Since the day her pregnancy announcement photos dropped, Rihanna has been taking on maternity style her way. From exposing her growing bump in crop tops and belly chains to sexy sheer lingerie, the Barbadian singer keeps hitting us with one jaw-dropping look after another. If you look at her style trajectory, it’s not surprising that Riri would express herself as a mom-to-be in this way as she has always rebelled against what society says.
The billionaire boss opened up about her rebellious maternity style to Bustle. “It’s been me personally saying, I'm not going to buy maternity clothes. I'm not gonna buy maternity pants, jeans, dresses, or [do] whatever society told me to do before,” she said. The 34-year-old mom-to-be is having fun redefining what maternity style is and what pregnant women can wear.
But according to Riri, if we think her current looks are causing a stir, we haven’t seen nothing yet.
"I think [in terms of] having fun and being creative, I've had a little extra boost of that. And now I don't want it to end,” she said. "There's going to be the other side of pregnancy, which is like your ‘snap back’ body, and that's going to be a challenge in and of itself. So I'm looking forward to being creative in that [stage] as well.”
We can only imagine what else she has cooked up for her legion of fans. And while we are eating up her fashions, fans are equally excited about her becoming a first-time mother with her beau A$AP Rocky. The singer also shared with Bustle that she was excited to meet her baby.
If you take a look back at Rihanna’s past comments about motherhood, then you will know that she manifested being a mom. See what she said throughout her career below:
On Where She Sees Herself in the Future
“That's a cool question. In 10 years I want to have already started my family and have some businesses of my own. A fashion line, a makeup line. And I still want to be doing what I'm doing at a much bigger capacity-by the grace of God!” viaInStyle 2008
On Giving Birth to Black Children
"I’m a Black woman. I came from a Black woman, who came from a Black woman, who came from a Black woman and I’m going to give birth to a Black woman. It's a no-brainer. That's who I am. It's the core of who I am in spirit and DNA.”
“My mother is an incredible example of how to fight through obstacles in life. I’m sure her mom taught her that and that’s how I’m going to be. We are impeccable, we’re special and the world is going to have to deal with that.” viaEssence 2019
On Wanting Kids with or without a Man
"I’ll have kids — three or four of ’em. ...I feel like society makes me want to feel like, ‘Oh, you got it wrong…’ They diminish you as a mother if there’s not a dad in your kids’ lives. But the only thing that matters is happiness, that’s the only healthy relationship between a parent and a child. That’s the only thing that can raise a child truly, is love.” viaVogue UK 2020
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Fenty Beauty by Rihanna
On Being Pregnant and Preparing for Motherhood
“I'm trying not to overthink it. I'm trying to embrace the journey as it comes, because there's so much unknown. And if I hype myself up about it right now, I'll just get too anxious and get overwhelmed. And, today is already enough for me to deal with, right? Getting up off the couch, figuring out what I'm going to wear, wearing heels, getting dressed.”
“Everything that seems simple is such a task right now, so I'm just going to go step-by-step. And it's not like I could run from any of what's to come. When I'm faced with it, I'm going to handle it like I know best. The one thing I’ve learned the most during pregnancy is no one can truly prepare you. No matter how many stories you hear, your journey is so unique to you and you could never be prepared enough. You just have to embrace the journey.” via Bustle 2022
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Featured image by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Fenty Beauty by Rihanna
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While an evolution is a natural progression that happens as businesses grow, a rebrand is a total change. Lola tells xoNecole, "A total rebrand is necessary when a business’s current reputation/what it’s known for is at odds with the business’s vision or direction.
"For example, if you’ve fundamentally changed what your product is and does, it’s likely that your brand is out of alignment with the business. Or, if you find your company is developing a reputation that doesn’t serve it, it might be time to pump the brakes and figure out what needs to change.
She continues, "Sometimes you’ll see companies (especially startups) announce a name change that comes with updated messaging, visuals, etc. That usually means their vision has changed or expanded, and their previous branding was too narrow/couldn’t encompass everything they planned to do."
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The Brand Doula was born in 2019, and its focus is on putting "the experiences, goals, and needs of women of color founders first," as well as brands with "culture-shifting missions."
According to Lola, culture-shifting is "the act of influencing dominant behavior, beliefs, or experiences in a community or group (ideally, for the better)."
"At The Brand Doula, we work with companies and leaders that set out to challenge the status quo in their industries and communities. They’re here to make an impact that sends ripples across the market," she says.
"We help the problem solvers of the world — the ones who aren't satisfied with 'this is how it's always been' and instead ask 'how could this be better?' Our clients build for impact, reimagining tools, systems, and ways of living to move cultures forward."
The Brand Doula has worked with many brands, including Too Collective, to assist with their collaboration with Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Balanced Black Girl for a "refresh," aka rebrand. For businesses looking to rebrand, Lola shares four essential steps.
1. Do an audit of your current brand experience — what’s still relevant and what needs to change? Reflect on why you’re doing the rebrand in the first place and what success would look like after relaunching.
2. Tackle the overall strategy first — before you start redesigning logos and websites, align on a new vision for your brand. How do you want your company to be positioned moving forward? Has your audience changed at all? Will your company have a fresh personality and voice?
3. Bring your audience along the journey — there’s no need to move in secret. Inviting your current audience into the journey can actually help them feel more connected to and invested in your story, enough to stick around as changes are being made.
4. Keep business moving — one of my biggest pet peeves is when companies take down their websites as soon as they have the idea to rebrand, then have a Coming Soon page up for months! You lose a lot of momentum and interest by doing that. If you’re still in business and generating income, continue to operate while you work on your rebrand behind the scenes. You don’t want to cut existing customers off out of the blue, and you also don’t want so much downtime that folks forget your business exists or start looking for other solutions.
While determining whether the rebrand was successful may take a few months, Lola says a clear sign that it is unsuccessful is negative feedback from your target audience. "Customers are typically more vocal about what they don’t like more than what they do like," she says.
But some good signs to look out for are improvements in engagement with your marketing, positive reviews, press and increase in retention, and overall feeling aligned with the new branding.
For more information about Lola and The Brand Doula, visit her website, thebranddoula.com.
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