They said/We said: Rihanna plans to launch a clothing line

Just when we thought the world had enough (or one too many) celebrity clothing lines, Rihanna decided to give us another one. Yes, the Barbadian singer took to On Air with Ryan Secreast to announce her intentions of launching a fashion line of her own.

While RiRi doesn’t actually have any design chops of her own (then again, when has that ever mattered before?), she intends on earning the respect of the fashion industry by working closely with designers:

“This is also a road that I want to earn it. So I’m working with designers. Designers that I respect, and [fashion] companies that I respect. I want people to really trust me before I just say ‘Buy it, because it’s mine.'” Hmmm, is this starting to sound suspiciously like Kanye West part 2 to anyone else?

To be fair, Rihanna does have some serious commercial power behind her. After being spotted on the Jonathan Ross Show in head-to-toe Boy London, UK retailer Selfridges saw sales of the brand soar 45 per cent overnight. And then there’s her two-year-strong “design collaboration” with Emporio Armani (though the word “collaboration” has literally lost all meaning to us ever since Lindsay Lohan pastied Ungaro).

Maybe we’ll be eating our words in a year’s time, but we’re not too optimistic. While the singer has had some major fashion wins of late (think: her “self-designed” Armani Grammy gown) sometimes her taste is just a tad questionable. Remember her Thug Life tattoo? We do. And frankly, we’re not #overit.

THEY SAID:

Grazia Daily : “Although there’s no news on when the line will be ready for public consumption, you can consider us on the edge of our seats…” [Grazia Daily]

Styleite: “It remains to be seen whether the collection will be a Kanye-esque stab at high fashion or something a tad more commercially viable. We don’t think even Rihanna would dare follow Yeezy down that path.” [Styleite]

Daily Mail: “Judging by Rihanna’s love of risqué clothing, the collection is unlikely to appeal to the faint-hearted.” [Daily Mail]

WE SAID:

Eliza Grossman, assistant fashion editor: “If Jessica Simpson can build an empire, so can anyone. Good luck to them all!”

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