Some may say this is a man’s world, but the wise few understand that it is actually women that make the world go round. Yes, indeed, that is correct as without women, there would be man. And although the aforementioned is 1000% true, men still dominate almost every industry. They get paid more, they receive more accolades and recognition and if it had not been for affirmative action, they would receive more opportunities even still to this day.
In the midst of this landscape, I have to admit that I was impressed to see Rihanna on the cover in honour of Harper Bazaar magazine’s 150th anniversary with a mastermind spread dedicated to trailblazer, Amelia Earhart, the world’s first female aviator who flew solo across the Atlantic Ocean and who received the Distinguished Flying Cross for this achievement.
The spread captured more depth than the average surface level portraits that most editorial magazines select to highlight. Harper Bazaar published a 1929 essay, “Plane Clothes”, on aviator fashion written by Earhart herself with wickedly stunning photos of Miss Ri Ri at the helm of it all.
And the natural born diva; Rihanna, who is nominated for 8 Grammys, had no issues at all rocking a $6,200 khaki overcoat by Tod’s, along with Emporio Armani boots and J.W. Anderson goggles. She had no problem whatsoever posing atop a red plane while sporting a Stella McCartney jumpsuit LIKE A BOSS! And the $2,100 Hermès jacket was effortlessly flaunted on the young superstar as well.
The spread was bigger than music and fashion combined because it embodied the fervent empowerment of all women, who dare to be number #1 in a male dominated society despite the nay sayers and daunting statistics that predict their inability to do so. Rihanna eloquently channelled Amelia Earhart and she accurately articulated the reason why as she told Bazaar, …“There’s something so special about a woman who dominates in a man’s world,” Rihanna told the magazine. “It takes a certain grace, strength, intelligence, fearlessness, and the nerve to never take no for an answer. Amelia Earhart was such a dynamic force in her industry, setting multiple aviation records in her time. So it was a no-brainer for me to team up with Harper’s Bazaar in honor of a woman who held her own with the big boys.”
Yep, a no-brainer, indeed. Rihanna is absolutely correct in her sentiments as she is a woman who has defied all odds, winning the MTV Music Awards Michael Jackson Vanguard award in her 20s; creating incessant number 1 records, revving up a heck of a fashion imprint with Puma Fenty and making moves slowly, but surely in the Hollywood film scene as well with being casted in “Ocean’s 8“.
💜Love & Light🌞,
CRISTEN M. MILLS
