Rihanna has been representing Dior for a few years now. It’s a collaboration that works, perhaps even more than Jennifer Lawrence’s Dior contract. While I understand why Dior went with J-Law, I think their union has not been the best for either party. But Rihanna + Dior is magical. Anyway, these are some new promotional images from Dior. Rihanna is the face of Dior’s new sunglasses line. But Rihanna isn’t just “the face” of this sunglass design – she actually helped design them!
Dior’s search for a creative director continues, but in the meantime, there’s one major name designing for the house: Rihanna. The singer has created a range of futuristic sunglasses in collaboration with Dior as part of her brand ambassadorship. The name of the collection is simply “Rihanna.” The sunglasses will be sold exclusively at Dior stores beginning in early June, though Rihanna has been teasing the shades on her Instagram account. There is one frame available in six variations — the silver, pink, blue, green and red styles will retail for $840, while a deluxe 24-karat gold-plated version will sell for $1,950.
This is the second collaborative project between Rihanna and Dior. A year ago, Steven Klein photographed Rihanna in “Secret Garden IV,” a campaign and short film shot inside Versailles features her in Dior sunglasses, carrying the brand’s bags and wearing looks from the Esprit Dior collection shown in Tokyo in December 2014. “We are very pleased to partner for the second time with Rihanna,” said Dior chief executive officer Sidney Toledano. “She is an artist, an entertainer, an entrepreneur, a philanthropist, and a style icon for today’s generation.”
The sunglasses are her first design project with Dior, a privilege never before granted to one of its house ambassadors, who include Charlize Theron, Marion Cotillard, Natalie Portman and Jennifer Lawrence. In October, Rihanna visited Dior’s headquarters on Avenue Montaigne to meet with the eyewear design team going over vintage frames, ultimately picking a style from 2000 as the key reference. In a statement provided by Dior, Rihanna named La Forge from “Star Trek” as her inspiration for the frames. “I’ve always been obsessed with his eyewear, and when I got to Dior and saw all the materials I could play with, it all just came together,” she said.
In terms of the design process, she said, “The process was pretty seamless. I spent a day at Dior with their eyewear design team. I started by looking through all the archives to see what they’ve done in the past, then got acquainted with all the new materials. I literally sat there and drew and drew until I was happy with the design, and the team illustrated it for me right then and there. We picked materials and colors that same day, and after that it was a matter of weeks before I saw the first prototype.”
Would you spend $840 on a pair of sunglasses? Would you spend $1950 on a pair of yellow-gold sunglasses? I would not. I think sunglasses are one of those accessories where you can go cheap, although I feel that way about a lot of things. I had a great pair of sunglasses that I bought for like $10 and they lasted me a good five years. They were super-flattering and, in my opinion, a lot cuter than these Dior sunglasses. I’m currently wearing a pair that I picked up at Kohl’s for something like $15 and they’re great too.
Now, all that being said, I think it’s cool that Dior has invited Rihanna into the process and that she’s a hands-on collaborator. Rihanna loves this stuff, and she does have a Midas touch when it comes to accessories, clothes, etc. I’m sure these (fug) sunglasses will be super-popular.
Photos courtesy of Dior, Fame/Flynet, Instagram.
I won’t pay over $10 for a pair of sunglasses much less $1950 (got mine at the $1 store and they are better than any I’ve had). That’s a house payment for me and enough to pay my utility bills.
I completely understand but I have to admit: high-end sunglasses are one of my vices. Like, I’ll spend $15 on a pair of shoes and $160 on sunglasses. I’m not proud of it, but as I said, it’s my one splurge.
Here’s a story: I have three pairs of Ray Ban aviators and the oldest pair are oversized and really dark green lenses that appear black. They’re just too big for my face so after having them around for a couple years and not wearing them that much I gave them to my boyfriend, who wears $5 aviators from Target or whatever (no shade intended). So literally two days after I gave them to him he calls me up and says “you’re gonna be pissed…” and of course, he lost the sunglasses on the golf course. I just can’t believe that he only had them for TWO days. Ugh.
So yeah, people like my BF and others who lose sunglasses easily should stick to the budget shades 😉
Husband has a pair of customized Oakleys. He LOVES them, and has had them for about 5 years now – bought them with his first plumbing paycheck.
And when I put them on – there’s absolutely no comparison with my cheapies. They’re amazingly clear, and really block out the rays. I need to invest in a pair soon, because my eyes are so sensitive to light, even when I’m not dealing with a migraine.
100. Love my shades. I’m an Oakley kind of a girl….preferably gray. Now listen Kitten, treat your man right, give him food, attention, love and an old tee that doesn’t fit right, but never, never give away your shades girl. They are your signature piece, at least for me, and I’m always right except for the 99 percent of the time when I’m not. Happy Memorial Day sista!
I’m with you, Kitten – I am a sucker for my Linda Farrows but I know they’re way too expensive for normal life. Also they’re prescription so it’d really be a loss if they were misplaced/broke.
Erinn: Your husband is a wise man. I would do commercials for Oakley. My eyes are very light and sensitive as well, and they make everything crystal clear. I wear my sunglasses at night…da da da…..Lol
Yeah, I’m with you there Kitten. I don’t mind spending a bit more for a good pair of sunglasses. A few years ago I went on safari and my older cousin (who’s traveled quite a lot) told me to invest in a pair of polarized sunglasses, because they work wonders at reducing glare and etc.
I did end up getting a pair and oh my goodness, what a difference! Yes, I spent $160 on a pair of sunglasses but they are amazing and I have never regretted it.
I get when you need a good pair of sunglasses or a single splurge once in a while, that’s great. But almost $2000 for a pair of sunglasses is ridiculous. Also – I lose mine quite often and don’t feel bad if they only cost $1. I also by my cheaters from the $1 Store as they last longer than $20 ones (and I don’t care what they look like although they do have some cute ones!).
Ouch! I wear good sunglasses because cheap ones give me a headache, but I wouldn’t pay this much.
My husband has a pair of Ray Bans that he’s had for 10 or so years. He takes very good care of them, and he literally will not wear any other sunglasses.
I buy good quality sunglasses but would never pay more than a couple hundred. $1950, or even the cheaper $850 is way too much.
Eyes deserve good sunglasses, you need to protect them from UV rays.
I’ve also realized if I wear my sunglasses all the time I won’t lose them. I use them to hold back my hair when I’m indoors, I never set them down unless I’m at home.
Or I could just keep rocking the Goody headband I’ve been using when I feel a Geordi La Forge Moment coming on, as we’ve all done for the past 25 years.
I just did that two days ago! lol
No. I do own Oliver People’s and Silhouettes though and they are pricy but last forever and are comfortable. I’d never spend that much though. And definitely not because of some celeb.
ETA: She looks great in them. I think she’s very beautiful.
This is another case of “Just Because It Looks Good on Rihanna Doesn’t Mean That It Would Look Good on You”.
I learned my lesson last time I tried to pull off thigh high boots and a backwards baseball cap. Just kidding. Kitten never did that.
But one of the things I love most about Rihanna is her sense of style and her ability to pull of looks that nobody else could. These sunglasses are f*cking cool but they would look ridiculous on me, so I’ll just stick to my Ray Bans.
Lol, thank God you didn’t do the backwards baseball cap. I agree with everything you said. In fact, I remember the day I realized after putting on blue eyeshadow that I was still not Cheryl Tiegs. It was a sad, but informative day.
LOL Kitten! Thanks for the laugh
Love her style. She’s stunning! Bought a pair of Betsy Johnson cat eye (heh) sunglasses for $10 last year and get compliments all the time. I pay $300 each year to upgrade my reading glasses (damn middle age!) and still feel like I’m paying too much. Kitten, I’m sure you could rock some thigh highs, lol! 😀
Kitten, I normally only buy dirt cheap sunglasses…..because I lose everything!!!!!!! Lol I am so scatterbrained these days. I blame my baby for never allowing me to sleep. Ha! If I thought I could not scratch them and have them for a while I would buy them! I’m scared to even try them on because I will realize how much better they are than my Target 12$ pair! LOL Then I’ll be hooked!
Ha! I was looking at them, thinking $500, that’s pretty much what I paid for my prescription sunglasses frame. I can’t drive without them, so if I thought they would look good on me, I would. But that shape would make me look so try hard and silly.
I think a lot of people who buy brands because a celeb is make the mistake of believing they will look like said celeb.
Oh, and I want to go to spend a WHOLE day with designers looking through archives and picking things and then being called a designer myself. I will start with furniture and then wallpaper, then do lighting for a day because why not, then maybe Asprey can let me design a kickass clean diamond and sapphires necklace so I can add jewelry to my resume. Us t this design business fun???
I have a feeling that Rihanna will drag down Dior. Dior used to be elegant and sophisticated in a nearly over-emphasized way. But very very much designed because else over-emphasized looks ridiculous.
Rihanna is more sophisticated and model esque than jlaw and the rest of the ambassadors named in the article in my view.
My cap for sunglasses is $100. Good quality glasses are worth it for me, but I also feel that over $100 or thereabouts it becomes all about the branding rather than the quality.
That said, i also have a couple of $10 glasses for the beach or playing in the park with my kids so I don’t need to freak out about having them scratched.
Also, aside from the cost, these Rhianna glasses would look ridiculous on me. They would look like they did come from the dollar store, and I came from a bad night drinking. Pass.
I think they look bad on Rihanna, too, at least in the pap shots. These glasses do only look good in carefulla arranged advertising photography.
The proportions of these sunglasses are totally off. Like an alloy bar across the eyes with no purpose. The colours and the size just make them look chunky-cheap and blingy and like an unfinished design product. They are like these plastic 3D-glasses in cinemas except that they added a lot of chunky metal. If it wasn’t for Rihanna’s colouring it would look totally absurd. Even google’s glasses looked a lot better.
I am surprised that Dior gave that design a go as it is totally unfinished. Have they lost their “eye”?
My optometrist would try to make them fit better behind the ears.
I can’t wait to see how people that are not Rihanna will look with these sunglasses.
Soon the Kardashians will be wearing them to get in the press.
You beat me to it, Petee. 🕶
Only if they don’t have to pay for them.
My sister works for an optometrist and people pay this amount of money for sunglasses all the time. She doesn’t understand it, but she gets a commission on them so no complaints on her end. I personally go for the $13 ran bay wayfarer knockoffs from Target. I end up losing mine in the ocean at least once a year.
If my face and body would look like that in them, yeah.
I wear pricier sunglasses only because I have family that works in an optometrists office and I know what happens to your eyes without proper UV protection. That being said, I wouldn’t even dream of paying $840 or more on them as I lose them on a fairly regular basis. However, if I can find a similar style for cheaper, I would be into them. I like them. Funky and fun. Also, they are daily year round wear up here as winter is brutal on the eyes so if I can find ones like it, I would dish out a couple of hundred for them.
I Think they need to move the decimal point to the left 2 or 3 times before I’d consider it for sunnies.
I love them, but they’d look awful with my face shape.
I spend a lot in sunglasses. Anything under $100 does nothing to protect my eyes, and I have to spend more like $300-400 to get the perfect shape. I have really sensitive eyes and I wear them for hours daily, so it pays to get a pair I love.
Those sunglasses better allow you to see into the past, the future, through walls and around the world! She sure looks good in them though. Chick can pull off almost anything.
With that price tag? I agree. Lmao.
Everything you said Almond
AAAHAHA! Dead.
Rihanna is better than ANY model out these days. If she dropped her career for modeling right now, she’d be the hottest thing. She gives life to the camera even with her eyes covered.
HH – agreed about Rih being able to work anything and still look amazing – she did a shoot a few years ago for Baraar Arabia and OMG, she’s fully covered from head to toe and still looks sexy AF.
Hahaha. ITA!
I remember getting this one pair of D&G sunglasses a couple of years back as a gift. And to this day, I don’t wear them much in fear of scratching them.
You wear those after you’ve had your cataract surgery.
Ha ha. I wish. they just tape on a plastic eye shield. If they could fix those fancy glasses to help people with macular degeneration tho they could charge a lot more $$$.
No.
No, but, as always, she makes them look great. I feel like Rih is everything Kanye thinks he is/wants to be, fashion-wise, but isn’t.
Yes. Rih can wear the ugliest clothes and she still looks great and she owns it. Good or bad review, not a single F is given. Kanye on the other hand gets upset and starts ranting how he’s a fashion god and everybody who don’t get his fashion style are just jealous and has no fashion sense.
Rih isn’t Kayne yet but just wait a minute. At some point she will complain that nobody “gets her style”. When I see those sunglasses I think it won’t be long.
Going by your comments in each section you don’t like her? It just seems that you make a point of saying something negative each time someone says something about her in this thread. Always wonder why people click on a story about someone just to make a dig? Just curious no shade thrown.
Honestly, I don’t see her complaining about that anytime soon. In fact, that’s the main difference between Kanye and her. She doesn’t care if you don’t “get” it, she just goes and does her thing.
I must say though. Rihanna is really coming into herself as a fashion icon. Christian Dior did a lot for Rihanna. Kudos.
I don’t care what people say, I still think Alicia Vikander should be the next person for Christian Dior. She has that sweet princess vibe, be as it may I don’t really like he, but she is perfect.
I don’t think she has enough star power or presence to make it worth their while.
Lately she is more in the news for her commercial work than for her music.
The shape kind of reminds me of what Gaga was doing when she first came out. They look interesting in these photos, but I think they would look pretty silly on the street. But if that is your thing, go for it. It’s just sunglasses.
We will see for how long Rihanna will wear them on the street.
If she irritates you this much why comment
$1950 for sunglasses is ridiculous and shows how out of touch the 1% is
God, she is gorgeous. I barely paid attention to the glasses. That first pic… How can anyone look like this in a grey leotard? Even the way she carries herself and poses, it’s just so effortlessly magnificent. She has the natural grace of a cat.
She doesn’t have much grace in her movements in real life. That is why her videos always show her either in slow motion or standstill and always in short sequences.
She does get photoshopped a lot, though.
I like to buy classic and timeless pieces. I bought a pair of really beautiful D & G ones and one of pair of Gucci ( both on sale) and they’ve lasted me a long time. And I don’t intend on buying anymore.
I am the kinda girl that wears a 10$ dress with 300$ Dior sunglasses because ILOVE sunglasses. I have some cheap copies of well known model too lol 😎
I will never buy these Rihanna sunglasses though. Ever.
Awful, cheap, blingbling. No good. I think only the nouveau-riche will want them. Even Paris Hilton or Kayne West wouldn’t wear them.
I will totally buy the much cheaper knockoffs that will inevitably come out in the future, I can assure you that.
I can’t believe nobody else has commented on how they seem to make the top of the ear curl forward. Looks quite painful to me.
Ever since my LASIK my eyes have been incredibly light sensitive. I give myself the freedom to buy one nice pair of sunglasses or ski googles a year ($250 cap and Sunglass Hut gives you a birthday couple:)). I can tell a difference from my cheapies I use when I’m active, play the expensive ones they heat and custom fit to your face!