Rihanna: Elle’s Ferocious July Cover Girl

by Ruthie Friedlander | 9:01 am, June 9th, 2010

The Princess of Pop, Rihanna, is July 2010′s Elle cover girl — and for good reason. The last year of the 22-year-old’s life has been far from smooth sailing. But despite everything, for as many bumps in the road, she brought her fans fabulous fashion moments at every instant. The shoulder pads, the spikes, and of course, the hair — Rihanna never took a break from pushing fashion boundaries and asserting her own personal style.

In next month’s Elle, Rihanna talks about the last year of her life, her new boyfriend, and, most exciting for us, her favorite designers.

“It’s clear there are definitely fewer black women in the high-fashion industry. One of the things I respected most about Gucci was that they did a print campaign with me. I’m a black girl on a fashion spread for Gucci—that was a big deal. I respect designers who aren’t afraid to go outside the box. I went to a Jean Paul Gaultier show, and I saw girls who are thicker than me, beautiful and voluptuous and different ethnicities. That made me so excited. I thought, Okay, I can work that, for sure.”

We’re not sure if photographer Tom Munro shot Rihanna in Gucci or Gaultier (we have yet to see the fashion credits) but regardless of whom she’s dressed in, we must hand it to Elle — the animalistic leopard attired does Rihanna’s body and attitude justice.