Have you seen Rihanna’s latest maternity fashion? Anyone scrolling through social media on Feb. 2 might have seen the 34-year-old singer, entrepreneur and fashion mogul’s pregnancy announcement with partner A$AP Rocky.
In the photos posted to her Instagram and Twitter, Rihanna is seen in New York City dressed in a pink vintage Chanel padded coat, light wash ripped jeans and multiple bejeweled chains adorning her baby bump.
“I really like her fashion choices throughout her pregnancy. I think these pieces are very on brand for her and reflect her unique style,” Fashion Club Vice President, junior Adrianna Byczko said. “I really like how she is pushing the envelope with maternity wear.”
There are many people who seem to agree that Rihanna is taking maternity fashion to the next level.
According to BuzzFeed News, “Many fans have even credited the Fenty Beauty founder with ‘inspiring’ people, pregnant or otherwise, to embrace their bodies ‘at all stages.’”
Some students at Sacred Heart University are in favor of Rihanna’s choices, saying the singer is pushing others to be more daring.
“I feel like she’s giving a lot of women confidence to do the same. Especially those who may have felt pressured to cover up and change their fashion choices just because they’re pregnant,” said junior Tania Montano.
According to BuzzFeed News, some celebrities try to cover up their pregnancy while making public appearances.
“But with Rihanna doing things differently and refusing to hide her bump, fans have praised her for ‘setting trends’ and reworking the current beauty standards in play for pregnant people, which is only to be expected, given that she’s previously enlisted several pregnant models to walk in her Savage X Fenty fashion show,” said BuzzFeed.
In an interview with Refinery29, Rihanna explained that she is trying to break away from conservative opinions surrounding pregnancy style.
In the interview, Rihanna said, “When women get pregnant, society tends to make it feel like you hide, hide your sexy and that you’re not sexy right now… So I’m trying stuff that I might not have even had the confidence to try before I was pregnant. The strappiest, the thinnest and the more cut-outs, the better.”
Rihanna wore just that during her first red carpet while pregnant at an event in Los Angeles on Feb. 11, with Vogue describing her look as a “thrillingly skin-baring outfit by the cult Italian brand The Attico.”
According to Vogue, the green sequin top and silver to purple ombré pants created a shredded look that hung from her body elegantly, while her Chopard diamond earrings, Messika diamond rings and Manolo Blahnik shoes pulled the ensemble together.
With such bold choices, Rihanna has faced backlash from those who believe she should cover up. However, not everyone is quick to judge.
“I think it’s perfectly fine for people to show however much skin they want during pregnancy because it’s still their body,” said Montano.
“Even though being a mother is an exhausting job, it doesn’t have to result in someone’s personality being challenged,” said Byzcko.
Fashion Marketing Prof. David Loranger said that Rihanna’s maternity wear should not be shocking when Demi Moore’s iconic 1991 Vanity Fair photoshoot exists.
Loranger said that people look to those who have “uniform life experiences,” making it possible that expectant mothers might change their purchasing decisions to reflect Rihanna’s high fashion and trendy clothes.
This can “lead to diluted interpretations of the looks that Rihanna is wearing that inspire more mainstream clothing at stores like Target and H&M,” said Loranger.
Or maybe Rihanna is simply enjoying her time being pregnant and, as Loranger said, “just trying to have fun with it.”
