This is what inspired Rihanna’s Fenty fashion collection

(Image credit: Getty)

Rihanna made history as her Fenty clothing line finally dropped this week, as she is the first woman of colour to ever head a luxury fashion brand.

Her clothing line was launched in partnership with LVMH, the behemoth behind the likes of Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Loewe, Celine and Christian Dior amongst many others.

The designs, most of which are already sold out on the Fenty website, are a reflection of Rihanna's sharp yet edgy style. Think perfectly tailored pieces with unexpected twists such as corset detailing and bold colours, and a hi-lo mix of sparkling jewels, bum bags, denim skirts and neon heels.

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This first drop is called 5-19, and in a conversation with Vogue, the singer explained that her collection was actually inspired by the Black is Beautiful movement in the 1950s and 60s, which was pioneered by Brooklyn-based photographer Kwame Brathwaite's work showcasing the African-American community in Harlem.

He was also the first to create a pageant solely featuring black models, which led to the phrase 'black is beautiful'. The singer got in touch Kwame, who granted her permission to use his photographs in her campaign.

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She said, 'When I was coming up with the concept for this release, we were just digging and digging and we came up with these images. They made me feel they were relevant to what we are doing right now.'

Rihanna was also praised for using a diverse cast of models, including 68-year-old JoAni Johnson.

But that's not all of it, the entrepreneur wants to revolutionise the world of luxury fashion by regularly providing new pieces that her customers can shop directly online, proving she knows how to keep up with millennial demands.

If her beauty and lingerie successes are anything to go by, we think she'll do just fine.

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.

Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).

Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.

However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.

Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.