Somewhere out there in social media today, there is a hearty debate going on over whether Rihanna’s current beau is her longtime friend and sometime collaborator A$AP Rocky, a rumor fueled by a Monday afternoon report by People. To catch you up, the two have publicly been in each other’s orbit since the rapper opened for Rih’s Diamonds world tour in 2013, and collaborated on Rih’s Fenty Skin campaign this past July, as the baby-faced A$AP proved an ideal male ambassador for her skincare launch. That appearance was followed by mutual interviews for GQ and Vogue, both of which suggested ample camaraderie and possible chemistry (jury’s still out on whether they were actually in the same room at the time).
“I think the hardest part about working with you is not goofin’ off and laughing the whole time. Like this shit is comedy,” A$AP responded when asked about working with the mogul and muse (h/t People). “That’s the hardest part. You know, people be so cool it’s hard not to, not to laugh. That’s all. But it was fun. The hardest part is not having too much fun. You just forget that it’s still work, at the end of the day.”
Well, maybe it’s not all work and no play, since piggybacking off Page Six’s report of a sighting of the two with friends at New York City’s Beatrice Inn on Saturday night, an unidentified and unquoted source reportedly confirmed to People that the two are, in fact, intimate friends—or maybe friends with benefits. Or maybe friends who just made out that one time. Who knows? But is it weird that this news is surprisingly...underwhelming?
That’s no slight to A$AP, but honestly, who Rihanna’s dating has probably been the least interesting thing about her extremely interesting evolution over the past decade. Frankly, whether Drake, longtime boyfriend Hassan Jameel, or...whoever, it’s been ancillary but non-essential information about a woman who has literally built an empire in the five years since penning the reportedly autobiographical (yet cathartic) “Bitch Better Have My Money.” I mean, we’ve taken more interest in her shoe and hair changes (and always solo Met Gala appearances) during that same period. So, please excuse us if instead of lingering on this latest rumored romance, we turn our focus to Rih’s latest campaign for her lingerie brand, Savage x Fenty...because these thigh-highs she’s wearing are the real mystery we needed to unravel this season.
For the record, she’s also wearing the brand’s Plush Velvet Tie-Front Unlined Bra and Peek-a-Boo Sleep Shorts. But we had our own hearty internal debate over whether she’d paired the look with boots or stockings before confirming that these are, in fact, white latex thigh-highs paired with the rhinestone ankle-wrapped “Vita” sandal by Fenty Maison collaborator Amina Muaddi, who also designed the heels Rih kicked up in the spring campaign, as well as those worn with similar thigh-high looks for this fall’s Savage x Fenty show. In fact, this exact shoe/stocking combination was worn by Normani with her bridal look—that’s where we’d seen this pairing before!
But despite their prevalence throughout the viral and acclaimed Savage show—and despite our own thorough searches of the site—we could not locate the thigh-highs anywhere among the Savage x Fenty offerings—and it’s because they aren’t sold there. Thanks to the Rihanna-devoted Instagram page Haus of Rihanna, the stockings (and matching opera gloves, which are only barely visible in the hero photo) were identified as bespoke (read: custom made) by Atsuko Kudo, who is also the designer of the gloves worn by Beyoncé in her recent British Vogue cover story. What does this mean to the average civilian hoping to emulate Rih’s ice queen look? Well, do you have bespoke latex money, Honey?
Granted, Rih’s also wearing a $125,000 diamond & sapphire necklace and Ceylon sapphire and diamond flower earrings worth an undisclosed amount, so...let’s just call this hot as ice campaign the fantasy it’s meant to be, shall we? Besides, Rih isn’t the only attraction on Savage x Fenty this season; fellow savage and brand ambassador Megan Thee Stallion returns for another lingerie-laden appearance, treating us to bedazzled brows and more body-ody-ody-ody-ody-ody-ody, because #TisTheSavage!
See what we did there? We actually managed to devote more page space to Rihanna’s business ventures than digging into her personal business/adventures. You know what that is? Growth. But if you’re still hoping to recreate a little of Rih’s Savage holiday magic for the special someone in your life (and yes, that includes yourself), might we suggest the aptly named “Commitment Issues” crotchless suspender fishnet bodystocking?