LOS ANGELES — Rihanna understood the assignment: Nail your maternity photo shoot and showcase it on the cover of the world’s most prominent fashion magazine.
Any why wouldn’t she? When the “Diamonds” singer revealed in January that she was pregnant with her first child, she made it abundantly clear that she was disrupting the outdated rules of maternity wear — with nearly naked pregnancy style.
“our lil fashion killa on da cover of VOGUE!!” she wrote Tuesday on Instagram, revealing her May cover issue and giving a nod to her baby daddy, ASAP Rocky.
The Fenty Beauty founder has shared some jaw-dropping maternity looks on social media and morsels about the shift in her life over the last few months. This week, she opens up about it all in the May issue of Vogue magazine. She chose high-fashion looks that showcased her growing belly and had famed fashion photographer Annie Leibovitz do the honors.
“I’m hoping that we were able to redefine what’s considered ‘decent’ for pregnant women,” Rihanna told writer Chioma Nnadi of her take on maternity style. “My body is doing incredible things right now, and I’m not going to be ashamed of that. This time should feel celebratory. Because why should you be hiding your pregnancy?”
When she found out she was pregnant, the singer said, she thought, "(t)here’s no way I’m going to go shopping in no maternity aisle. I’m sorry — it’s too much fun to get dressed up. I’m not going to let that part disappear because my body is changing.”
And that outlook is manifested in the lacy Alaïa bodysuit she wears on the glossy cover and the bump-baring Rick Owens, Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture and Saint Laurent looks inside the magazine.
“At first I expected some magical change, but really I remain who I am,” she told Nnadi, and “none of the dials are turned down.”
But it isn’t all glam maternity shoots, diamond belly chains and wishful thinking. The business mogul and nine-time Grammy winner also seemed pretty grounded about the life-altering experience of becoming a parent.
“Balance is one of my biggest challenges and always has been. And now there’s another human being coming into play, it changes what that means again,” the 34-year-old billionaire said.
“Still, I have businesses that aren’t going to run themselves. My mom handled the three of us with not even close to the amount of resources that I have, so I can absolutely do it. What it looks like? I’m not sure.”
In a separate video, she told the magazine that she’s brushing off the pregnancy “horror stories” she’s heard and “having a good time” right now. She’s also looking forward to her child teaching her more than she “could ever teach them.”
“And I want them to go for it. I want to see who they are in the world, who they become. Because I’m just here to keep them on the rails — a passenger as much as the driver,” she said.
RiRi also opened up about her relationship with Rocky, whom she’s collaborated and been friends with for years before they reportedly started dating in 2020. The artists grew closer during the COVID-19 pandemic, and she said they weren’t planning to have a baby, but were “certainly not planning against it.”
