Rihanna and New York Fashion Week are a duo made in heaven. From slaying it with Fenty x Puma to owning it with Savage x Fenty.

This year was no different. Rihanna gathered her fans and famous friends at Barclays Center to show them a show they’ve never seen before. See photos and media coverage below.

Rihanna talks Normani and underwear pics

Via ELLE: At 9:30 pm sharp, the superstar appeared front row center at her own Savage x Fenty fashion show, performing a dance routine choreographed by Parris Goebel that was fierce, fearless, and (in the parlance of Dance Moms) technically perfect. Kacey Musgraves screamed. Ashley Graham screamed. Chris Rock looked pleased. And yes, we screamed.

Fast forward a bit—past Gigi’s magnetic strut in a boned black corset, past Cara’s swish-swish with a sequined paddle, past Laverne Cox taking no prisoners in a Barbie-pink bustier and matching stiletto booties, past DJ Khaled chanting “Deeeeeejay Khaaaaaled,” and into the witching hour of 2 am.

That’s when Rihanna arrived in an Alexander Vauthier couture dress and a matching aura of shimmering accomplishment. (There were also sparkly sunglasses.) Being very lucky and very scared, we crept forward to commune with Our Lady of Baddest Bitches. Here’s how it went.

You’ve spoken at length about making space for all women’s bodies in your Savage x Fenty line. That’s so meaningful.

It’s important, right? You belong in these pieces. You, me, trans women, women of all sizes, paraplegic women, all women are important women! All women belong here, on the biggest platform I can give them.

How does that extend to what kind of artists you make space for on your stage? Why did you choose Halsey or Normani, for example, to perform in your show?

I wanted to highlight women who are powerful. To me, power in whatever way you master it is very sexy. And with someone like Normani, you know, she’s an incredible dancer, and dance is athleticism. Dance is powerful. It would be a shame to miss out on the opportunity to have that kind of beauty and power in the show.

How do you test out your Savage x Fenty pieces for approval? Do you just see how they look, or do you move around in them and dance in them, too?

I do what I can! Look, I’m not nearly as good a dancer as Normani, but I will try. I will dance in these pieces in my kitchen until we get it right! Which is what I did, believe it or not. I only had two-and-a-half hours of rehearsal so I had to, like, get it where I could fit it in. Usually it was while I was doing other approvals. People are like, “Hey, pick this model! Pick this look!” And I’m like this—[She starts doing the opening moves from her dance number.] No, listen, it happens! I’ll rehearse anywhere because I want it to be perfect. If you’re passionate enough about something, you’ll get it done.

The Savage by Fenty show airs September 20th on Amazon Prime. So… what’s the last thing you bought on Amazon Prime?

Wait… wait! OH! Cufflinks. I kid you not. I swear to god, the last thing I bought was cufflinks.

You bought yourself cufflinks?!

Not for me!

I don’t know, you could have been doing a full YSL tuxedo situation?!

You know, it’s irrelevant who they were for. But I will tell you, I bought a pair of Darth Vader cufflinks off Amazon. He’s an evil dude, but the cufflinks were great. And they only cost 17 bucks, too! How good is that?!

So good. So listen, I need some help. I like a guy.

Hmmm…

He should probably see how I look in some Fenty lingerie. What’s the best way to take an underwear pic for a crush?

Oooooh, well listen. You know your assets, right? What do you want to show off? Your jawline, your ass, your legs, your waist, your tits? We’ve all got things we love about our bodies, and so what’s great is, we make things that highlight every type of body. So what are you, a tits girl, right? Find your assets, show them off, and you’re good. Also, chances are, your man will tell you what he wants to see. Is he an ass man? Is he a tits man? He’ll tell you. They always do.

Sorry Navy, you have to wait for the album

Via ET Online: Rihanna, like the rest of the world, is absolutely in love with Lizzo.

The singer and fashion mogul stepped out in style at her star-studded Savage X Fenty show at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on Tuesday evening, where she stopped to talk with ET and admitted that she’s got some strong feelings for the “Truth Hurts” songstress.

“Gosh I love Lizzo. She’s so badass,” Rihanna said, echoing the sentiments of essentially everyone else in the music industry right now.

While the feeling is apparently mutual, Rihanna said that they weren’t working on anything together at the moment, but she’d collaborate with Lizzo in a heartbeat on anything she wanted.

“I would collaborate with her on the lights for this interview right now, like Lizzo is so badass,” she said, reiterating her absolute respect and adoration.

“She is everything that Savage stands for,” Rihanna continued, referring to her new, bold line of lingerie that was the focal point of Tuesday’s star-studded event. “A confident woman, no matter what size, color, shape. Your attitude is what makes you savage. It’s the confidence that you have in yourself and it’s the confidence that you can give off to people who look like you and feel like you and those are the people that identify with the brand.”

This year, the Savage X Fenty event is bigger than ever, and the lingerie fashion show is even being presented in partnership with Amazon Prime Video. It’s one of Rihanna’s biggest passions at the moment, and she says she’s made sure to stay very involved in all facets of the clothing line.

“Oh my god I’m too involved. I want a break but I’m a control freak so I do everything,” Rihanna shared. “I see everything. There’s not one step of the way, there’s not one lace trim, there’s not one bra strap… there is not one bow on a panty that I do not see and approve.”

“And yeah it’s a lot of work, but it’s the only way you can preserve a brand, that you start from scratch,” she admitted. “Here, I have a unique opportunity to change things. I’ve always been so sincere with my perspective on this brand but to see the way that we’re perceived in the lingerie world.”

“To see people feeling included it also puts a different pressure on me,” Rihanna added. “It makes me feel like now we cannot neglect those consumers.”

At the end the interviewer asked Rihanna about new music and well, Rihanna said we have to wait. Watch the video yourself.

Rihanna Brings Inclusivity and Emmy Buzz to Fashion Week

Via Variety: On Tuesday night in New York, Amazon had its Beyonce moment: Like “Homecoming” brought home a slew of Emmy nominations for Netflix, Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty show seems likely to generate awards buzz for the streaming service — and the superstar.

Rihanna got a standing ovation from the exclusive crowd at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, who came to see the star present her fall/winter 2019 collection at New York Fashion Week show, but ended up witnessing a full-blown television production that will stream on Amazon Prime on Sept. 20.

The show was unlike anything previously staged during Fashion Week — and possibly anywhere. Rather than a catwalk show, the event was more of an audio-visual experience, combining music, art, fashion and dance, creating a multi-sensory experience for the audience. Leave it to Rihanna to bring together lingerie, Emmy-worthy choreography, music, celebrities — Migos, DJ Khaled, Big Sean, A$AP Ferg, Fat Joe, Fabolous, and Tierra Whack all performed, and 21 Savage, Cara Delevingne, Laverne Cox, Normani, Bella and Gigi Hadid and others appeared — all while redefining the rules of the still-progressing fashion industry.

The show began with Rihanna, dimly lit and surrounded by dancers following precise choreography by Parris Goebel, known for Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” video.

But although this was Rihanna’s show, she did not perform: After the opening number, she exited the stage and did not return until her final bow. (And long after the show wrapped, she finally stopped by the few lingering reporters and photographers on the red carpet at around 1 a.m.) The  focus was on fashion, although there was no shortage of top-shelf talent.

The performances began with Big Sean singing “Clique,” for which he was soon joined by A$AP Ferg. Migos took the stage next, surrounded by models and dancers on the runway (which was really a full set of staircases, a shallow pool and brightly-colored windows), along with Fabolous and Tierra Whack. Normani had a stand-out dance routine, and after Halsey’s sensual debut performance of her new single “Graveyard,” DJ Khaled and Fat Joe pumped up the room with “All I Do Is Win” and “All The Way Up” with Khaled yelling, “We love you Rihanna!”

Gigi Hadid, Bella Hadid, Joan Smalls, Christian Combs, Slick Woods — who infamously went into labor just hours after walking in Rihanna’s show last year — and Cara Delevingne, who stars in Amazon’s “Carnival Row, all walked in the show while an even more star-studded lineup watched from the audience, including Chris Rock, Lil Kim, Kacey Musgraves, Diplo, Vanessa Hudgens, Paris and Nicky Hilton, Patrick Schwarzenegger, models Ashley Benson and Ashley Graham, designers Prabal Gurung and Zac Posen — and yes, they were asked to lock up their phones along with the rest of us.

What Rihanna has done to broaden the beauty business with her Fenty products — which brought in a reported $570 million last year — by putting 40 shades of foundation on shelves, she is now doing with her lingerie line, which boasts a tagline that “celebrates fearlessness, confidence and inclusivity.”

Models of all shapes, sizes, ethnicities and identities walked across the stage, with 3X-sized dancers in lingerie and sneakers whipping their hair alongside XS-sized models, and transgender icons — including a red lingerie-clad Laverne Cox — walking the catwalk alongside famed drag queens like “RuPaul’s Drag Race” winner Aquaria next to a model with prosthetic legs.

Rihanna will be credited as executive producer on the production, which was created under her artistic direction. Insiders tell Variety the show will be submitted for next year’s Emmy awards — one of the few applicable awards missing from Rihanna’s trophy case, which includes nine Grammy Awards, seven MTV Video Music Awards and the CFDA Fashion Icon Award.

The most electrifying moment of NYFW

Via Women’s Wear Daily: Without question, Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty fall lingerie-fashion-concert extravaganza was by far the most electrifying moment of New York Fashion Week. It was empowering, entertaining, provocative and sexy, blending fashion and music with an underlying commentary on how a lingerie brand can put on a successful show in a post #MeToo era — whether that lesson was intentional or not.

Following on the heels of high-impact, performance-driven fashion showcases by Pyer Moss and Tommy Hilfiger, the music and fashion icon took a nontraditional approach to highlighting her inclusive designs with charged feminist undertones. Models of all sizes, shapes and races stomped with complete freedom and joy while Halsey, Migos, Big Sean, A$AP Ferg, Fat Joe, Fabolous, DJ Khaled and Tierra Whack performed, a continuation of Rihanna’s creation of a world that truly embraces everyone.

Held at the Barclays Center, the room was alive with renewed energy, and having your phone locked away (to prevent leaked footage) actually enhanced the experience because you were forced to live in the moment and process the show’s messages of empowerment, inclusivity and self-love.

Gigi and Bella Hadid, Cara Delevingne, Joan Smalls and Slick Woods all walked the runway, interspersed with powerful dance performances and appearances by 21 Savage, Laverne Cox and Normani, among others. The coordination and production this all must have required is unfathomable.

As the show was set to begin, an announcer told the audience to “bring the energy!” The lights dimmed. Dancers quietly took their places. Before you knew it, a catsuit-clad Rihanna was opening her own show to roaring applause with a vogueing-like performance that had you yearning for her to start touring again.

It was only the second runway event for Savage x Fenty, and there were keen differences between this year and last.

“I think the first time we were just trying to create this groundbreaking space where people felt safe to be whoever they are. No matter what shape, size, religion, race, I just wanted women to feel confident and to feel expressive,” Rihanna said backstage after the show.

“This year we had a bigger platform and I just wanted to take that even further. I wanted to expand on the women that we have highlighted before — women who aren’t usually highlighted in the space of fashion, whether it’s trans women or, this year, even paraplegic women [Lauren Wasser] who even have prosthetic legs. We wanted to feel like we were giving women a chance to feel sexy where they usually don’t feel sexy.”

There was definitely a heightened tone of female empowerment and body positivity as the show progressed. A sultry Gigi Hadid strutted alone in a slinky bodysuit. Delevingne, clad in green with a crystal wand-like whip, brought a group of similarly dressed dancers slowly to life with a backtrack of Tweet’s sensual anthem “Oops (Oh My).” Couplings of both curvy and petite women walked out in similar outfits with equal amounts of confidence. Cox wore a pink bodysuit and did some hair flips and a high kick right past Migos that got the crowd going. A wall of dancers in bondage-inspired looks basically told you it was OK to embrace your kinks.

There was no archetype to aspire to, no singular look crafted for the male gaze. These were powerful performances by women for women, sprinkled with bras, panties and bodysuits in bright solid colors. Admittedly, it took a moment to readjust preconceived expectations that stemmed from the now-troubled Victoria’s Secret lingerie-show format. It didn’t take long to see how markedly different the two are. Here, you were so enthralled and engaged with the intricately choreographed spectacle that you almost forgot that the whole point was to see some new lingerie.

On how she felt seeing it all come together, Rihanna had this emotional statement to share:

“I couldn’t tell if I wanted to throw up or cry. I was just like this is happening and it’s better than every rehearsal that we’ve seen. So to see it happen in real life and be the best version of it, there’s an outer body experience that happens that you cannot explain, because you want to snatch your soul and it’s already gone with the show because the show is going so great. You just have to put your hands up and say, ‘OK, trust this process, it’s going great, enjoy it,’ and I did today. I did.”

The Savage X Fenty 2019 show will stream exclusively on Amazon Prime Video on September 20.