Over the years, triple threat star Rihanna has not shied away from trying new things. Her eclectic styles and looks, or should we just say thirst traps, are regularly jaw-dropping. And the Fenty Beauty creator has yet another new trick up her sleeve – a Billie Eilish green mullet.
Taking on a mullet is not for the faint of heart. Luckily, Rihanna can adopt any kind of new look and transform it into art. Yes, even a green mullet. In her new spread for Vogue Italia, the “Umbrella” singer was given carte blanche to style and photograph herself as part of a “DIY” theme. See the final results here:
Most of us mere mortals could not possibly contemplate merging green tones with a mullet, and live to tell the tale. I myself would probably have ended up looking like I came straight out of Trolls Village and promptly changed it back. Even Billie Eilish herself has traded in her signature neon green hair and baggy clothes for blonde locks and corsets, for the time being at least. For Rihanna, though, it appears green mullets are but a horse of a different color.
The singer-actress-beauty empire queen that is Rihanna can pull off a neon mullet precisely because her audaciousness is part of her appeal. Whether it’s a brief role as an alien stripper in Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets or the successful run of her Savage X Fenty shows, Rihanna knows how to shock and awe in a way that seems more purposeful than just for the sake of it. In her last Savage X Fenty Show that premiered in October on Amazon Prime Video, the singer also continued to deliver on her promise that her brand is inclusive, with the likes of Cara Delevingne, Lizzo, and more all featured in the lingerie fashion show-meets-performance art.
Rihanna hasn’t had a new album since Anti in 2016 but has instead decided to channel her focus into her multi-million-dollar beauty and lingerie brand. She has spoken in the past about needing the heart of the brand to be authentic, saying in her 2019 Vogue cover:
I’m not the face of my brand, but I am the muse, and my DNA has to run all the way through it. I don’t want anyone to pull up my website and think, Rihanna would never wear that.
But Rihanna has also been in a little bit of hot water recently for her wild stylistic choices. In February, she was called out for cultural appropriation after posting a near-topless pic with a Hindu God necklace. She also faced similar criticisms in the past after a Harper’s Bazaar China cover in 2019 and continuing to wear burqas in the name of fashion.
At least Rihanna’s new mullet look is both edgy and palatable – words one would never expect to be paired with mullet. That’s Rihanna for you. The only question left now is, where is that ninth studio album?
