Luxury leader LVMH planning fashion brand with Rihanna

Louis Vuitton parent owner LVMH is developing a luxury brand with singer Rihanna, in a rare move by the acquisitive group towards building a new fashion label from scratch, industry news site WWD reported on Wednesday. Paris-based LVMH - also the owner of Christian Dior and Givenchy, among a host of other luxury brands also spanning champagne and cosmetics labels - declined to comment.

It already has a partnership with the “Umbrella” singer in make-up. Fenty Beauty, which was developed with Rihanna via LVMH’s Kendo “brand incubator”, which p ro m o t e s n e w products and labels, has grown rapidly since launching in September 2017. LVMH said last April it expected Fenty to reach $500 million in retail sales in 2018 - which includes the revenue reaped by third parties - though it has not given an update since.