Rihanna looks like a baddie queen in behind-the-scenes footage from her Dior ad

By Fusion Staff  |  April 15, 2015 | 7:22pm
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Footage from Robin Rihanna Fenty’s first Dior “Secret Garden” ad has emerged, and it has the first black spokeswoman for the French heritage brand frolicking about Versailles like the baddie queen that she is.

As Fader reports, the behind-the-scenes clip quietly materialized earlier this week on the interwebs. RiRi can be seen channeling her inner-supermodel as she primps and preens, and hawks some serious luxurious goods against the dark backdrop of night. The haunting warble of the singer’s possible (?) new track, “A Night” plays overhead, making the historical placement all the more dramatic and cinematic.

With the words “a night” on loop, Zara Golden at Fader points out the song is a sampling and remix of Florence + the Machine’s 2011 hit, “Only If For One Night”, and speculates it is the very same new song RiRi registered with ASCAP in January.

Only time will tell, but what is certain is that RiRi knows how to sell some leather goods in the dead of night. Just notice how the bags are prominently displayed, she flicking them into the camera lens, as she broods behind some tinted shades: that’s supermodel 101.

In another scene, the striking pop star is bedecked in a leather trench coat, replete with red gloves and a dark lip, looking like a lady-like would-be assassin.

Then things get really Martha Graham, with the Bajan pop princess prancing about the gardens in interpretative dance mode, twirling about a grassy knoll in a white Dior frock, seemingly barefoot.

There she is, sashaying away from the encroaching lens, flicking her skirt and wrist, moving about the gardens with attitude and sass.

Then, in a fit of fervor, she collapses on Versailles’ grounds and rolls about in those diamonds and couture like a raving, modern-day autocrat.

What photographer Steven Klein will make of these disparate but enrapturing images won’t be known until later this spring when the ads debut, but it’s thrilling how Rihanna has single-handedly upended luxury fashion and its often lily-white casting decisions with her signature IDGAF flare.

Watch the BTS footage in its entirety, below!

Marjon Carlos is a style and culture writer for Fusion who boasts a strong turtleneck game and opinions on the subjects of fashion, gender, race, pop culture, and men’s footwear.

 
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