Rihanna may have looked cool and collected next to the debut collection for her new fashion label, Fenty, wearing a brilliant white tuxedo dress and a 1,000-watt smile. But on the inside it was another story. “It’s all a facade,” said the Barbados-born star who has become the first black woman to open a major Parisian fashion house. “I’m passionate about what I do, so there’s pressure every single second. It’s not like crumbling pressure, but it’s like: ‘You better get it good, girl.’” News of the singer’s groundbreaking deal with LVMH, the world’s largest luxury group, shook up the fashion industry earlier this month. Rihanna is the first woman, and the first member of a minority group, to create a major brand under the luxury giant from scratch. At age 31, that’s no small feat. The collection is named after the singer-turned-designer’s last name: She was born Robyn Rihanna Fenty. The readyto-wear, footwear, accessories, and eyewear are available for sale in Paris’ Le Marais area in a pop-up store and will debut online Wednesday. Speaking in the store as cameras snapped and whirred, she said she felt the time was right to make a move like this. It comes one year after LVMH’s Louis Vuitton named its first ever black American designer for menswear, Virgil Abloh. “Right now, fashion in general has been stepping up a lot and been vocal about issues — whether it’s subtly or aggressively,” she said. While she said Fenty’s ambitions are not “political,” they’re infused with the story of “me as an immigrant moving to America.”
Authorities say a court hearing has not yet been scheduled for comedian Artie Lange after his arrest on a charge of having failed to comply with his court-ordered drug program. The Essex County sheriff in New Jersey says Lange was arrested Tuesday morning at a halfway house on an unspecified violation. Sheriff Armando Fontoura told NJ.com that Lange would remain at the county jail until he is called before a judge for re-evaluation. Attempts to reach a representative who could comment on Lange’s behalf were unsuccessful. Lange spent almost a week in the county jail earlier this year after a positive drug test. He was placed on probation last year after pleading guilty to heroin possession. The 51-year-old was on the Fox sketch comedy series Mad TV and was a longtime co-host on radio’s The Howard Stern Show.
