“Just hangin’ out in some pink sand,” said Ashley Graham. “This is so fun. I don’t know. It looks messy.”
Messy — and fascinating. It appeared that Rihanna — her hired crew, rather — had plopped what appeared to be mounds of Millennial pink sand inside the Park Avenue Armory on Sunday night for her Spring-Summer 2018 show. Guests wandered in and out of the dunes before the show’s start, but what the piles of sand meant remained vague. It wasn’t until dirt bikers, revving up backstage, flew across it, spiraling in the air and landing on a black platform that the theme became clear: motocross. Rihanna never ceases to surprise, does she?
“I’m looking forward to seeing some really cool fashion,” continued Graham. “I’m also curious as to how much diversity inclusion Rihanna has. I’m really happy to have been invited to the show. Even if there aren’t curves on the runway, this is just yet another step.” She spoke to Rihanna at the Met Gala in May, and the singing star told her she looked “hot AF.” “She made me blush,” said Graham.
Whoopi Goldberg, Yo Gotti and hip-hop couple of the moment Cardi B and Offset walked by the setup, seemingly unfazed. Their reactions were contrasted with Ty Dolla Sign’s; he appeared utterly stupefied. “It’s like, woah,” he said. “I can’t wait to see what’s gonna happen. You know when Rihanna does anything, it’s always the best of the best.”
Model and Rihanna music video star Sita Abellan seemed one more show away from being done with fashion week entirely. “I don’t like to be in the car all day,” she said. After observing the sand for a moment, she decided that it “reminds me a little bit of [Rihanna’s] new makeup collection [Fenty Beauty].” The beauty line launched just three days ago, but Abellan already has a favorite: “a highlighter, which is like blush, a pink blush with highlighter.” Perhaps she has a few favorites, after all.
“Puma’s been taking chances with artists like Rihanna, The Weeknd and myself,” offered Big Sean. His girlfriend, singer Jhené Aiko, was more excited about the “88” branding, representative of the year Rihanna was born.
“[Big Sean and I] were both born in ‘88, so it’s like, ‘yes,’” she said. “I think it’s the coolest looking year to be born, too.” She and Sean have a joint album titled “Twenty88.”
Stylist and Rihanna collaborator Fucci shared that he had declined all invitations at New York Fashion Week except Rihanna’s. “Her swag speaks to me, so I’m looking forward to some inspiration for some shoots that I’m probably going to feature,” he said. “I would describe [her style] as constant evolution and reinvention. One day she’ll be sexy. Tomorrow, she’ll look like a tomboy. The next day she’ll look like somebody’s mom. She does whatever she wants. Ruthless.”
