2005
Rihanna kept her 2005 Teen People Listening Lounge look casual but still cute with low waisted jeans and a pink tie-dyed halter top.
Rihanna’s Style Transformation Over The Years, From Red Carpet Newcomer to Fashion Icon
Written by djfrosty on May 1, 2025
Rihanna holds a lot of titles. To date, the singer is a a nine-time Grammy award winning artist with eight albums under her belt, a makeup and lingerie mogul thanks to her successful Fenty Beauty and Savage x Fenty lines, once held the title as the youngest self-made female billionaire, and, of course, is also a dedicated mother.
But since day one, RiRi has been a style icon. Since stepping on the scene in 2005 with her debut hit, “Pon De Replay,” the multi-hyphenate superstar has rocked all kinds of looks on the red carpet, on stage and out and about. She always keeps it fun, classy and cool.
In 2025, Rihanna spoke about her love of fashion in an interview with Harper’s Baazar, saying that after finding herself lacking inspiration for her styling, she finally felt locked in once again. “Now I’m starting to just remember what I loved about [fashion and styling-: the juxtaposition, putting the things together that don’t make sense,” she told the publication at the time. “My fashion has always been driven by my mood, and my mood was on mom mode for a minute.”
Even Rihanna’s long-time partner A$AP Rocky has commented on how the star can make herself look good in just about anything — including his clothes. “For me, it’s not fair that my girl could just go in my closet and take anything from it and wear it,” he said in a podcast interview. “She does it to me all the time, man! Sometimes you just see her on an interview or see a paparazzi photo, like, ‘Wait, there goes my Miu Miu f–king jacket! What the f–k? I was looking for that since 2021!’”
Below, take a stroll down memory lane and witness Rihanna’s style evolution, from her rise to fame in 2005 all the way to today.
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Image Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images -
2005
Image Credit: Rob Verhorst/Redferns Rihanna shines like a diamond in the sky with her gold sequined hoodie.
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2005
Image Credit: John Sciulli/WireImage for Future Mainstream Productions Rihanna brought some country flair to her jean skirt, green lace top combo with some silver cowboy boots.
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2006
Image Credit: Scott Gries/Getty Images for Universal Music For her 2006 “A Girl Like Me” album release party in her hometown of St. Michael, Barbados, RiRi is the ultimate island beauty with a floral white top and bright red wedges, complete with a pair of bamboo hoops.
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2006
Image Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images After winning best female artist of the year at the 2006 Billboard Music Awards, Rihanna posed in a stunning, draping V-neck, white mini dress and gold stilettos.
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2007
Image Credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic To perform her hit “Umbrella” in 2007, Rihanna opted for a black leather tutu, strappy bra and, of course, an umbrella.
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2007
Image Credit: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images For the 2007 Bambi Awards, Rihanna opted for an elegant, yet still funky, leopard print gown.
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2008
Image Credit: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic At the 2008 American Music Awards, Rihanna was futuristic-chic in a silver draped bustier and leather leggings.
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2009
Image Credit: Jerritt Clark/WireImage Rihanna couldn’t see the haters at the 2009 House of Hype Directors Dinner with a pair of lacey sunglasses.
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2010
Image Credit: Steve Granitz/WireImage Rihanna continued her lace trend at the 2010 American Music Awards, this time wearing a flowing, deep red gown.
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2011
Image Credit: (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images) At the 53rd annual Grammy Awards, RiRi wore a fluffy, white layered off-the-shoulder gown with see-through cutouts.
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2012
Image Credit: Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Coachella Rihanna kept it comfortable for 2012 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival with studded jean shorts, a “Peace” crop top and a Chanel satin jacket.
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2012
Image Credit: Mike Marsland/Wireimage Rihanna stunned at the 2012 BRIT Awards in her plunge-neck, sparkling gown, leather gloves and blonde updo.
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2012
Image Credit: Rick Diamond/WireImage For the 54th annual Grammy Awards, RiRi rocked a black mesh top, leather shorts and tights — topped with a white cardigan and fluffy leopard print coat.
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2012
Image Credit: Neil Mockford/FilmMagic Rihanna stepped out in London in a colorful blazer and simple strappy heels.
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2012
Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage Rihanna looked like one of the Angels at the 2012 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in a pink lace dress with a cardigan wrapped around her waist, complete with white booties.
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2013
Image Credit: George Pimentel/WireImage While performing at the Air Canada Centre in 2013, Rhianna wore a gold and black coat, and lace-up knee high leather boots.
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2014
Image Credit: Christopher Polk/Getty Images for amfAR At Milk Studios in 2014, Rihanna’s cut-out white gown showed off two purple rhinestone pasties, that matched with her platform heels.
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2015
Image Credit: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic At the 2015 Grammy Awards, Rihanna walked the red carpet in a layered, bubblegum pink strapless gown.
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2015
Image Credit: Christopher Polk/NBC/NBC via Getty Images At the 2015 iHeartRadio Music Awards, Rihanna wore a black mini dress with a pop of color thanks to her furry green coat and matching thigh-high boots.
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2015
Image Credit: Larry Busacca/Getty Images For the “China: Through the Looking Glass” theme at the 2015 Met Gala, Rihanna wore a custom Guo Pei canary yellow gown.
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2016
Image Credit: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images for Fenty x Puma Rihanna walked the runway during FENTY x PUMA show in 2016 in a pink suit, with her blazer draping the floor like a cape.
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2017
Image Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images At the 2017 Grammy Awards, Rihana paired her bright orange crop top with a fluffy, layered black skirt.
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2017
Image Credit: Jimi Celeste/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images RiRi wore an oversized khaki pantsuit at the 2017 Parsons benefit.
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2017
Image Credit: Marc Piasecki/WireImage Rihanna was a monochromatic dream at the Young Fashion Designer: LVMH Prize 2017 edition at Fondation Louis Vuitton, wearing a longsleeve white gown, with a black fedora and pointed toe heels.
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2017
Image Credit: David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock For the 2017 Met Gala, themed “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between,” Rihanna rocked an artistic gown from Rei Kawakubo’s Comme des Garçons fashion collection.
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2017
Image Credit: Peter/Barcroft Images/Getty For the ‘OKJA’ premiere at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, Rihanna brought the cool girl class with a strapless white gown, matching shrug and miniature sunglasses.
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2018
Image Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for NARAS While performing at the 60th annual Grammy Awards, Rihanna wore a tropical pink gown, complete with a matching flower in her curly hair.
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2018
Image Credit: John Sciulli/Getty Images for PUMA For her Fenty x Puma event, Rihanna wore a pair of parachute pants and a hot pink bodysuit from the collection.
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2018
Image Credit: Robert Kamau/GC Images Rihanna topped her denim-on-denim look with a bright fuschia jacket while out in Manhattan.
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2018
Image Credit: Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images Rihanna set the standards high as the 2018 Met Gala co-host, thanks to her custom Maison Margiela ensemble fit for the pope.
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2018
Image Credit: Michael Stewart/WireImage Rihanna attended the ‘Ocean’s 8’ World Premierein a metallic lavender structured dress.
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2018
Image Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Stance The singer wore a flirty periwinkle blazer dress at Stance for the Clara Lionel Foundation in New York City.
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2019
Image Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Diamond Ball Rihanna sported a daring lace jumpsuit topped with an oversized bow for the 4th Annual Diamond Ball in New York City.
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2019
Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Fenty Beauty The singer celebrated the first anniversary of Fenty Beauty with a fun and frilly magenta ruffled gown.
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2019
Image Credit: Don Arnold/WireImage Rihanna looked sultry in an all-snakeskin ensemble at the Fenty Beauty by Rihanna Anniversary Event in Sydney, Australia.
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2019
Image Credit: Jackson Lee/GC Images Rihanna kept it sophisticated and cool in an oversized beige blazer over a silky slip dress.
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2019
Image Credit: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images for BET Rihanna looks biker-chic in her leather get-up while onstage at the 2019 BET Awards
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2019
Image Credit: Steven Ferdman/Getty Images For her Diamond Ball, Rihanna wore a turtleneck black gown that puffed out into a white structured hem at the bottom.
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2019
Image Credit: Han Myung-Gu/GC Images Rihanna was all smiles in her bright pink dress, which was unbuttoned at the bottom to revealed a pair of creamsicle orange cargo pants.
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2019
Image Credit: James Devaney/GC Images Rihanna kept things sleek and chic in this minimal white dress while heading to the PlayStation Theater in New York City.
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2019
Image Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Rihanna Rihanna attended the launch of Rihanna’s first Visual Autobiography, Rihanna, at The Guggenheim Museum in 2019 in a one-shoulder, cutout leopard print midi dress and leather boots.
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2019
Image Credit: Daniele Venturelli/WireImage Rihanna wore her own FENTY line from head-to-toe for this monochromatic mint green look at The 2019 Fashion Awards in London, England.
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2020
Image Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/GI Rihanna celebrated the launch of FENTY at Bergdorf Goodman in a cozy orange turtleneck minidress and gold boots.
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2020
Image Credit: Aaron J. Thornton/GI Rihanna accepted the President’s Award onstage at the 2020 NAACP Image Awards in a deep purple, longsleeve dress with a structured skirt.
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2021
Image Credit: Theo Wargo/GI Rihanna brought the comfort to the 2021 Met Gala in a Balenciaga overcoat and matching hat from Stephen Jones Millinery.
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2021
Image Credit: Monica Schipper/GI Rihanna rocked her own lingerie at the premiere of Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 3 presented by Amazon Prime Video.
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2022
Image Credit: Rich Fury/GI To celebrate Fenty Beauty & Fenty Skin at Goya Studios in Los Angeles, California, RiRi showed off her baby bump in a purple and green sparkly jumpsuit.
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2022
Image Credit: Vittorio Zunino Celotto/GI Rihanna continued to defy what maternity style typically looks like during Milan Fashion Week, where she wore a latex crop top, low rise flare pants and faux fur lavender coat.
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2023
Image Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue Rihanna attends The 2023 Met Gala Celebrating “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty” at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 01, 2023 in New York City.
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2023
Image Credit: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images ASAP Rocky and Rihanna backstage at the 95th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre on March 12, 2023 in Hollywood, Calif.
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2023
Image Credit: Christopher Polk/NBC via Getty Images A$AP Rocky and Rihanna attend the 80th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 10, 2023 in Beverly Hills, California.
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2023
Image Credit: Emma McIntyre/WireImage Rihanna attends the FENTY x PUMA sneaker launch party at NeueHouse Los Angeles on Dec. 18, 2023 in Hollywood, California.
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Image Credit: thecelebrityfinder/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images Rihanna and ASAP Rocky are seen on March 15, 2023 in Los Angeles.
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2023
Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/GI for Roc Nation Rihanna performs during Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show at State Farm Stadium on Feb. 12, 2023 in Glendale, Arizona.
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2024
Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Savage X Fenty Rihanna attends the Savage X Fenty Celebration of Lavish Lace Debut at Nordstrom Century City on Oct. 10, 2024 in Los Angeles.
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2024
Image Credit: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images for Moncler Rihanna attends “The City of Genius” of Moncler by the Huangpu river on Oct. 19, 2024 in Shanghai, China.
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2024
Image Credit: Robert Kamau/GC Images Rihanna and ASAP Rocky are seen out on Mother’s Day taking a New York City Yellow Cab to a date night in Tribeca on May 12, 2024 in New York City.
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2024
Image Credit: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images for Christian Dior Rihanna attends the Christian Dior Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2024 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on Jan. 22, 2024 in Paris.
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2024
Image Credit: Monica Schipper/WireImage Rihanna attends her immersive beauty event in honor of Fenty Beauty’s newest product launch, Soft’lit Naturally Luminous Longwear Foundation at 7th Street Studios on April 26, 2024 in Los Angeles.
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2024
Image Credit: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images Rihanna attends the FENTY x PUMA Creeper Phatty Earth Tone Launch Party at Tobacco Dock on April 17, 2024 in London.
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2024
Image Credit: Kayla Oaddams/WireImage Rihanna arrives at the Rihanna x Fenty Hair Los Angeles Launch Party at Nya Studios on June 10, 2024 in Los Angeles.
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2025
Image Credit: PG/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images Rihanna is seen on February 14, 2025 in Los Angeles.