A new day, a new venture for Rihanna.
Today she was officially announced as the new contributing creative director. As part of a three-year deal, Rihanna will be designing socks and leading campaigns for the company.
She’s also becoming one of Stance’s brand ambassadors, joining celebrities like former NBA All-Star Allen Iverson as the so-called “Punks and Poets.”
While her first full collection for Stance won’t hit stores until fall, Rihanna is releasing two styles that she designed on the company’s Web site today. Numbered like a limited edition from one to 1,500, the crew socks come in men’s and women’s sizing at a retail price of $30. There are 1,000 of the over-the-knee style, which sells for $26. Both made of combed cotton, the designs feature sublimated prints in red, white and black of newsprint typography and vintage movie art. Rihanna put a personal stamp on the product by emblazoning the phrase “Bad Gal” all over the designs along with her last name, Fenty, in a Gothic typeface on the back of the crew socks.
“I’ve had a great relationship with Stance for a long time and I am happy to be working with them on such a fun and creative project,” said Rihanna, whose relationship with the brand dates back to 2012, when the company custom-made socks for her cover photo shoot with Complex magazine.
The sock gig is the latest endeavor for Rihanna who already holds the titles of global brand ambassador and women’s creative director at Puma. When not topping the music charts, she has also designed for retailer River Island and modeled for fashion and beauty labels including MAC, Balmain and, lately, Dior.
“She creatively pushes the boundaries in everything she does,” said Candy Harris, senior vice president of Stance’s women’s division. “It’s nice to work with out-of-the box ideas for our brand.”
Stance plans to make a strong digital ad play for Rihanna’s fall collection, which will retail from $18 to $28. Rihanna served as creative director of the fall campaign. The company usually sells its wares at retailers such as Colette, American Rag Cie, Nordstrom and Shopbop.com, but it has yet to finalize the list of retailers that will carry Rihanna’s 18 styles for fall. Her holiday collection is due in November.
“There are very few women in fashion whose personal style can go from street to couture in a blink,” Harris said. “She does it with such credibility and authenticity. It makes her an original.”
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