LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton is hitting pause on Rihanna‘s Fenty brand.
The luxury conglomerate has announced in a statement obtained by FN’s sister publication WWD that it would put the luxury fashion house on hold “pending better conditions.” The move comes less than two years after Fenty’s debut.
The brand halted posting on its Instagram account at the start of the year, with the last collection drop on its website dating back to November. WWD added that the e-commerce site, which is the main distribution channel for Fenty products, will “go dark” in the next few weeks and that a skeleton crew remains at the Paris headquarters to wind down remaining operations.
LVMH and Rihanna — born Robyn Rihanna Fenty — are expected to focus their efforts on the musician’s other ventures, including her namesake beauty line and Savage x Fenty lingerie label. According to WWD, private equity firm L Catterton — in which LVMH has a stake — has led a $115 million Series B fundraising round to support the retail expansion of Savage x Fenty. In a statement, it shared that “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.”
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LVMH has confirmed the above statements in an email to FN.
In May 2019, Fenty became the first fashion brand launched from inception by industry magnate Bernard Arnault since Christian Lacroix in 1987. Across the industry, it was viewed as a massive feat by Rihanna, who became the first woman to launch an original brand at LVMH and the first woman of color to run a brand at the venerable fashion house. The label debuted for spring ’19 to much fanfare.
Most recently, Rihanna collaborated with footwear designer Amina Muaddi on a second capsule collection for her Fenty line, which hit the market in mid-November. Together, the two received the award for Collaborator of the Year at the 2020 FNAAs.
“This is for the culture, this is for the kids. This is for all of our customers, our clientele and our community. We love you guys, and we can’t wait to continue building this,” Rihanna said in her speech. “We’re so honored to have this, and we can’t wait to see if we can keep knocking this out year after year.”
This story has been updated with confirmation from LVMH.
