Rihanna for River Island

It has been announced that Rihanna is designing a collection for River Island. I am not into Rihanna as a musician simply because it isn't my kind of music but, fashion-wise, I do 'get her'. I can see why she is the perfect choice for a high street collaboration as she is 'the' role model for young teenage girls whose primary destinations for fashion are brands like River Island.

I've been trying to pinpoint Rihanna's style to get a taste for what to expect but like any young female into fashion, it changes constantly. Sometimes she'll be pictured in an outfit I absolutely love and other times... not so much. Lately she seems to have latched onto what I like to call the 'Tumblr trend'. (That is not a mocking term, I'm guilty myself of jumping onto the band wagon! My own feet are adorned with creepers as we speak.) So studs, creepers, disco pants etc.

I expect the collection will be an amalgamation of Rihanna's style but entwined with the trademark River Island 'bling' (cringe - sorry I couldn't think of a better way of putting it!) I think the bulk of the collection will probably be casual street-wear inspired stuff so t-shirts, snap-backs and that kind of thing. However, I'm more curious to find out what the dresses and smarter pieces will be like. River Island already have a few pieces in their collection that match my expectations of what the collection will be like and it kind of exemplifies why Rihanna is the ideal choice.

River Island A/W 12 - Black drape front leather jacket

Rihanna-style cap from River Island A/W 12. (Image from Fashion Editor at Large)

Many are questioning why she chose River Island over the likes of Topshop but to me, Rihanna isn't Topshop collaboration material. Topshop are becoming more comfortable with doing collaborations with established fashion designers rather than celebrities. My mum and I frequently talk about River Island when shopping as she used to shop there back in the 70s when it was 'Chelsea Girl'. As I've always explained to her, to me River Island is like Topshop on drugs - the clothing is similar but everything seems to be adorned with diamantes, studs or metallics. (This is a very sweeping generalisation - there are of course lovely exceptions.) I've bought very few items from River Island as they always take it just bit too far on the final detailing. For example, their jeans are a lovely fit but there seems to be an obsession with adorning them with some added useless extras like diamantes or buckles. Their handbags similarly fall victim to the outlandish logos. They've tried to cash in on 'logo mania' that fashion houses such as Chanel have brought into the mainstream but for me, it just doesn't work. However, while I'm not a fan of their clothing I do respect River Island as a brand and I think they've made some very clever moves in the last few years to revives the brand. Selling their wares on ASOS was a particularly notable one.

River Island logo cross body bag

I've always been more of a Topshop girl at heart so while I won't be queuing up at midnight for this one, I'll be interested to see what comes out of it. But from past experiences of pop star collaborations, I'm definitely more into the H&M/Topshop fashion designer collaborations.

(sorry I couldn't resist)