Why We Love (or Hate) Rihanna, CFDA Awards Photos & Speech

So… this happened. I’d be the first to admit that I love my Rihanna but WOOOWWWW!!!! The self proclaimed bad gal wore this see-through Adam Selman designed mesh dress, adorned with 230,000 Swarovski crystals, at this year’s CFDA Awards.

Separately from being honored with the event’s Fashion Icon of the Year Award, as you can imagine, Rihanna shocked everyone with her attire. While some love the nerve of the pop star to walk down the red carpet nearly nude, others loathe her, her attire, and continue to dispel their disapproval and complaints of the singer being a “poor” role model.

I personally do not think any one celebrity should be held responsible for the “morals” or lack their of amongst today’s youth. In fact, it’s been proven time and time again that children are mostly affected by their direct upbringing —that includes their parents and/or guardians, community etc.

With that being said, I also think the singer may want to tone down the shock value. Is it bold, intriguing, in your face, and do we love her for celebrating the woman’s body and being comfortable in her own skin? Absolutely! But is it necessary? I’m not so sure. There’s a thing called leaving a little to the imagination…I’m not sure the singer would agree or even care, but, nonetheless I salute her ability to be completely comfortable in her own skin and OWN it. Own it she does! And while it may not work for everyone, it works for her.

Check out some more photos below of the singer’s attire, walk down the red carpet and her acceptance speech during the award ceremony.

Upon being present with the Fashion Icon Award of the Year by Vogue Editor-in-Chief, Anna Wintour, the singer stated…

Growing up I didn’t have a lot of access to fashion. But, um, as far as I could remember, fashion has always been my defense mechanism. Even as a child I remember thinking, “She can beat me, but she cannot beat my outfit.” [laughter and cheers] And to this day I mean, that is how I think about it. I can compensate for all my weaknesses with my fashion. And so really, you really can…I enjoy the most that you can tell so much about who some one is just by their style—the way they put fashion together. And I think fashion has been an outlet for me to express myself, to speak up, to say who I am and to be very loud about it at times, and I just like to have fun with it. Fashion is just a world of thrills, it’s exciting, there’s no rules, theres just…I mean SHE has tons of rules [gestures at Anna Wintour, audience laughs]…Scratch that! Scratch that! [more audience laughter] There are RULES! But rules are meant to be broken. [Audience cheers and claps].

For the full speech head over to NY Mag.

And here’s a playful video of the singer twerking as she celebrates her honor.

Well, oh okay! Lol

Thoughts?

(Photos: Instagram)