Rihanna's Fenty Ad Campaign Features 67-Year-Old Model JoAni Johnson

Rihanna defies conventions in her first ad campaign for her fashion and beauty brand. The singer features a 67-year-old gray-haired model to represent what her company stands for.

Rihanna ventured into her first ad campaign for her brand Fenty and her message is clear – beauty and fashion are for everyone.

BREAKING BOUNDARIES

Rihanna is not one to live within boundaries as exemplified by her business empire that boasts of inclusivity. Her makeup line Fenty Beauty released 40 shades of foundations to cater to a range of skin tones while her lingerie line, Savage X Fenty delivers products for all shapes and sizes.

It is not surprising then that her new campaign to promote her brand which recently partnered LVMH, would also challenge the standards of convention and promote diversity. She did this by casting a range of models including 67-year-old JoAni Johnson. She appears in the promotional video with her long gray hair alongside other models of color.

SUCCESS IN HER SIXTIES

Johnson, who is featured in a pastel-pink shirt-dress and matching pants was walking in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood with her husband a few years back when a photographer asked to take her photo. This led to her appearance in a video for Allure magazine featuring people with grey hair.

The video went viral and soon, the 5 foot 4 sexagenarian was thrust into the world of modeling. The Harlem native appeared in several magazines including Vogue and Essence. At 65, she walked the runway for the first time. And last year, she debuted in the runway of New York Fashion Week.

A BRAND FOR EVERYONE

Johnson must have caught the eye of Rihanna who believes luxury is for everyone. The singer’s stylist, Jahleel Weaver explains it best.

“Luxury has been defined in the past as one woman, one brand: You know who the Saint Laurent woman is, you understood who the Celine woman was when it was Phoebe. Which is fine, but you think about how that relates to the modern woman. I don’t think she is just one thing, Rih being the perfect example of that.”

PREGNANT WOMAN ON THE RUNWAY

Rihanna’s decision to include Johnson in her ad reminds us of her New York Fashion Week show last year where she again defied conventions by featuring pregnant models in lingerie. One of them even went into labor right after her stint. Luckily, paramedics rushed to the scene and managed to get her to the hospital before she delivered her child.