Rihanna. For most of us, the name triggers echoes of the iconic early 2000s songs that we all know and love. Her empowering pop music has an undeniable universality about it, guaranteeing everyone up and dancing at a party. But more recently, Rihanna has become known for much more than her brilliant music. Six years (and counting) without a new music release and Rihanna has still managed to remain hyper relevant. Becoming a pioneering figure in fashion and beauty, her empire has allowed her to maintain her space in popular culture. 

Being surrounded by makeup throughout her career, Rihanna saw a huge gap in the market for base makeup which correctly matched deeper skin tones. The lack of products available for people of colour was problematic and astoundingly ignored. As a black woman herself, Rihanna was extremely aware of these issues, and so in 2017 Fenty Beauty was born.

Priding themselves on inclusivity, Fenty Beauty released a foundation which had 40 different shades in their first drop, which has since expanded to 50 shades. Rihanna put long-standing, established beauty brands to shame, paving the way for inclusivity in the beauty industry.

Image Credits: @fentybeauty on Instagram

Fenty Beauty completely changed the game, shaking up the beauty scene from their initial launch. The few cosmetic brands who continue to only stock a small shade range are simply regarded as tone-deaf and undoubtedly make fewer sales than those who followed in Fenty’s footsteps. This change was overdue. It would not be an overstatement to say that Rihanna single-handedly transformed the beauty industry. Using makeup, Rihanna addressed the deeper-rooted issues present within Western culture more broadly. She put a spotlight on the blatant exclusion of black people from the world of makeup, illuminating the fact that this acted as a microcosm for their dismissal from other realms too. 

Following the complete success of Fenty Beauty, Rihanna’s mission of inclusion and black visibility didn’t stop there. In 2018, Rihanna announced the launch of her new lingerie brand Savage x Fenty. Recognising the unrealistic beauty standards upheld by the fashion industry and perpetuated by mainstream lingerie brands, Savage x Fenty was designed to make everyone feel empowered.

Image Credits: @savagexfenty on Instagram

The runway launch show at New York Fashion Week showcased a range of women which (unlike most runway shows) placed an onus on representation. When asked how she came up with the concept for the show, Rihanna said:

‘I wanted to include every woman. I wanted every woman on the stage with different energies, different races, body types, different stages in their womanhood, culture. I wanted women to feel celebrated and that we started this shit. We own this. This is our land because really it is. Women are running the world right now and it’s too bad for men.’

Rihanna’s mission to make beauty and fashion accessible to everyone is impactful and ongoing. She is using her platform to undo the damaging work of centuries of over-exclusivity in the fashion and beauty industries. She has redefined what it means to be an empowered woman. In 2021, Forbes named Rihanna the ‘wealthiest female musician in the world’, estimating her net worth at $1.7 billion. Rihanna has become a billionaire through her choice to utilise her fame to promote inclusion and include minority groups in conversations from which they have previously been ignored. Rihanna emulates a feeling that she is rooting for everyone. Regardless of your race, gender, sexual orientation or body type, you are never made to feel as though Rihanna’s products aren’t for you.