Rihanna’s the New Creative Director of a … Sock Brand
Photo: WENN
Rihanna always surprises us–one minute she’s sporting athletic tights and a crop top, and the next she’s red carpet Rihanna in a sparkly, see-through gown and fur stole. Her latest fashion move might be her most unexpected yet though: The pop star’s just been named contributing creative director of Stance, the official sock provider of the NBA.
Yes, Rihanna is the creative director of a sock company.
According to Candy Harris, VP of womenswear at Stance Socks, it’s partly RiRi’s versatile style that landed her the gig: “She’s one of the few women in fashion whose style can go from street to couture in the blink of an eye,” she said.
A limited collection of over-the-knee and crew-cut socks, called “Murder Rih Wrote,” will launch the partnership.
“I know a lot of people are probably saying, ‘Why socks?,’” admits Harris. “And that’s really the beauty of it, and that’s why Rihanna’s perfect, because she’s constantly innovating and looking to see what’s next. Socks are not really a trend; they’re a fashion staple.”
On the surface, it might be puzzling why already rich and famous faces take on extra work with random companies pretty far outside of their regular domain. We’re not just talking about Rihanna either—Marc Jacobs was appointed creative director at Diet Coke in 2013, and before that, Lady Gaga took on a similar position at Polaroid.
Photo: Stance
Kristi McCormick, a casting director and founder of agency Matchbook Company, offered us some insight last year, explaining celebrities like Rihanna actually benefit massively from taking on creative director positions.
“If the program is a success, the celebrity has a good case study to attract investors to build future businesses in addition to his/her own,” she explains. “If the program is a failure, not many people will remember and the celebrity will still have a case study to build future businesses in addition to their own.”
Rihanna’s committed to Stance for a full three years, and will both star in campaigns and design collections for the brand, a multi-faceted role that McCormick says comes with its own appeal.
“Performers and actors are usually paid for use of their name and face—or music—to help sell a brand,” she says. “Now, they’re being asked to craft the actual campaign they’ll appear in—their opinions are valued and executed. They get to choose the photographers and directors they want to work with. It’s more about the business role of the celebrity in the campaign than the money.”
While the first full collection won’t be available until this fall, the teaser capsule consisting of 1,500 crew-cut socks and 1,000 pairs of high-knee socks have just been released.
