Rihanna is the new face of RIMOWA

The whole world is still talking about her Balenciaga total black look at the Met Gala, but Rihanna is ready for the future, for the Savage x Fenty Vol. 3 fashion show, which will be broadcast live on Amazon Prime Video on September 24, and for her collaboration with RIMOWA. Riri is the new face of the luggage brand, starring in the campaign for the Never Still collection, first launched in 2020 as a line of "mobility essentials" that included backpacks, shoulder bags and tote bags, in addition to the classic aluminum suitcases the German company is known for. 

The campaign shots look like something out of a Vogue or Harper's Bazar editorial, they are saturated, stylish images in which the singer sports an animal fur hat, a fur outerwear, a crochet top and beaded necklaces, a look not quite different from what we can see in her streetstyle photos alongside boyfriend ASAP Rocky. Completing the outfit is RIMOWA's $1,200 white polycarbonate crossbody bag.

The aesthetics of these images and the choice of Rihanna, beloved not only for her music, but also for her unique style and ability to launch new trends, is part of the current strategy of the company that, since being part of LVMH, is increasingly determined to become a luxury lifestyle brand. This is also confirmed by the words spoken by CEO Hugues Bonnet-Masimbert to BoF:

We are trying to change the way people look at their suitcase, from something that is a beautiful... container to something that also expresses who we are as a traveller.

The first step was to have other people revisit the iconic aluminum suitcase, launching a long series of collaborations with different brands and designers: from Dior to Moncler, from Supreme to Off-White, from Ambush to Fendi. The second has been to expand the product offering with bags and accessories. The last one is to make the brand more attractive to Millennials and Gen Z, relying on cool and popular or even iconic ambassadors such as Rihanna, who has always been a fan of RIMOWA (do you remember her at the airport with the limited edition suitcase Rimowa x Off-White Cabin Multiwheel, designed by Virgil Abloh?), but also as the American basketball player LeBron James, the tennis star Roger Federer and the rock star Patti Smith. The four stars are featured in the campaign video for which Patti Smith composed and narrated a poem and Jamie xx created a custom soundtrack.