NEW YORK -- Big Sean, A$ap Ferg, Halsey and Migos rocked Rihanna's Savage X Fenty crowd Tuesday from a colour-saturated stage at the Barclays Center as Normani and Laverne Cox joined an army of supermodels and dancers in a showcase of her latest loungewear and lingerie.
But don't look for the juicy new collection on social media, at least not in a big way. The curated audience heavy on young influencers had their phones locked in cases for the New York Fashion Week show, which was filmed for streaming Sept. 20 exclusively on Amazon Prime.
Rule-breakers spent the rest of the evening posting blurry and dimly lit clips taken with sneaked-in phones.
Do look for an opening dancer number featuring Rihanna herself, in black surrounded by fellow dancers. No, she didn't sing.
"The easier choice was just to watch from backstage," she told The Associated Press. "I had to make everybody make an outfit and time and glam but I wanted to do it. I just feel like I haven't been on stage for a long time. It's my show, my fans would love it. Even though it's not a new song from the new album but it's like, this is what I love and I love performing. It doesn't matter what it looks like or what it feels like or what aspect of performance it is. I enjoy it."
Rihanna did right by her fans by putting her latest teddies and other lacy pieces immediately on sale, at Amazon, and by setting up photo booths outside the Brooklyn stadium after the 40-minute show.
On stage, her white, multilevel backdrop evoked a European piazza bathed in purple, yellow and red light. Her legion strutted and danced on platforms and in large windows as she dressed some of the biggest names in modeling, sisters Bella and Gigi Hadid included, harem-style in looks of pink and yellow. She also enlisted 21 Savage as a model and Fat Joe and Tierra Whack to perform.
At one point during the show, a small simulated water pool at centre stage rippled as Migos moved. At another point, the crowd threw up their arms as DJ Khaled instructed.
Plus-size model Paloma Elsesser joined the Hadids, Joan Smalls, Alek Wek and Cara Delevingne for Rihanna's second fashion week foray of her fledgling brand, this collection for fall-winter. Like her models and dancers, her line ranges in sizes 32A-42H in bras and XS-3X for the rest of the body.
Fashion, dance, music, makeup: Rihanna has done it all.
"All of those things, all of those elements mean the world to me. They're all a part of being creative," she said. "They're all outlets of my creative journey and doing a fashion show I will never neglect any of those aspects of my creativity or who I am as a performer, entertainer. I come with a lot. I started with one but I come with a lot now and I will never neglect any of those aspects."
Move over, Victoria's Secret, a brand known for its splashy TV specials. This year's is to be determined.
Among Rihanna's guests were Kacey Musgraves, Kehlani, the pregnant Ashley Graham and Diplo. They joined others for photos ahead of the performance.
Nobody does fashion week quite like Rihanna.