There’s a surge of backless and bum-less celebrity fashion right now, but leave it to Rihanna to step out in a twist on the trend that only she could pull off. Out in Los Angeles over the weekend, the beauty mogul paired a barely-there skirt with an unexpected ski coat and piles of diamonds.
Rihanna dressed up in dark navy blue to support her partner A$AP Rocky at the Rolling Loud music festival. She started her look with a Balenciaga parka jacket that featured a sculptural collar and exaggerated sleeves. Instead of something similarly bulky down below, the star went with a daring lace maxi skirt from Jawara Alleyne that was both a party in the front and back. A waist-length leg slit on one side of the skirt showed off Rihanna’s black sandals. The reverse side was just as daring with two smaller slits and a completely sheer panel that flashed Rihanna’s black thong. Diamond tennis necklaces finished off her outfit.
Like Rihanna, other stars have approached backside-forward dressing in a very particular way. Take Zoë Kravitz’s Vanity Fair Oscar Party look, for instance. The Blink Twice director wore a vintage Saint Laurent dress that was designed with a demure, ladylike neckline and a sheer butt-crack window. Ruth Negga followed a similar playbook at the One on the Call Sheet premiere just days later. She dressed up in a lower-back-baring Prada skirt that she paired with a simple crewneck top.
Of course, the sheer, bum-less look is nothing new for Rihanna. She famously wore a Swarovski crystal Adam Selman dress to the 2014 CFDA Awards that was completely see-through. And in the case of her latest outfit, she approached the trend with an editorial styling trick that few have been brave enough to pull off: wearing your biggest, puffiest coat with your most daring and sheer dancing skirt.
