The Fenty fashion line, launched in 2019 by Rihanna, went down in history as the first luxury brand run by a woman of color. It was also only the second luxury fashion house launched by the French conglomerate LVMH - after Christian Lacroix in 1987.
Although it comes as a surprise the news that this line is partly a victim of pamdemia.
The brand, known for shoes, denim items and glasses, has struggled with supply chain issues and the singer, who is based in the US, has not been able to travel in order to collaborate with the fashion team in Paris.
During a press conference in October, LVMH chief financial officer Jean-Jacques Guiony also hinted that they had their share of problems.
"In Fenty fashion, we are obviously still in a launch phase and need to understand exactly what the right offer is," he was quoted as saying by the New York Times.
"It's not something that is easy. We are starting completely from scratch. Obviously we have a lot of help from Rihanna for that, but I would say it is still a work in progress when it comes to really determining what the offer will be. ”
Prices are above what her fans could afford (£ 300 jeans) also played a factor.
Despite other LVMH-owned fashion brands such as Dior and Louis Vuitton reversing the downward trend during the pandemic, net profits for the parent company fell 34% in 2020, according to the WWD website.
Fenty's final collection, a collaboration with stylist Amina Muaddi, was in November last year and his last Instagram post was on January 1st.
Fenty's bankruptcy will not affect its side projects, the Savage X Fenty and Fenty Skin lingerie, which are both considered successful in their field: the former made $ 108 million last year and the latter , has made 26 26 million in four months, according to WWD.
