In January, it was announced that Rihanna would become the first black female designer to have a label as part of the LVMH conglomerate. This week, it was revealed that the project has a name and multi-million euro funding.
The title of the venture is Project Loud France – named in honour of the singer’s fifth album, Loud – and it has around €60m (£50m) worth of investment split between Rihanna and the conglomerate, which also owns Louis Vuitton, Celine and Christian Dior. Rihanna will be a 49.99% shareholder.
This information was obtained by The Business of Fashion, who have had access to documents detailing the company’s set-up. This is the first new brand the group has launched since Christian Lacroix in 1987. According to an article on their website, Rihanna has invested €2,998,800 (£2,571,000) while LVMH have brought €30m (£25m). This suggests there are high hopes that a Rihanna fashion brand is a project worth investing in. It has also been reported that Project Loud France is registered at the same address as LVMH Fashion Group, which looks after brands including Celine, Givenchy and Marc Jacobs.
This faith isn’t, of course, just based on the reach of a celebrity. Rihanna’s ability to connect with millennials and Gen Z consumers has been tried and tested in both beauty and fashion. Her Fenty Beauty line – which pioneered diversity by having first 40 and then 50 shades of foundation to cater to different skin tones – had consumers queuing outside stores to buy products. The brand reportedly generated $100m (£75m) in the first 40 days after launch. It was first launched by Kendo, the LVMH initiative to develop beauty brands.
Her Fenty fashion label, launched with Puma in 2015, has also been successful. The first trainers she designed sold out in 35 minutes, and she was credited, in part, with Puma’s profits increasingly 92.2% in 2017. Savage x Fenty, her lingerie line launched in May 2018, has also been well received, with queues outside stores for products. The New York fashion week show in September was praised for diverse, body-positive casting and held up as an example of what a modern lingerie line looks like – compared to Victoria’s Secret.
While her entrepreneurism is impressive, Rihanna’s star power is also part of the package here. She has 67.9m followers on Instagram, where she regularly shares images of herself in outfits including a ruffle cocktail dress or a snakeskin dress and matching bucket hat. The direct connection with her fans saw her crowned “Most marketable celebrity” in 2016. The NPD Group, who conducted the research, judged that Rihanna’s followers would be 3.7 times more likely to buy something seen on her account than that of other celebrities.
LVMH are working on a new brand with French designer Nicolas Ghesquière, too. This is likely to pique fashion insiders’ interests. Ghesquière is also creative director of Louis Vuitton. Like Project Loud France, the date of this launch is unknown.
