Rihanna Returns to Dior

Rihanna is set to reprise her role as the face of Christian Dior, industry sources said.

The Barbadian singer, actress and beauty entrepreneur — who was spotted in Paris fêteing Valentine’s Day last week with partner A$AP Rocky — came to the French capital to shoot a campaign at the Château de Versailles, lensed by Steven Klein and styled by Carine Roitfeld, BoF has learned.

Rihanna became Dior’s first Black ambassador in 2015, starring in a blockbuster accessories campaign for the brand, also shot by Klein and set in Versailles, that year. The partnership — which coincided with major brand projects including the “Dior & Me” documentary and the “Designer of Dreams” fashion retrospective — helped anchor Dior’s cultural relevance as it navigated its second designer transition in less than 5 years.

Rihanna’s memorable Dior looks over the years have included extravagant pink capes, androgynous oversized suiting and a stomach-baring, see-through couture ensemble that made waves during her pregnancy in 2022.

While the scope of Rihanna’s new deal with Dior remains unknown, the Fenty Beauty founder did not attend the shows of other brands when she travelled to Paris for Dior’s January haute couture outing, suggesting that a renewed partnership could be in the works beyond the campaign. Representatives for Rihanna and Dior declined to comment.

As interest in luxury brands cools following a multi-year boom for the segment, fashion’s biggest names are accelerating efforts to stay in the cultural spotlight through brand ambassadorships that help reach an audience beyond fashion. LVMH stablemate Louis Vuitton announced Wednesday it had signed French basketball sensation Victor Wembanyama; while Chanel recently signed K-pop star Minji.

Renewing its ties with Rihanna would be a boon to Dior, as the singer has long managed to cultivate both mainstream recognition and high-fashion clout. Her appearance at the brand’s January haute couture show alone generated press and social media visibility worth an estimated $9.3 million, according to consultancy Launchmetrics.

The brand is currently seeking to maintain industry-beating growth after a cycle of rapid expansion under former chief executive Pietro Beccari, during which revenues more than tripled in 5 years.

Under new CEO Delphine Arnault, the brand is targeting annual growth of 8 to 10 percent, LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault said in a January presentation to investors: more moderate than in previous years but higher than expectations for the broader luxury industry, which is set to grow by 1 to 4 percent in 2024 (slower than global inflation), according to Bain.

“The goal is desirability… It’s great what we did with Pietro these past few years with Dior. But we’ve reached a stage such that we no longer need to have such high growth. Between 8 percent and 10 percent is perfect,” Arnault said.