There’s a whole world out there of edgy celebrity fashion. Florence Pugh famously “freed the nipple” a few years back, leading to more sheer dresses in recent years than I can count. Though Hailey Bieber’s recent Wuthering Heights dress comes to mind, first. Leather and corsets have also been on the red carpet forefront recently, and it was the former Rihanna rocked when she got into a little wardrobe malfunction hot water this weekend.
Of course, she was dressed to the nines and looking great when it happened. Rihanna was out and about in support of her husband A$AP Rocky’s fashion show in New York over Valentine’s weekend. The holiday’s been big for both of them, as Rihanna debuted her own A+ Savage X Fenty Valentine’s line a few weeks ago. Rocky had his own AWGE event, and Rihanna was there to celebrate – in nothing but some sheer tights and a long, furry leather jacket.
Rihanna always looks excellent and pretty much effortless in whatever she is wearing. However, while her coat was long and covered her up really well in the cold weather, I don’t think she necessarily had considered the giant slit in the back of the garment.
While walking into the AWGE fashion show ahead of A$AP Rocky's RTW Fall 2026 collection release, she gave paparazzi more than they had asked for in a few shots thanks to a gap in the back of her coat and a lack of pants or shorts under the coat. She caught on to the wardrobe malfunction quickly, however, and eventually used her hands to keep the slit closed until she was sitting down comfortably at the event.
The coat was actually a part of A$AP Rocky's AWGE collection, so that's obviously why she chose it, and to be clear she looked fierce and comfortable sitting throughout most of the night. But a gal's gotta walk in sometime.
As a seasoned pro of wearing outfits that are too short, I will just say, the secret is to wear a pair of 3-inch Nike squatting shorts underneath your dress, or in Rihanna’s case, coat. Something from SKIMS, from SPANX, or even Savage X Fenty would have fit the bill swimmingly, like these night sleep shorts Rihanna's often touting.
This isn't the first time a celebrity has dealt with a wardrobe malfunction at an event. Janet Jackson famously has not lived down having it happen to her in the middle of the Super Bowl Halftime show. More recently, Britney Spears figured out how best to deal with wardrobe malfunctions in her famous dancing videos and Jennifer Lopez dealt with a wardrobe malfunction in the middle of a performance. Rihanna handled her own startling moment like a champ, and I hope she keeps the beautiful coat --but maybe she'll try it with shorts next time.
