Rihanna Turns Down Lucrative Vegas Gig: Focuses On Fashion Ventures


Though Rihanna has released her eighth studio album, ANTI, the singer has been focused on branding herself in the fashion and beauty industry. She even turned down a lucrative Vegas appearance.

Rihanna will be performing in Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay Events Center this coming weekend as part of her ANTI World Tour. According to a report in the Las Vegas Sun, an unnamed venue has attempted to snag the singer for “the opening weekend of a new beach club season.” Rihanna turned down the $500,000 appearance because it would “also get tied into the opening of a nightclub, and that would be a separate duty.”

While RiRi’s manager urged her to take the lucrative deal, the Bad Gal insisted on turning down the offer. In addition, Rihanna has implemented a no-photography rule for her upcoming Vegas shows. Apparently the saying, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,” is a rule she will impose on Saturday and Sunday.

According to the BoomBox, the North American part of Rihanna’s ANTI tour has been successful. She’s been selling out tickets and winning praise with her performances across North America. RiRi shocked fans in Calgary, Alberta, with an emotional Prince tribute during that stop on her tour. But if Rihanna’s music career doesn’t work out for some reason, she always has her fashion and beauty ventures to fall back on.

The singer nearly broke the internet when she rolled out her Puma slides. The $80 shoes — that come in black, pink, and white — sold out immediately when they were released on Friday, April 22. Lucky fans snagged the slides at Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom, and of course, Puma. But some of the purchases made on Nordstorm.com may not arrive at all. Now, the slides can only be found on eBay for a whopping $1,000 each.

Last week, it was reported that Rihanna scored a $10 million dollar contract from LVMH to release her first-ever makeup line. She just released her new collection in collaboration with Stance socks, which have also been selling out every time. In addition, she has become the first black woman to become the face of Dior.

A 2015 survey revealed that Rihanna is the most marketable celebrity in the world. The reason why Rihanna sells is because of her branding power. Everybody wants to embrace their inner “Bad Gal,” Shanu Walpita, WGSN’s Youth Editor, told Complex.

“There’s a level of controversy to her and to some people that’s scary, but to others it’s really appealing. The brands that are turning her down are probably brands that don’t really work with her image anyway. It makes sense that there are only certain brands that want to work with her and vice versa. So it only strengthens her branding.”

Walpita added that Rihanna is well-respected in the fashion industry. In 2014, she received her first CFDA Fashion Icon Award for her major impact on the fashion world.

“She’s so part of the fashion scene. She’s always at fashion shows, at fashion weeks, she collaborated with different designers, she’s been the muse [to] different designers.”

The reason why consumers buy Rihanna’s clothing is that they believe she would wear it. She only collaborates with brands and designers that only she would wear, so it doesn’t come off as fake. Rihanna’s fans can look to her as a friend, and trust her fashion sense.

“She’s stylish and that’s awesome,” Walpita added. “But I do think the strength of pop stars is that individuality…She’s not a malleable pop star who will be dressed and told to wear certain things. That’s probably why she’s so popular in fashion — she really stands for something.”

There’s no doubt that Rihanna creates a little controversy when she wears some of the items. For instance, she’s known for wearing revealing tops and dresses that show off her pierced nipples, but it somehow works because it’s so her. It doesn’t come off as cheap or desperate. If Rihanna is wearing something it’s because she thinks it’s cool, and that makes it appear cool to everyone else. It’s the same way with her music, as well.

Rihanna didn’t want to release her album until it was “perfect” to her. Though ANTI is experimental from her previous works, there’s still something about it that’s still very RiRi.

[Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Coachella]

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