Louis Vuitton owner LVMH and music star Rihanna have agreed to suspend her fashion line Fenty less than two years after its launch, the French luxury goods giant said on Wednesday.
LVMH said in a statement that the brand, based in Paris, would be ‘put on hold’ pending better conditions – a rare setback for the luxury group, which has weathered the coronavirus crisis better than most rivals.
The R&B singer, 32, and LVMH launched the Fenty fashion brand in May 2019, only the second time the French group had set a label up from scratch as it looked to tap soaring demand for luxury celebrity collaborations.
Rihanna – named the richest female musician in the world in 2019 – is said to be ‘sad’ at the decision; her popular Savage X Fenty lingerie line and cosmetics lines Fenty Beauty and Fenty Skin are set to continue.
Her underwear brand generates about $150 million in revenue, The New York Times reported in December last year – but was not at that time profitable. Fenty Skin had sales of $30 million in under four months on its e-store, WWD reports. And Fenty Beauty generated $570 million in revenue in 2018, Forbes reports.
The You Da One singer first put out her makeup line three years ago at Sephora, racking up sales eclipsing $100 million over the course of its first few weeks.
By contrast, when asked about Fenty last October, LVMH’s finance chief Jean-Jacques Guiony called it ‘a work in progress’.
He added: ‘We are still in a launching phase, and we have to figure out exactly what is the right offer. It’s not something that is easy.’
Rihanna poses in a pop-up store to present her first collection with LVMH for the new label, Fenty in Paris in 2019; Louis Vuitton owner LVMH and the singer have agreed to suspend her fashion line Fenty less than two years after its launch it was announced Wednesday
Fenty fashion’s Instagram account has 1 million followers; Savage x Fenty by Rihanna has 3.9 million and Fenty Beauty by Rihanna 10.5 million. Fenty Skin has 800,000 followers.
Forbes named Rihanna the richest female musician in the world in 2019.
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.
LVMH and Rihanna added in a statement: ‘LVMH and Rihanna reaffirm their ambition to concentrate on the growth and the long-term development of Fenty ecosystem focusing on cosmetics, skincare and lingerie.’
Savage x Fenty – the singer’s underwear line – recently secured $115 million in fundraising led by private equity firm L Catterton connected to LVMH.
LVMH did not elaborate on the reasons for hitting the pause button on Fenty but after a big launch and debut collection, the brand kept a low profile and never followed up with major marketing events, even before the COVID-19 crisis.
Its Instagram page had not posted since January 1 and has not released any new clothes since November last year.
Trade publication WWD, which first reported news that the label was being suspended, said on Wednesday that a skeleton staff remained at the Paris headquarters to wind down remaining operations.
The line was pricey – nearly $1,000 for a padded denim jacket and $810 for a corseted shirtdress. It was the first label the acquisitive group – also home to storied couture houses such as Christian Dior and Givenchy – had fully created since Christian Lacroix´s eponymous brand launched in 1987
Rihanna is said to be ‘sad’ at the decision; her Savage X Fenty lingerie line and cosmetics lines Fenty Beauty and Fenty Skin are set to continue
Fenty was the first label the acquisitive group – also home to storied couture houses such as Christian Dior and Givenchy – had fully created since Christian Lacroix´s eponymous brand launched in 1987.
It eventually sold that on in 2005 after it struggled to ever turn a profit.
The line was also the first time a black woman had headed a luxury fashion house for LVMH.
Pauline Rigby, head of corporate law at Forbes Solicitors, had said of the launch of Fenty Skin that it ‘could easily push Rihanna’s personal net worth beyond billionaire status’.
In 2019, it was reported that the Diamonds singer’s then $600 million net worth had eclipsed the fortunes earned by her peers Beyonce, Madonna and Celine Dion.
In addition to her latest fashion ventures, Rihanna dipped into the world of cosmetics in 2017 with Fenty Beauty, a company which accrued nearly $570million in revenue in 2018.
The R&B singer and LVMH launched the Fenty fashion brand in May 2019, only the second time the French group had set a label up from scratch as it looked to tap soaring demand for luxury celebrity collaborations
‘Money is happening along the way, but I’m working out of what I love to do, what I’m passionate about,’ Rihanna told T, The New York Times Style Magazine in May 2019.
‘Work will change when my life changes in the future but an amount of money is not going to stop that.’
The Umbrella singer said that finances didn’t drive her in her endeavors, as her bank account already eclipsed any expectations she previously had.
‘I never thought I’d make this much money, so a number is not going to stop me from working,’ she told the publication, adding, ‘I’m not being driven by money right now.’
The Only Girl (In the World) songstress said she aims her fortune at helping others.
‘The money means that I can take care of my family,’ she said. ‘The money means that I can facilitate the businesses that I want to.
‘I can create jobs for other people. My money is not for me; it’s always the thought that I can help someone else or, in the future, for if I have kids.’