Rihanna's image

As I am re-creating a song made by the artist Rihanna. I thought it would be a good idea to look at her image as an artist and see how she has changed over the years. As well as this, I can try to reflect some of her image into my own artist as Rihanna has been a success for many years, therefore her image as an artist is working.  

2006

Rihanna first hit the charts in 2005 with Pon De Replay. However the above image is taken from her single S0S in 2006. Never the less, this was when Rihanna was first making her mark in the music industry. As quite a young artist, Rihanna had a very simple image and she was sticking true to her Barbados roots. 

As Rihanna became more familiar with herself as an artist and the image she wanted to create, she became more experimental with her hair. For example the left image above shows how Rihanna was styled when she released her hit "Take a Bow". As you can see her image is very contrasting from when she first started out in the music industry. As well as this, Rihanna choosing to have short hair meant that she subverted the typical image of a female artist, as they tend to go for long feminine hair. 

Next, the right image above shows Rihanna when she had bright red hair. This became quite iconic to her as an artist and this style also featured in her hit "Only Girl in The World". Rihanna's bold hair set a statement for her as an artist and also inspired her target audience to be bolder. Rihanna's fans were inspired to have similar hair.

2012

The above image displays Rihanna's look in 2012. As you can see from her blonde curly hair it is completely contrasting in comparison to when she first started out in the music industry. Once again I think Rihanna uses her hair to set a statement to her target audience, as well as this it gives them an image to look up to and follow as it is very different to what you would expect to see.

2015 

The above image displays Rihanna's current image. In comparison to some of the other hair styles that Rihanna has had throughout the years, this is a lot more natural and fitting to her.  After looking at images of Rihanna throughout the years, I have noticed that she often likes to change her style whether that be her hair or her clothing, in order to keep things fresh and interesting. 

I have found that Rihanna often keeps her make up the same, it is her hair that she tends to experiment with. This is something to keep in mind when thinking about how we want our own artist to be portrayed. As to whether we want her to have an iconic image that she sticks with or if she mixes things up every so often. Also, this research has shown me that artists tend to start out with quite a basic image and adapt it as they become more familiar with themselves. 

Overall I think that this research into Rihanna's image was successful. Although I have already created my artist, her image is open to change. Therefore looking at how Rihanna is styled was useful to me as it means I have a greater understanding of what looks works and what doesn't.