14 DAY TRIAL // Rihanna has come a long way from where she was a little over a year ago, both in terms of her personal life and her career in music. The July 2010 issue of Elle magazine is very illustrative in this sense, bringing a full feature and interview with the singer, who talks about anything and everything, from fashion to music and, yes, her new boyfriend and other personal matters.
Speaking of details of her personal life, Rihanna opens up to the magazine about how it was like dealing with what ex Chris Brown did to her, when he lashed out and brutally beat her up, and then left her in the street, waiting for the cops. It wasn’t so much the actual beating that left her scarred for a long while, the singer explains, but rather the fact that she and Chris were best friends – and she didn’t know how to deal with this kind of betrayal right then.
“A year ago, I was very confused. Because [Chris Brown] was my best friend. All of a sudden, one night changed our whole lives – not only our friendship, but our lives. I wanted to wake up one day and just not have that pain anymore. […] I have a boyfriend [now]. I’m so happy. I feel really comfortable, and it’s so easy. I have such a chaotic life, but at the end of the day, that is just my peace. It keeps me sane, really, talking to him and talking to my family,” Rihanna explains.
In the same interview, she also talks about how honored she was to be asked to be the face for one of the latest collections from Gucci, saying it was a real wonder how the fashion world was opening up to women of all shapes and sizes. When she went to a Jean Paul Gaultier show a while back and she saw “thicker” girls than her, that’s when she knew she too could make a name for herself as a fashionista. Said and done: Rihanna is now considered among the most daring, fierce and fearless celebrities out there in terms of personal style.
And this was precisely the image she worked hard to create for herself. “I wanted pictures that represented strength and fearlessness but still femininity – a strong woman who can be vulnerable. Every woman is made up of vulnerability and strength; no matter what race you are, no matter what you’ve been through in your life. Every woman has that strength that is undeniable, but we also have really big hearts. It’s just us,” Rihanna says of the artwork for her latest album, “Rated R,” and the promo materials for it.