strategy was just not applicable to a high end couture house.

i always wish she had made her clothing more inclusive price wise. also wish she had made a bag that was recognisable as THE fenty bag.

I agree with analysis about the brand being doomed from the start. Pop stars are marketed as these inclusive brands. And they are marketed to a poor and working class fan base. Designer brands are about exclusivity and selling expensive shit to rich people that the poors can't afford. I don't think you can court both groups of people in fashion.

I totally forgot there was a Fenty clothing line. I remember seeing a few hauls youtube and the clothing looked oversized, masculine, boxy, scratchy, etc. There was nothing luxury about it. It looked like upcycled thrifted items. Price didn't matter because it was ugly.

It's strange that Rhianna made a point about how the clothes are inclusive for curvy people when a lot of the clothes are so boxy and stiff and unflattering on all body types.

i had no idea this line ever existed and i knew about her lingerie and makeup lines …lol i guess that says it all

Little insider news from a friend who is in the legal team at lvhm. When the brand started there was a lot of trouble because of how similar the names fenti and fendi where. However, the situation was still solved because "the boss at lvhm adores her and everything she does", also she was already planning to extend to interior design and other fields too. So it's incredible to think that even with all that support from lvhm the brand still didn't succeed!!

Frankly didn’t even know this brand existed

Fenty was hella mid. It reminded me Baby Phat. It was literally only remotely popular because of Rhianna's celebrity. She didn't make garments lux enough to demand lux prices

Rihanna was great on Puma as guest creative director & now Savage Fenty like combinations of Yeezy x Victoria Secrets x Nensi Dojaka x Esther Manas

I 100% agree that Fenty could make a return! I don't think it would ever work as a high price point luxury brand though, I think it would need to be more mid-range (at least to start with). I think if they launched in a similar way to how it was done with Fenty Beauty (starting with a small collection and building up the offering over time) it could end up doing really well, or at least significantly better than the first run haha!

I'm launching a fashion line on my own. I will be launching it at the Black Business Show in Birmingham, England, next month. This video was very informative and educational for me. Brilliant video. I learned so much from your commentary and observation of Fenty and Ivay Beyonce brand. I had to subscriber. Braking down all the important parts of creating, launching a brand. Advertising marketing is the hardest part of building a brand, let alone all the other aspects, in launching a successful brand. I'm a loyal student now.

I'm very happy to see that someone from our small island has been such a global success. However, I think that the only reason that why the fashion line became popular is because of her musical success. Most celebrity brands are just trends and a money grab. They are told because they are successful in one area, they will be successful in everything they lend their name too. This is not always the case.

I can’t tell you how many times I see this with businesses. They start their businesses with no clue of the basics like who their audience/customer truly is. They don’t even have a clue which direction to go or why their now forced to file chapter 11. Too many mistakes from the start. Too much ego, very little planning with reality in mind. Bottom line, “know your audience and just because you have fashion sense, dress well and are popular….does not mean your meant to be a fashion designer bad ass bla bla bla.

This was a spectacular video, I loved the way you broke everything down, definitely subscribing, BUT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD the background music was so jarring, with the inverted clap, it sounded like you were stuck in a TENET time warp

Her company was notorious about signing up for a 70$ a month membership without informing people

That was a great business analysis. Here's a story...I met a company years ago that wanted to work with Rihanna, as a matter of fact, they said they were working on creating a clothing line for her. Fast forward. If you don't know your brand, your business personality, your archetype, your customer, and so on, your business may have some issues. No matter who you are. I also agree to start with less SKUs and not being everything to everyone is great advice. Also, business failure is a good thing too because you can learn from it. You don't want to offend your target and you need to know who you are as a company. Some Artists are faces of their brands and are not involved with the business aspect. Also, not being a majority owner can leave you out of the decision-making, as an owner.

Now you need to do Lacroix!

The River Island collection was so good and definitely showcased Rihanna’s style. With all of the collaborations under her belt, and her being a style icon, I wasn’t mad at the luxury route. I do agree that failed introduce and market the brand in the beginning, and I agree that maybe they should have started smaller.

How I hate fashion. The most superficial and egotistic thing on this planet. And promoting consumerism is stupid. I wish people opened their eyes and stopped caring for this

It's just pump and sell brand.

I believe Rihanna can bring her brand back with better planning and market research. I think they could stick with accessories, as they sold well, and maybe do better on the clothing. From what I gathered FENTY was an "affordable" luxury brand targeting upper middle class to upper class people who can afford to spend a couple hundred dollars on a shirt or dress. But of course if Rihanna wanted to be inclusive, she could've done more research on how she could've priced her items better to capture a wider market. Kinda like what Ciara is doing with her brand, Lita. You could look into it and do a video if you think it's interesting enough. But all in all I find celebrity brands to be hit or miss at the end of the day! But I do admire Rihanna for creating Fenty Beauty and Fenty Savage because even though we know they're her brands, they also have developed a life and following of their own.

I bought a few bras and underwear and found the fabrics itchy and irritating to my skin. The styles were nice but simply uncomfortable and cheaper feeling than I had hoped.

I liked Fenty personally. The quality was great, and I enjoyed the way the pieces could be worn interchangeably within the collection.

I kinda disagree with because this person is popular she/he should have a brand without really having the background or at least an artistic side to have their “signature” stuff to put out to the market, whereas there are really creative people yet didn’t have as much opportunity to release their line. Well, I guess that’s how connection and popularity work in life.

Very sad. I live in NYC, she should have either a store on a main shopping street or had spaces in stores like Macy’s. Without that there was no place to go and shop. I do not understand why the normal route to get customers wasn’t followed.

her clothes was way to expensive like very but her sunglasses are so güd rn i have like 5 paris and are the only brand i wear so sexy

I wish celebs would understand that it's okay to stick to accessories. No need to always venture into the clothing market.

Well done Rihanna. You've understood the transient nature of things & metamorphosised each time to bring creativity and innovation to the world. You have an indomitable Spirit and are not solely defined by Fenty. As others glory in Fenty's demise "I shall yet rise" and leave the critics to wallow in their maladorous quagmire of envy.

She needs to bring the sunglasses back.

What is the point of this story? Isn’t it the same as those other designer that sell you vinyl at top prices? Because they can.

I wonder if Rihanna was scared to do accessible since she was known for high fashion. I think she could have been a great competitor to Jessica Simpson. Jessica has solid quality at reasonable prices. Rihanna could have been one step above and made a whole lot of money with it. Savage x fenty … I don’t believe in subscription clothing.

It had the woke ideology tauting 'equity and inclusion'. It is antitheyical to being exclusive and luxury. Thats why they seemed to be hesitant to define who they are and who they align with.

Honestly didn’t even know her fashion line sank.

A lot of these clothes look so mediocre

The brand definitely got the price point wrong. I picked up a few items at TJ Maxx in NYC, heavily discounted. I still have her sneakers, several years later. I'm glad they lasted, and they are beautiful and fit well. But I wouldn't have paid significantly more than what I did, nor anywhere near the original price. They just don't feel that lux.

I also think she should have stayed away from sensitive topics specifically politics and climate activism and all. Celebrities don't know that much about these problems and in today's world we know they don't care, it's looks cheap in my opinion.

Brand had no identity she went the fashionova way with it, plus no experience, no recognisable product. And she sued family for the name karma is a bitch too.

Fenty ,ivy park , Yeezy overpriced Overrated junk. not even stylish or fashionable.

Phrases like "Contribution in Kind" raises hackles.

I think the fact that nobody in their right mind would associate Rihanna with “luxury” is also why they can’t justify those asinine prices they originally had on the line🤦🏽‍♀️I mean get real. She’s a hip pop artist🤣

Let's be real, it was giving ZARA quality and LV prices

I find this to be completely opposite of the common perception about Rihanna/Fenty. She's one of the youngest female billionaires based of her Fenty brand. She hasn't made music in a long time, her annual fashion draws more views than Victoria secret. In light of the Superbowl hubbub over her performance you see she's adored. Fenty Brand was never solely a clothing line. Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty are really popular.

I did not know she had a fashion line. I loved her makeup. It looked fabulous on me. I was aware of her lingerie and was looking forward to purchasing many of the pieces. I think Roca Wear probably took some of her buyers and other celebrity designers such as Whoopi Goldberg. I hope they downsize the line and leave a few pieces for fans like me.

Price had nothing to do with Fenty pausing, her price points were for a luxury house it wasn’t fast fashion, she was given the opportunity to create a brand from scratch under LVMH, that’s major! For a black female it has never been done with LVMH- if y’all listened to Rihanna in interviews and what LVMH said Fenty sourced Fabrics from all over - it’s what kept the designs going, when Covid hit she had to pause all traveling and halt in-store events, etc. it only made sense to pause it, like she said. I don’t like the “rise and fall” title as if it won’t ever come back, if y’all paid attention Fenty’s perfume isn’t designed by Fenty Beauty, it’s original release was meant for her clothing line as a new product, hence she uses the Fenty logo/blue box for the perfumes packaging. Her clothing brand will emerge again. Any brand she had before hand (Puma, river island) were deals with end dates, Fenty was her baby, it’ll come back!

I think they should do just jacket. Shoes bags whatever.

Her beauty brands are innovative and seem worth it pricewise. If she’d done her clothing brand and went for the sustainable, ethical and inclusive look, I think it would’ve worked and people would’ve saved. I myself save to buy more ethical brands that I wouldn’t do to buy Louis Vuitton

Ah I was there when she emerged even bought perfumes and puma shoes and some of the makeup I totally missed the fashion brand thing? But I think I already checked out without realizing so it’s funny to see this. I love Riri and her music forever will be the backtrack to some of the memories I’ve made. I hope she comes back and makes some cool affordable clothes I’d be into that, but yeah not the stuff shown in the video that looks like it has had nothing to do with her 😂

would u ever do yohji??

I think its still popping

I wanted that white dress so bad but it was just so expensive.

I think the problem is that Rhianna dresses pretty trashily and this filters through to the perception of her fashion line. Generally, women who shop with designers are actually much older than their marketing would suggest (come on, how many 20 year olds can afford a £4,000 coat?). They don’t want to spend their money on street style clothing, but classy and flattering cuts which will possibly last a few seasons. Certainly not revealing clothing for which you need a body as great as Rhianna’s. I also think these designer-buying older women are not swayed by “celebrity”. It’s all a bit vulgar.

7:03 - Are those BTS Barbie dolls in the front row? Hilarious!

I’ve had a bad taste for anything Fenty mostly because their lingerie ads constantly feature wrinkled clothes! They pulled them right out of the plastic and threw them on the models. Someone buy them a steamer!

That puma fenty line left to be replaced by fenty 😢

That price point really put it in the 🪦 but I’m hoping she can find the right team to resurrect Fenty and see it become an auspicious career endeavor ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

They thought her fan base would just go on to purchase her luxury but $60 panties and lingerie is a vast difference to $800 denim dresses. The miscalculated greatly.

Fenty should have collaborated with prominent designer like JW Anderson, he'd be perfect for her looks

These artist have to remember everything is driven by their celebrity and the fact that she toned down her music directly contributed to this decline as well!

I think her makeup line was extremely popular because every single makeup brand, who’s job is literally makeup, didn’t have as many shades as her line did. Which is kinda, weird ngl. How is a celebrity who’s thing is singing, going to beat you in a makeup line?

I am a huge Rihanna fan and would have definitely purchased something, anything from this line if it wasn't SO expensive. Even savage X bugs me a lot. The first time I purchased something they automatically signed me up for a subscription which was extremely difficult to cancel. The fact that a bra is £60 but constant VIP sales reduce prices down to £15 tells me a lot about the actual value of the item and how much profit they make... Still a fan but the concept is mind-boggling

I was the team manager for the pop up in Paris and it was kind of sad . They refuse people at the entrance , then the day after they allowed people to buy only 2 items , they invited many random influencers , the day after rumors about the designs were dupe of young designers and a week later the store was empty of customers. Our best seller was the sunglasses ….

The popularity of Fenty was because of Rihanna’s fame and the celebrities she brought to the fashion show but the clothes was always cheap looking and trashy honestly.

I can’t believe people actually buy any celebrity crap at all lmao. The moment I hear a brand is under x celebrity, I do the opposite of what everyone does, and just leave it

I always thought Fenty was a lil mid

You’re totally right! I agree! If Fenty were to return I think they could really do well if they focus on bags, outerwear (like dope oversized jackets), heels and sunglasses-these are things she’s known for and it would help the customer to recognize the brand and connect with her. Thank you for sharing your insights!! Really great and well presented commentary! Looking forward to more! 😊

The clothes dont look classy and elegant, they look kardashian-ish and it ignores the diversity of clientele , for myself i dont mind spending money on expensive clothes but they need to have an air of class and elegance, perhaps even "old money" luxury. There needs to be more diversity in ideas not just skin tone and body types, everything looks too much these days.

The brand never felt fully developed. Prices were high but the designs didn’t justify it. Had she hired a seasoned designer to collaborate with like Rick Owens, Rei kawakubo or mowalola she could’ve killed it 🤷🏽‍♂️

Fenty should’ve done “Caribbean with a couture edge” designs for the launch! Rihanna is from Barbados and her being Caribbean has been one of her marketing points.

There’s a common theme here with celebrity Beauty product lines, in that they’re all declining. We’re in a recession and during the pandemic, beauty sales were drastically declining but skincare products were actually on the rise. That was to be expected since people weren’t really going out. But this also trickled into 2023, as there are less sales in general (check annual reports from Sephora or Ulta for example from 2020-2022) for beauty products. Lots of people are realizing that these products are marketed to a low to med income market, but have high price tags, so it was only a matter of time that these celeb lines would decline in sales. It also isn’t exclusive to Fenty. Rare Beauty (Selena), Kylie, Ariana, etc. All sales are declining steadily. What is interesting to me is that in contrast, brands like SKIMS by Kim K are more likely to steadily grow in success, as it’s neutral and more people are seeking “comfort” products. Kim K isn’t my fav celeb to fund, but Skims is legit good. Bras are comparable in price to VC but way more comfortable and better fit. Her sizing is inclusive as well. These celebs need to stop cheaply going for the Beauty route and start going more into home goods or inclusive clothing lines.

Too expensive and overrated line. Just another celebrity line.

Puma x Fenty Spring 2018 was a blast. I wish she had gone into that direction and break through into gorpcore. I think she has this innate understanding of balancing feminine with masculine pieces. Just as she styles herself or used to style herself. One of the few on this Earth that look good in menswear as in womenswear. Would love for her to dabble in menswear.

It’s crazy that I’ve heard of Savage x Fenty and I own Fenty foundation but I never even knew there was a clothing line.

But Savage X Fenty doesn't have that much of a bigger size range than VS. They just use a wider range of bodies in the marketing. I follow indie brands that have more sizes in the clearance leftovers than either SXF or VS carry in their entire range.

Your videos are great and educational! There’s so much dedication and professional analysis. Thank you! As for Fenty. I guess one of the main problems was that those clothes were pretty basic. When Rihanna wears them is one thing because she has that great celebrity appeal so could wear anything and still look fantastic. Take that sparkly sack she wore in This is What You Can for music video. She looked fabulous and chic! But could any of us pull it off the same way? Not so sure about that. So my point is when you separate those clothes from Rihanna image they’re just basic clothes, t-shirts, blazers and jeans. No wonder people tried them on and were like ok what exactly am I paying for? A shirt that looks like Uniqlo or some high fashion stuff?

Shoutout to blackfemininityTV! Glad you mentioned the channel in this video

I know fashin is an incredibly difficult industrty to tap into but this could have been so much more successful. I could see this brand being a better Urban Outfitters or Weekday etc , in that it would clothes the under belly movements in society across cultures, classes etc. If she had launched this brand with a more affordable price point, I could see all the Gen Z kids rocking Fenty Clothes and THE BRAND to wear for that 90s etc cool and stylish look. she could have release more premium lines for the Millenials to invest in for those key pieces. Different shapes of denim, really authentic 90 pieces, statement or stable peices that shout the brand's identity.. There was so much potential here as Riri is a fashion icon and has also tapped into alternative fashions over her entire career.

You perfectly highlighted the brand's shortcomings with lack of identity, but also lack of targeting the correct consumer base. To me, the fashion house Fenty was just a case of Bernard Arnault attempting to capitalise on powerful name and creative. The timing also lines up with LVMH seeing the financial success of Virgil at Louis Vuitton so I think they figured they could just magically recreate something like that, without giving it the proper diligence

Love the sunglasses. Couldn’t afford them then, but I’ve been snagging them up from re-sellers at lower prices. I agree, she should focus on accessories! Bring back the sunnies!!

The name FENTY was the first problem. Too close to FENDI.

The clothes weren't it that's the truth. The stuff she did with Puma wasn't it and the new stuff she doing it ain't it...I think it's too much of her particular style and not mainstream enough🤷🏼‍♀️

I believe fenty as a brand was misunderstood and not at all clear in its offerings! Everytime I wear fenty pieces people love them on me and how they are styled and I work in a huge department store as a stylist. Celebs have asked me who I’m wearing. I believe a huge factor of this is we never got to see it live in shows or even on other celebs.

The clothes were ugly and overpriced and not flattering on any body type. Even the underwear is kind of ugly too. It’s like your grandmothers underwear but in neon colors

I was disappointed by the savage quality- super cheap in comparison to the price (which isnt too bad). U can even see this low quality just from the site. I refused to buy any of it but was given some as gift and I wasnt wrong. Apparently she just slapped her name on savage and wore the hell out of some of the clothes to make it look more expensive (and Im sure they made her the highest quality stuff for photoshoots) and that was enough for people to buy. But she has no creative control or any kind of control besides advertising who is disappointed- we wanted to support it because ITS her. Her brand represents high quality and high fashion but didnt think about making the brand that people buy match

Proof that fame, popularity and inclusiveness aren't enough

Cash grabs by cheap celebrity

I really appreciate your work 😍 it’s so nice to see this kind of quality content for free, and also so consistent 👏

I don’t know why people praise her. You don’t get to be a billionaire being ethical and paying fair wages.

Her makeup line is soooo good!!! I love the foundation, highlights and lipgloss.

She stepped into luxury design and that industry has some of the most pretentious difficult to please but also loyal customers. She had to earn their respect before considering sales reports. But what she really should have done is affordable luxury, something like Jacquemus.

I personally really loved her line and was upset that they didn't invest more time in marketing the brand. I like the fenty lingerie designs half the time and notably remember some garments. That said nomatter the design of a lingerie garment I can't imagine paying too much let alone a subscription. You are so right about accessibility. The industry party and lack of real marketing was so Important because I felt that was EXACTLY what killed it. I LOVED the construction of her jackets and really wanted the pieces! I think they should have pushed harder longer. Their marketing was lazy and not impactful. I actually felt like their line was cohesive. I would actually adore having everything in the collection other than the shoes.

It was naff and the underwear is very cheap and tacky too.

I just subscribed. Your Coco Chanel video was a great primer, but this is STELLAR. I had no idea that Rihanna even HAD a fashion line (and I say this as a Savage x Fenty FAN. I’m currently wearing an SxF onesie lol). Thank you for your work!

Forgot this even existed 😂😂😂😂 I think the lingerie line is next why do I say that because there’s that sus vip thing going in and I think lingerie is no different from Victoria secrets except that hers has chubby people in it t.

I agree this brand was doomed from the start. They applied the typical "famous celebrity launches clothing line" strategy from the 2000's that would normally place merchandise in a low-budget department store like Kohls or TJ-Maxx and instead tried to compete with Dior, Celine, Jill Sander, etc. No one respects Rihanna as a clothing designer or artistic director, she is not the author of her most famous looks (that would be her iconic stylists), and she has absolutely zero experience designing clothing. I'm not a fan of Pharrell taking over at LV, but at least he has some experience and a unique perspective/style that is wholly attributed to his own personal decisions. We need to stop hyping up celebrities to run fashion labels and let actual designers do their thing.

As a woman of the Caribbean why didnt she openly market her products in the Caribbean as well? Her price range too high

I remember this at the time and I found the clothes interesting, but I couldn’t see much of it. Like I couldn’t find news about it. It’s like everyone moved on after it was released 😅.

I think the problem is really way more simple than what’s even explained. Rihanna isn’t an innate fashionista. She has always had a TEAM of stylists and visionaries behind her. People wanted the Fenty line because they wanted to be able to pop up to an event like Rihanna, and look like Rihanna…the Rihanna an A&R team created. So the problem is even Rihanna is dressed by someone else. You can’t sell fashion when you aren’t the brains behind your most coveted looks. The other more obvious issue…Rihanna’s interest change with the wind. That would be fine if she stuck with something but she tends to lose steam along the way. If you’re building a brand primarily off of your celebrity, you can’t disappear for nearly a decade doing everything BUT what gave you relevancy to begin with.