Rihanna is seen onstage during Rihanna's Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 2 presented by Amazon Prime Video at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles and broadcast on Oct. 2, 2020.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 2 Presented by Amazon Prime Video
Rihanna said she gets into a lot trouble at museums for touching fabrics she’s not supposed to. But in the last few years, she’s been met with rousing applause for how she designs fabrics to cover bodies of different sizes, shapes and skin tones in her annual Savage x Fenty show.
In this heightened corporate climate that beckons for more diversity and inclusion, stemming from this year’s Black Lives Matter movement as Americans continue to mourn the Black lives lost throughout a Groundhog Day-style cycle of police violence, Savage x Fenty remains one of the select brands whose push for inclusivity actually feels authentic. That’s because it’s been her mission to adorn and elevate Black bodies since day one when she launched her lingerie line in 2018.
“We started this company on a Black woman’s back,” she told The Associated Press in an interview this week.
She managed to smooth out any production kinks COVID-19 might’ve caused ahead of her third annual (and second streamed) Savage x Fenty show, which premieres exclusively on Amazon Prime Video in more than 240 countries Friday (Oct. 2). Rihanna, who not only models in her own show but serves as its executive producer and creative director, filmed the digital-only Savage x Fenty Show Vol. 2 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in September, according to The AP. Her fall 2020 collection will be available to shop on Amazon Fashion and the Savage x Fenty website Friday, with bra sizes ranging from 32A to 42H/46DDD and underwear and sleepwear sizes ranging from XS to 3X.
Here are the 10 can’t miss moments from RiRi’s Savage x Fenty Show Vol. 2:
Rosalía’s knockout “Relación” and “TKN” performance
The Spanish superstar took the center spotlight for her Savage x Fenty debut and belted out “Relación,” her latest remix collaboration with Sech, Daddy Yankee and Farruko. Iced out from her neck to her fingernails, Rosalía brought out her coolest dance moves for “TKN,” which was recently nominated for best short form music video at the 2020 Latin Grammys. Her collaborator Travis Scott was nowhere to be found for the performance, but that doesn’t man he’s not part of the Savage x Fenty show.
Normani unveiling herself as the sexiest bride
To the tune of N.E.R.D.‘s “She Wants to Move,” the Savage x Fenty show alum whipped her wedding veil straight to the back of her hair bump with her white latex gloves to unveil an all-white lingerie set. And like the night to her day was an all-black clad Bella Hadid, another show veteran, whose smizing powers — captured by a 360-degree camera angle — felt incredibly piercing and palpable from the screen.
Mustard bringing out Ella Mai to preview new single “Not Another Love Song” and Roddy Ricch for “Ballin'” & “High Fashion”
The DJ brought out his frequent collaborators for special back-to-back performances at his L.A. hometown venue. First, the black silk robe-wearing R&B singer performed a snippet of her brand new single, “Not Another Love Song,” which also arrives on Friday.
The bright rapper later stepped up to the illuminated stage for his and Mustard’s joint “Ballin'” performance, but the Perfect Ten hitmaker quickly reminded him of where they were. “We at a fashion show. The high fashion, the highest of highest fashion,” Mustard declared, which prompted Ricch to transition into his “High Fashion” hit.
Lizzo‘s striking and seductive blue ensemble
The cover star of Vogue‘s October 2020 issue snapped in a cobalt blue fishnet ‘fit that captured her magnetizing charm. And as D’Angelo‘s sensual slow jam “Brown Sugar” played in the background, Lizzo looked and felt herself up and down in the mirror with complete satisfaction that she’s the only brown sugar anyone needs. The “Juice” singer was, as always, refreshingly comfortable in her own skin, something highlighted in her Vogue cover story when she discussed being “body-normative” as a more proactive stance compared to being body positive.
Bad Bunny‘s “Yo Perreo Sola” solo dancing sensation
Before the Puerto Rican artist appeared in his first Savage x Fenty show, Rihanna discussed sexuality in the interview portion of the show, saying, “It’s that empowerment of wearing whatever the hell I want, however the hell I wanna wear it, for myself. Not even for anybody else.” Bad Bunny exuded that very empowering only-for-me attitude while dancing by himself in the midst of neon light panels and singing “Yo Perreo Sola,” his reggaeton anthem dedicated to women who like to dance alone at the club. And much like how RiRi bends traditional gender barriers, Bad Bunny, who dressed in drag for the viral music video, poses no rules for who can relate to this song.
RiRi’s great reveal in a forest nymph fairytale soundtracked to Frank Ocean’s “Self Control”
Nothing could be more mystical than Ocean’s Blonde highlight “Self Control” playing while dancers with flower petals for eyelashes prance around a rainbow-colored forest wearing lavender lingerie. The blonde primary dancer displayed poetically erratic moves that were in sync with the distorted sample in the song’s outro. But soon enough, a blooming pink flower revealed Rihanna in her shimmering glory. The Bajan singer stepped out in a purple floral boa, wearing a matching lace bodysuit, latex gloves and latex thigh-high boots, ruling over her forest (and fashion show) domain before veiling herself back in the heart of the flower.
Miguel dancing with his wife Nazanin Mandi while performing “Adorn” & “Waves”
Anyone who follows the superstar couple on social media knows all too well that the camera loves to capture the love between them. So when Mandi walked out in the same forest fairytale setting with her Tinker Bell-resembling ensemble, it’s no surprise she darted straight toward her husband and danced with him while he performed “Adorn,” the song he wrote about her. He later capped his performance with the Tame Impala remix of “Waves.”
Rihanna’s breakdown for her inclusive standpoint
During the “community”-themed interview segment, the Savage x Fenty creator explained how her inspiration for inclusivity comes from the family she was born into and the family she created for herself, which “come in all different shapes, sizes, races, religions.” But what seems like common sense to her has revolutionized the fashion industry as a whole, one that hasn’t been historically accepting or nurturing of people from different walks of life walking in runway shows — let alone lingerie runway shows. “Inclusivity for me has always been something second nature, it’s not really anything to think about,” she said. “I didn’t think it would be such a talking point after the fact.”
Christian Combs’ first-ever presentation of Savage x Fenty menswear line
No one slept on Diddy’s son when he appeared at the Savage x Fenty show last year, when neon lights and a chunky diamond chains cascaded across his bare chest and underwear with a “Savage X Fenty” waistband hugged his lower waist. The 22-year-old model and Rihanna announced their official design collaboration this week, featuring pajamas, boxers and trunks for both men and women that’ll be available in the fall 2020 collection. While an assembly line of shirtless factory workers danced around him, Combs made his grand return and official Savage x Fenty menswear debut, equally iced out as last time, but extra protected with multiple pairs of boxers. Last year’s performer and this year’s model Big Sean also showed them off while walking earlier in the show.
Travis Scott & Young Thug‘s debut “Franchise” performance as the show’s encore
Remember when “TKN” played but there was no sign of Rosalía’s partner? How could there possibly be an encore for a pre-taped show? The final lesson here is to never underestimate Scott, who surprisingly emerged on screen, pausing the end credits, with Thugger. The Houston rapper hustled around crate loaders in a smoky backstage area, squatted with his frequent collaborator at the top of a staircase, and finally descended to catch a ride atop a forklift-turned-stage, where he performed his brand new single. Scott, Thug and M.I.A. (who was absent from the performance) only dropped “Franchise” last Friday (Sept. 25). The Astroworld artist filmed the music video at Michael Jordan’s legendary Chicago mansion. Now, he’s performing it for the first time ever on television at the Savage x Fenty show. Scott’s affiliation with big franchise names only grows stronger, much like Rihanna’s lingerie brand grows stronger as a big franchise name.