PUMA Announces FENTY Collaboration; Here Is Why Rihanna May Not Be Excited About It!

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“She’s Back!”

That’s exactly how Puma announced their return to the fold at the iconic Fenty Brand.

On Wednesday 1st March, Puma announced it was revisiting its partnership with the multi-hyphenate and reviving the Fenty x Puma brand, with a very straight-to-the-point statement: “She’s back,” said CEO Arne Freundt.

Rihanna’s relationship with Puma goes back to 2014 when she came on as a global ambassador and creative director. As part of the multi-year deal, she began releasing products (remember the creepers?!?), which grew into full collections spanning footwear and ready-to-wear that went on to debut on the runway in both New York and Paris. Her last Fenty x Puma collection was released in Spring of 2018.

As the brevity of Puma’s official statement suggests, there are no further details on Fenty x Puma’s return — no launch date, no timeline, and no teaser as to what the aesthetic direction for the new collection will be. But that’s okay: This is Rihanna we’re talking about. We know it’ll be good.

Where Does Rihanna Stand On This

Media will be media and business will be business, so it’s always good to follow the story. When Rihanna’s Fenty was growing, it was historical that such a well-branded figure was on the brink of cracking, one of the only black-owned brands that could rival the likes of Gucci, Versace, Louis Vuitton, and more.

However, prior to becoming a billionaire, the ‘Umbrella’ hitmaker sold Fenty to LVMH. According to QZ.com “The conglomerate invested €30 million (about $35 million) in cash in the venture, taking a 50.01% stake. Rihanna agreed to put in €30 million in “in-kind” contributions, meaning assets such as her time, effort, and name, and controls the remaining 49.99%.”

Most Black people and fans of Rihanna didn’t see it this way, nor did they see the fact we had just lost the biggest black-owned brand, instead we were too busy celebrating her surpassing the threshold to become a billionaire. When we published a discriminatory article about this business move and how Rihanna sold Fenty to LVMH during the time, we were heavily criticized even by our followers.

Rihanna Selling Fenty To Louis Vuitton (LVMH) Is A Big Loss Of Another Major Black Owned International Fashion Brand

After this, it wasn’t even more than 2 years before LVMH shut down FENTY.

LVMH Shuts Down Rihanna’s Fenty Just Two Years After Buying It Out! Here Is What We Believe

There is no denying this was the result of a hung dispute between Rihanna and LVMH which we obviously can not give you the full details about, however, the bottom line is she wasn’t and isn’t the owner of the FENTY brand as far as clothing is concerned. Rihanna is only the owner of the Fenty beauty and lingerie brand Fenty x Savage.

The move was a big win for LVMH as they managed to shut down what could potentially be one of their biggest rivals. Popular fashion brands under LVMH are Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co., Christian Dior, Fendi, Givenchy, Marc Jacobs, Stella McCartney, Loewe, Loro Piana, Kenzo, Celine, and more. All of which couldn’t compare to the magnet potential of Fenty.

FAST FORWARD TO FENTY X PUMA

So the question is where does Rihanna stand on the new announcement by PUMA? Well, no one knows. Rihanna hasn’t made any announcements or acknowledged the collaboration with PUMA. Also, note that PUMA didn’t mention Rihanna’s name whatsoever in their announcement.

The social media posts only state ‘ She’s Back’ and the back didn’t indicate any involvement of Rihanna whatsoever or who the ‘SHE’ is. This could simply be a play of words to entice Rihanna’s fans but only be a collaboration between LVMH and PUMA. We are yet to see if Rihanna has reconciled her dispute with LVMH or not.

Rihanna is at a very crucial stage of popularity. Following the Superbowl performance, opening Fenty Beauty around the world, and another baby on the way, We are about to dive into another media storm of Rihanna’s popularity, And this may just be a way for the conglomerates to take advantage and cash in on her current peak in popularity.

In most such cases, there are nondisclosure clauses that may prevent her from grieving the irregular control and juncture LVMH may have placed on Fenty, and we may never get her side of the story. It also could be possible Rihanna could possibly come to a compromise with PUMA or LVMH to further promote Fenty or there could be a renegotiation of her deal with LVMH. However for now, this excludes her.

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