Almost 15 years since the world got to know Robyn Rihanna Fenty with her dancehall-inspired track, “Pon De Replay”, the Barbadian has developed from pop star to a cultural force of nature, shaking everything in her path. When Rihanna’s Fenty makeup brand launched with an unprecedented 40 foundation shades in 2017, she instantly discredited the racist beliefs of the mainstream beauty industry that equal representation for women of colour is not profitable. A year later, she eviscerated similar arguments from the lingerie industry about what an underwear model should look like, when she included a variety of models (including a heavily pregnant Slick Woods) on her Savage x Fenty runway. And earlier this year, she made history as the first and only black woman to run an LVMH fashion house—it seems to be working out, to the tune of $600 million, making her the world’s richest female performer, or more correctly: polymath.
Now, a new visual autobiography captures her childhood in Barbados, to her international tours, private moments with friends and family, as well as her game-changing entrance into the business world. The 504-page volume contains more than 1,000 photographs, including many previously unreleased images of the star by her personal photographer Dennis Leupold,who has been along for the ride since 2013 to capture Rhianna’s assent to superstardom. Naturally the book comes with a variety of stands, including an 18-carat gold plated version, a marble version and a hand pedestal (featuring Rihanna’s tattoos), all created in collaboration with the American art duo, The Haas Brothers.
Rhianna is out now from Phaidon.