14 DAY TRIAL // Rihanna is one of the biggest risk-takers on the pop scene, but even for her, last night’s outfit is a lot to take in. The Barbadian beauty showed up at the CFDA Awards in New York City, where she was awarded with the 2014 Fashion Icon Award, in nothing but Swarovski crystals.
Above is a photo from the event, when she walked up on stage to accept her award. You can’t realize just how revealing the dress was because of the lighting – and for the obvious reason that we can’t use the most revealing shots.
However, as these pics over at the Daily Mail can confirm, Rihanna’s dress went completely see-through with the flashes of the cameras, something she must not only have anticipated but actually desired. Once she stepped on that red carpet, Rihanna left practically nothing to the imagination, posing in such a way as to offer photographers a good view at every inch of her body.
The same media outlet says that the dress (if you can call it that) was a custom creation by designer Adam Selman and comprised a total of 216,000 Swarovski crystals. We assume that headpiece was not included in the count.
Under the backless dress that came with over the elbow-long gloves of the same fabric, Rihanna wore nothing but a pair of skin-colored thongs and her impressive collection of tattoos. With a body like hers, voices online are now saying, she has every right to dress like this for whatever event she feels like it.
Still, she was wearing more makeup than she was wearing clothes and, one might be tempted to say, this would strike one as ironic considering she was attending a fashion event. An event where she received the Icon award, no less.
Designer Zac Posen spoke at the event about Rihanna’s unmistakable style and sartorial risk-taking, saying that she manages to deliver a stunning combination of edge and classic beauty.
“She takes risks and she marches to her own drum and she knows what she likes. It's been an incredible journey. [When we met] She was a fashion world novice, but obviously she had looks and confidence and little-girl charm. All the ingredients were there for her to be a huge superstar: ambition, strength, and also vulnerability,” Posen told the media, as cited by the Mail.
He acknowledged her occasional use of the shock value, adding that it “has kept her current, and balanced how classically beautiful she is.” Well, considering what she wore on the red carpet, Posen can say that part about the shock value again.
When she accepted the Icon award, Rihanna said that, though she didn’t grow up with fashion, she learned when she was younger to use it as a defense mechanism. We’re not sure what she was defending herself against with this see-through number, but one thing is certain: Rihanna wanted people paying attention to her again, and she has succeeded.