Photo: Picture Perfect/REX USA. Rihanna happens to be more like us mere mortals than one would think: She totally has nothing to wear. (Do you suppose she, too, iMessages multiple outfits to her friends before deciding she can't possibly leave the house?) In a recent New York Times profile, Mel Ottenberg, who began styling the H.B.I.C. three years ago during her Loud Tour, bemoans: "It's the end of May, and we've already used up all of fall/winter. It's over." His comments could explain Rihanna's PJs look at the MTV Movie Awards, although Ottenberg did manage to find a white, long-sleeved Stella McCartney gown for RiRi's Met Gala appearance. ("What, this old thing?" he's imagined to have said.)
The Times posits that Ottenberg's work "is all the more difficult to do because at the moment, Rihanna loves fashion, and fashion loves Rihanna." Take her omnipresence at Paris Fashion Week, where Balmain designer Olivier Rousteing told reporters his collection was "celebrating my age, my inspiration, my love, Rihanna," or Vogue's March cover, which alerted readers to "The Rihanna Effect." Then, there were Tom Ford's remarks to Style.com on the now-defunct @badgalriri: "Customers don't care any more about reviews or hard-copy publications. They care what picture Rihanna just Instagrammed while she's naked in bed, what new shoes she has on, how she's talking about them."
Monday marks another challenge for Ottenberg, when RiRi will scoop up her Fashion Icon accolade at the annual CFDA awards. But, we can stand by with our phones at the ready if she wants to send through some wardrobe options.
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