Rihanna has been praised for her “raw” and “organic” New York Fashion Week show.
The ‘Work’ hitmaker revealed her Savage x Fenty lingerie collection in a runway presentation featuring models of various body shapes and skin tones, and Jazzelle Zanaughtti felt more comfortable in the green set she wore than she has ever done on the catwalk in the past because she was able to be herself.
She said: “The show was raw. We were all half-naked skin, bones, rolls, curves, scars, and stretch marks 100 percent out for the world to see.
“In confidence, power, and unity we were able to be unapologetically ourselves. Personally, I usually really don’t like doing shows, they always make me feel like I have to put on a face and a walk that doesn’t feel like mine. But this one was so special because I felt like me.
“Everyone was so different, and all looked equally amazing. Most of the time in fashion, diversity feels like it’s more about hitting a quota. But this show was different: it was organic, and it came from a place of love.”
Sudanese model Aweng Chuol had an equally positive experience with the show and praised Rihanna for making beauty more “inclusive”. She told Vogue.com: “I do believe that Rihanna has definitely played a part in how we perceive beauty, in the sense that she is a very inclusive businesswoman, in a very equality-elusive society. It felt amazing to walk in a show that was so different to the many shows that have been happening in NYC season after season.”
Casting director James Scully has been a longstanding critic of inequality in the fashion industry and praised Rihanna for making a change in the typically-conservative lingerie market.
He said: “I think the idea of that kind of Vegas-style parade of overt showgirls is no longer modern. A pageant-type, Barbie show feels totally out of step. Even Miss America is trying to modernize the way they hold a competition.”
