Why Rihanna's Maternity Style Is A Masterclass In Brand Architecture

Forbes

06-05-2025

Rihanna has become one of those celebrities that doesn't dress for the red carpet but curates moments for market memory. Her approach to maternity style, now on full display during her third pregnancy, isn't about soft-focus portraits or feigned vulnerability but strategy and precision. For business leaders, it's a masterclass in brand architecture.
At the 2025 Met Gala, Rihanna arrived wearing tailored pinstripes, a reinterpretation of classic menswear, styled with high-concept flair. Her structured, baby bump-hugging gown was layered beneath a cropped tuxedo jacket, unbuttoned just enough to reveal her third pregnancy nonchalantly but intentionally. She wore it the way she wears everything: like she controls the narrative.
Topping off the look was an oversized black wide-brimmed hat that cast a theatrical silhouette, balancing old Hollywood drama with modern swagger. The unexpected detail of two mismatched ties pushed the look into deliberate experimentation, balancing structure with subversion. The result was commanding, architectural and entirely Rihanna.
Although Rihanna's third pregnancy has made the headlines, the real story from her Met Gala appearance was in the silhouette. In her pinstriped three-piece suit and dramatic wide-brimmed hat, Rihanna reclaimed, expanded, and rewrote maternity dressing, all while positioning it within her brand's DNA. That is what brand leaders should be watching.
Pregnancy has historically sidelined women in public-facing roles, especially in industries driven by image. Rihanna has flipped the script; motherhood isn't a detour from her career but an extension of it. Each appearance, whether at the Met Gala, the Super Bowl or on Instagram, is a brand asset that continues that conversation.
This strategy aligns well with how she has built Fenty Beauty, Savage X Fenty and Fenty Skin: around authenticity, innovation and the unapologetic centering of Black women. Her maternity style expands on those principles; it's unbothered, well-constructed and unperformed.
Rihanna's brand strength has always relied on how she navigates visibility. By not allowing her fans or even the media to dictate the tempo, she is able to effectively leverage important cultural stages, like Fashion Week, the Met Gala and a Super Bowl halftime show, to reinforce a simple but profound message: that she owns her brand image.
Ownership is important, especially in the business world. In a time when brands struggle to manage perception and cut through the noise to stay relevant, engaged, and unique for their target markets, Rihanna has mastered this.
Her style rejects the need to perform traditional femininity or maternal glow. Instead, it reinforces her identity as both tycoon and muse. There's purpose in that focus, but there's also vulnerability in choosing to show up pregnant, powerful and unapologetically herself, knowing the world will try to dissect it. Not only is she representing a brand, but she's protecting her body, her baby and boundaries in front of a world that demands access to all three. At the Met Gala, the Barbados-born singer also reinforced a principle of her billion-dollar empire: when the blueprint is strong, there's no need to over-design.
Rihanna's maternity fashion has proven yet again that it is not here to follow trends but rather another layer of scaffolding holding her empire together. It also symbolizes a visual proof point of her long-term narrative control. It shows brand leaders that you don't need to dilute complexity to achieve impact. She models how you can be many things: a mother, tycoon and fashion muse, and still command every room.
The most enduring brands are those that know who they are, trust their timing and act with purpose. Rihanna reminds us that brand power doesn't shout. Instead, it arrives, stands still and waits for the world to catch up.