Rihanna has lost a staggering $36million (£27M) from a failed fashion venture with Louis Vuitton, according to accounts for her British company Denim UK Holdings.
The American singer, 37, launched her clothing range Fenty in 2019 in collaboration with the luxury French brand, but it flopped and closed down in 2021 due to the pandemic.
Due to travelling restrictions during Covid, hands-on designer Rihanna couldn’t see the atelier in Paris or get to the Italian fashion houses making the products, stated reports at the time.
When she launched the venture, it was revealed that Rihanna had ploughed in €29,988,000 ($34.86M) while Louis Vuitton’s parent company LVMH put in €30million ($34.88M).
The French-based business had the trade name of Project Loud France, in a nod to Rihanna’s fifth album, Loud.
Rihanna – who has an estimated net worth of $1.4billion – invested the money through Denim UK Holdings and became a 49.99 per cent partner shareholder.
Rihanna has lost a staggering $36million (£27M) from a failed fashion venture with Louis Vuitton, according to accounts for her British company Denim UK Holdings (pictured modelling her successful Fenty lingerie line)
The singer, 37, launched her clothing range Fenty in 2019 in collaboration with the luxury French brand, but it flopped and closed down in 2021 due to the pandemic (pictured in 2015)
In 2021, Rihanna and LVMH made a joint decision to close down the fashion business to focus on cosmetics and lingerie.
A joint statement at the time read: ‘LVMH and Rihanna reaffirm their ambition to concentrate on the growth and the long-term development of the Fenty ecosystem, focusing on cosmetics, skincare and lingerie.’
Fenty – named after the Umbrella hitmaker’s full name, Robyn Rihanna Fenty – was meant to build on the singer’s joint cosmetics venture with LVMH, with a full range of clothing, shoes and accessories.
But the line was pricey – nearly $1,000 for a padded denim jacket and $810 for a corseted shirtdress – and failed to generate as much interest as her other lines.
The Fenty clothing label was tailored to the high-end market, whereas Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty were more affordable.
The launch was covered by all the top fashion mags including Vogue, who excitedly wrote in May 2019: ‘The wait for the first glimpse of Rihanna’s LVMH-backed fashion label is finally over.
‘The new luxury Fenty maison, which will comprise ready-to-wear, shoes and accessories, will officially be unveiled in Paris.’
Rihanna herself said in a press release at the time: ‘Women are forces of this earth. We are multifaceted, complex, vulnerable yet bulletproof, and Fenty speaks to all of our intricacies.
‘Some days I want to be submissive, many days I’m completely in charge and most days I feel like being both… so it was imperative that we created a line versatile enough to embrace and celebrate us in that way.
‘The collections are easily worn together and meant to be staples in our wardrobe. I’m just hyped to see people in my clothes, man.’
The Daily Mail has contacted Rihanna’s representatives for comment.
Fenty was meant to build on the singer’s joint cosmetics venture with LVMH, with a full range of clothing, shoes and accessories (pictured at the pop-up store in 2019)
The line was pricey – nearly $1,000 for a padded denim jacket and $810 for a corseted shirtdress – and failed to generate as much interest as her other lines
Since launching her career as a singer, Rihanna has established herself in the fashion and beauty business with her successful lingerie and makeup lines.
In 2022 she made history when she became America’s youngest self-made female billionaire at the age of 34.
She de-throned fellow A-lister Kim Kardashian, then 41, to earn the title, after amassing an impressive net worth of $1.4billion through her many ventures.
Her phenomenal financial success was first revealed earlier that year, when Rihanna was featured in Forbes’ annual list of America’s richest self-made women, on which she was ranked 21st.
The B***h Better Have My Money singer was the only woman under the age of 40 to feature in the line-up.
Barbados-born Rihanna was discovered in 2003 in her home country by American record producer Evan Rogers, who sent her demo to Def Jam Recordings.
It eventually fell into the hands of Def Jam’s president Jay-Z, who invited her to come in and perform and instantly fell in love with Rihanna – and the rest is history.
She went on to become one of the best-selling music artists of all time – having sold more than 250 million records worldwide for her hits like Pon de Replay, Umbrella, SOS, Unfaithful, Good Girl Gone Bad, and Don’t Stop the Music, to name a few.
Rihanna has been running her empire while also expanding her family – recently welcoming her third child – a daughter named Rocki Irish Mayers
Rihanna and her partner A$AP Rocky are also parents to sons RZA, three, and Riot, two
Rihanna also starred in a few movies and became a big name in the fashion industry for collaborating with brands like Armani, Dior, and Puma.
She put her music career on pause in 2017 to focus on her business ventures, launching Fenty Beauty – which includes products like foundations, highlighters, bronzers, blush and lip glosses, and surpassed other celebrity cosmetics brands such as Kylie Cosmetics and KKW Beauty in sales.
A year later, she expanded the company with her Savage X Fenty lingerie brand, which sells underwear that comes in a variety of sizes to fit all kinds of people.
Rihanna has been running her empire while also expanding her family – recently welcoming her third child with rapper A$AP Rocky.
She announced the birth of daughter Rocki Irish Mayers last month. She is also mother to sons RZA, three, and Riot, two.
Rihanna’s meteoric rise as a popstar: How she went from a poverty-ridden childhood in Barbados to chart-topping musician
Born Robyn Rihanna Fenty on February 20, 1988, Rihanna was raised in Barbados
Rihanna may be one of the biggest stars in the world now, but it took a lot for her to get there.
The top-charting artist didn’t have the easiest childhood – growing up with an abusive father who left the family when she was 14, forcing her to care of her siblings while her mom worked to keep the family afloat.
Born Robyn Rihanna Fenty on February 20, 1988, Rihanna was the daughter of an accountant Monica and warehouse supervisor Ronald.
She grew up in a three-bedroom house in Saint Michael, Barbados, with her two brothers, two half-sisters, and a half-brother. As a child, she helped her dad sell clothes in a stall on the street.
She later said that her father physically abused her mother and that he suffered from alcoholism and crack cocaine addiction.
‘I hated him. Then, one of my school friends, who I was very close to, she knew, and she always used to say, “You can’t hate your father,”‘ Rihanna later recalled to the Guardian, adding that he was the one who taught her how to swim, ride a bike, and the other milestones as a kid.
‘You have to love him, at the end of the day, because he’s your father. So I listened, as much as it took out of me.’
She also said on Oprah, ‘He taught me everything. As awful as he was to my mom at times, it didn’t compare to how great he was as a father.’
Her debut single, Pon de Replay, came out in May 2005 and went to the number two spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. She is pictured in the music video
Her parents split when she was 14, and she later recalled staying home to watch her siblings, specifically her younger brother, while her single mom worked to support the family.
‘My mom was a single mom, so she worked a lot. She was really never home – I mean, she was home, but it would be after work, late at night, so I would take care of [my brother],’ she said to the Guardian. ‘He was my best friend. He thought I was his mom.’
During school, she was an army cadet in a sub-military program, and musician Shontelle was actually her drill sergeant.
‘It wasn’t compulsory or anything. But picture me and Rihanna in combat boots and fatigues crawling through mud and things like that,’ Shontelle told BBC years later.
In 2003, while she was still in high school, Rihanna decided to form a musical trio with two of her classmates.
After landing an audition with Rogers, she instantly blew him away, with him later saying, ‘The minute Rihanna walked into the room, it was like the other two girls didn’t exist.’
‘We sang as a group,’ Rihanna recalled to the Guardian, ‘And then we sang individually, and Evan expressed an interest in helping me get a solo deal.
‘It was a really difficult place to be, because obviously I didn’t want to hurt my friends’ feelings, I didn’t want to betray [them], but it was a reality. We had auditioned together, and individually, and that was it.’
She then released Talk That Talk in November 2011 and Unapologetic in November 2012
He signed her to his and Carl Sturken’s production company, Syndicated Rhythm Productions, and flew her to the U.S. to record some demos, which he sent to Def Jam Recordings.
Initially, it was said that Jay-Z – who was the president and CEO of Def Jam – felt Pon de Replay was ‘too big’ for Rihanna when he first heard the demo, but after she sang it for him in-person in early 2005, he signed her immediately.
She then moved to America and recorded her first album, Music of the Sun. Her debut single, Pon de Replay, came out in May 2005 and went to the number two spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The album hit stands in August of that year and received a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America, selling over two million copies worldwide.
Her second album then came out in April 2006, entitled A Girl Like Me, which charted top 10 in 13 different countries.
She then continued to make music – dropping albums Good Girl Gone Bad in May 2007 and Rated R in November 2009.
In October 2010, she switched managers and joined Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Management. Her fifth album, Loud, came out in November 2010 and also had much success.
She then released Talk That Talk in November 2011, Unapologetic in November 2012, and Anti in January 2016.
In addition to singing, she is also an actress and has graced the screen in a few big movies like Bring It On: All or Nothing in 2006 and the war movie Battleship in 2012 (pictured)
She also acted in Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, and the heist comedy Ocean’s 8 (pictured with Saurah Paulson and Sandra Bullock)
She also starred in the fifth season of Bates Motel (pictured) and voiced the main character in the DreamWorks animated flick Home (which also starred Jim Parsons and Jennifer Lopez)
Over the years, she landed the top spot on the charts many times – earning 14 number one singles – sold out numerous world tours, and collaborated with tons of big artists like Eminem, Shakira, Kanye West, Paul McCartney, Calvin Harris, Coldplay, Maroon 5, Nicki Minaj, Kendrick Lamar, and Britney Spears.
Throughout her career, she has received numerous accolades for her music, including nine Grammy Awards, 12 Billboard Music Awards, 13 American Music Awards, and eight People’s Choice Awards.
In addition to singing, she is also an actress and has graced the screen in a few big movies like Bring It On: All or Nothing in 2006, the war movie Battleship, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (alongside Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne), and the heist comedy Ocean’s 8.
She also starred in the fifth season of Bates Motel and voiced the main character in the DreamWorks animated flick Home (which also starred Jim Parsons and Jennifer Lopez).
In 2015, she signed a $25million contract with Samsung to promote their Galaxy products. She also teamed up with Tidal in 2016, becoming a co-owner of the music streaming service.
