Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Jahleel Weaver On The “No Rules” Mentality Of Working With Rihanna At Fenty

Rihanna’s stylist, Fenty collaborator and best friend, Jahleel Weaver, has created three Xtra VIP boxes for Savage X Fenty that are emblematic of everything the lingerie brand stands for: “Expressing the truest version of yourself and celebrating how different and unique we all are,” he tells Vogue exclusively.

Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty Xtra VIP boxes come in three different moods this month, according to Jahleel Weaver, the curator of the “Xclusive” gift sets. From the “Truth or Dare” package to “Still Watching?” and “XXX”, Weaver wanted to include as many lingerie styles as possible for Fenty’s expansive following. “The pieces I chose all have their own unique Savage twist and show personality – a mix of strength and sensuality,” Weaver tells Vogue. “I love it when people take risks with their clothes. It’s always so obvious when you can see that a person is having fun with fashion.”

Weaver couldn’t settle on one Savage X Fenty subscription box, because “each day is different,” he says. “I think women want the freedom to play around and experiment with expressing themselves and the different sides of their personalities.” The “Truth or Dare” edit comprises soft, lightweight knits to mix and match and a faux fur eye mask, “because why not?” “Still Watching?” has a sweatshirt-fleece jumpsuit to wear with a bralet and high-cut underwear – “It’s super cosy, but still has that sexy energy”, says Weaver. And “XXX” is “so bold and sexy that it gives any woman ultimate confidence,” he says. “If you want to feel sexy, then this is it. Sexy for you, sexy for someone else, it doesn’t matter.” Inside the box is a gift bow bralette – “I knew right away when I saw it that it had to be in the box” – a half-cup bra, open-back knickers and some restraints, “for those who are truly daring.”


Working with Rihanna, Weaver shares, is “challenging in the best ways possible”. “Ri is unlike anyone I’ve ever met and anyone I’ve ever worked with. She has so much to say and so many different vehicles for expression, that the possibilities seem endless. She really pushes me to think beyond what’s directly in front of me.”

The pair met in 2011 when Weaver was assisting Rihanna’s former stylist Mel Ottenberg. As plans for Fenty were put in motion with the backing of LVMH, the musician-turned-mogul approached him to work at Fenty Corp in 2014. “I’m very fortunate to have been taken on this incredible journey with her,” Weaver says of his creative input on the fashion line, and now, for the first time, the Savage X Fenty product offering.

What separates lingerie and ready-to-wear is power, believes Weaver. “Savage X gives women the ability to be overtly sexual and to choose who gets to see that,” says Weaver. “Women can keep it for only themselves or make the decision to share it with someone else. Savage X encourages people to be themselves no matter what. It’s about expressing the truest version of yourself and celebrating how different and unique we all are.”

“Everything Ri does is about making people feel beautiful and recognised, whatever shape, size or colour,” he continues. “She’s built a community with her brands. Like Fenty, Savage X takes into consideration that women can be so many different things at once. It’s the ‘no rules’ mentality.”

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