美国国家公共电台 NPR Rihanna Disrupts Luxury Fashion World, Joining LVMH With 'Fenty' Brand

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

You may know her for her music. But for the past few years, she's been breaking barriers in other industries - makeup¹ and fashion. She's now the first woman and the first woman of color to launch a fashion line with the historic LVMH or Moet Hennessey - Louis Vuitton, the world's largest luxury group. The line will be called Fenty, which is the singer's last name. But it's also the name to the cosmetics² empire she launched in 2017. To talk to us about this moment and what it means for the industry, we're joined by Tanisha Ford³. She's a professor of Africana studies at the University of Delaware and often writes about fashion and black identity.

Welcome.

TANISHA FORD: Hello.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: It is hard, I think, to overstate what a big deal this is.

FORD: This is indeed a major moment for luxury fashion. And it's a major moment for people who come of age in the hip-hop generation. We see a woman of color with this much creative control in a luxury market where, typically, European men have dominated. We have a woman from Barbados who is now the face of a luxury empire.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: You know, Fenty, as a fashion line, is the first new line to join the LVMH family since 1987, which is extraordinary. But I wonder, what does it say about the fashion industry itself? You mention that it has taken so long for a woman and a person of color to join the scene.

FORD: Right. So if we think about what luxury fashion has meant for centuries, really, it's an idea that it's a market for the most exclusive people in the world. It reflects a lifestyle that very few people in the world live. And, therefore, for most of us, it's just a fantasy. So by nature, it wasn't a market that was designed for everyday people of color to participate in it. But what we see is that in recent years, that same old-guard fashion industry has been under attack. They're consistently getting it wrong in terms of releasing fashion goods that viewers and people who wear the fashions have considered racist⁴. A lot of these luxury brands have been accused of cultural appropriation⁵ over the year. And people who are fashion critics and everyday fashion-lovers have said, well, part of the problem is you have a diversity issue. You don't have people of color at the highest ranks of your fashion industry.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yeah. African Americans have a buying power of up to $1.2 trillion, so their economic impact is huge. I mean, it seems like this is not only good for the brand, and it takes it into the 21st century. But it's also good economic sense.

FORD: Exactly. And that's the thing that black communities have been trying to say to the fashion industry, particularly the haute couture fashion industry, for decades - especially the hip-hop generations who have rapped about Gucci and Louis Vuitton and Givenchy and all these designer brands. You know, we've put those things on the map.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FORMATION")

BEYONCE: (Rapping) I'm so reckless when I rock my Givenchy dress.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "STRONGER")

KANYE WEST: (Rapping) Awesome⁶ - the Christian⁷ in Christian Dior - damn, they don't make 'em like this anymore.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ROLLIN")

CARDI B: (Rapping) That Louis Vuitton, our uniform - 24 karat - my grills⁸.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MERCY")

2 CHAINZ: (Rapping) Black diamonds - backpack rhyming - co-signed by Louis Vuitton.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HENNESSY")

2PAC: (Rapping) Hennessy - just pour me a glass - Hennessy.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BIG POPPA")

BIGGIE SMALLS: (Rapping) The back of the club sipping⁹ Moet is where you'll find me.

FORD: Even the Moet and Hennessy lines of alcohol that LVMH represents - so it's like, why wouldn't you recognize our buying power? Why do you continue to sell these goods to your ideal customer, who is a white buyer? But with Rihanna - she's not just a figurehead. She is the leader of a house. And that is major.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: So with everything that you're saying about this, is it enough, though?

FORD: I think that it's a step in a positive direction. I think that representation matters. And so this is, indeed, a lovely moment to see. But I think that we need to see a multi-prong approach. So I would love for Rihanna to not be the only. I would love to see this be a model that other luxury brands and other more well-price-pointed brands accept as well. And I'd like to also see the end of this notion that luxury is not for people of color because it excludes a large part of the buying market. And it means that black and brown people are highly susceptible¹⁰ to racial profiling and hyper-policing when they do go into luxury stores to buy these goods.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Tanisha Ford is a professor of Africana studies at the University of Delaware and the author of the upcoming book "Dressed In Dreams: A Black Girl's Love Letter To The Power Of Fashion."

Thank you so much.

FORD: Thank you, Lulu.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PON DE REPLAY")

RIHANNA: (Singing) Mr. DJ, song pon de replay. Come, Mr. DJ, won't you turn the music up?

1 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

2 cosmetics   

n.化妆品

参考例句：

• We sell a wide range of cosmetics at a very reasonable price. 我们以公道的价格出售各种化妆品。
• Cosmetics do not always cover up the deficiencies of nature. 化妆品未能掩饰天生的缺陷。

3 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

4 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

5 appropriation   

n.拨款，批准支出

参考例句：

• Our government made an appropriation for the project.我们的政府为那个工程拨出一笔款项。
• The council could note an annual appropriation for this service.议会可以为这项服务表决给他一笔常年经费。

6 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

7 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

8 grills   

n.烤架( grill的名词复数 )；（一盘）烤肉；格板；烧烤餐馆v.烧烤( grill的第三人称单数 )；拷问，盘问

参考例句：

• Backyard barbecue grills could be proscribed. 里弄烤肉店会被勒令停业的。 来自辞典例句
• Both side inlets have horizontal grills and incorporate impressive fog lamps. 两侧进气口的水平烤架并纳入令人印象深刻的雾灯。 来自互联网

9 sipping   

v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She sat in the sun, idly sipping a cool drink. 她坐在阳光下懒洋洋地抿着冷饮。
• She sat there, sipping at her tea. 她坐在那儿抿着茶。

10 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。