The first time I was pregnant I didn’t know what to wear. So I decided to trust the Topshop maternity section (I was living in London at the time) and bought myself a bunch of loose cotton tops and maternity jeans with stretchy fabric around the torso – all items of clothing designed to keep me comfortable. I certainly didn’t consider dressing up or showing off my ‘power bump’ like the superstar Rihanna has been doing in spectacular style.
Rihanna’s maternity wear has been the talk of the fashion world, ever since she revealed she was expecting her first child with rapper A$AP Rocky earlier this year.
As we would expect with a celebrity bump reveal, it happened via the medium of paparazzi photos, where Rihanna and A$AP Rocky were taking a seemingly casual walk in the middle of winter as the singer wore a long pink vintage Chanel jacket but kept her bump bare, except for the gold and gem-encrusted jewellery adorning it.
Since then talk of Rihanna and the rise of the ‘power bump’ has hit the media. As journalist Jess Cartner-Morley : “Wearing sheer lingerie and black patent spike heels while pregnant bumps up against ingrained expectations not just about what women wear, but about how they should behave.”
But it’s more than that. As stylist and fashion consultant Solange Franklin : “For so many Black women, we choose defiance. Part of that defiance is visibility.”
In the past, Rihanna has been nothing but bold and outspoken, especially when it comes to expressing pride in who she is.
“I’m a Black woman. I came from a Black woman, who came from a Black woman, who came from a Black woman. And I’m going to give birth to a black woman. My mother is an incredible example of how to fight through obstacles in life. I’m sure her mom taught her that and that’s how I’m going to be. We are impeccable. We’re special. We’re special and the world is going to have to deal with that,” back in 2019.
Fashion for Rihanna is just another way to express herself. While women like myself opted for comfort during pregnancy, for Rihanna being pregnant was a way to see how far she could push the idea of what sexy meant.
“Right now I’m really into pushing the idea of sexy,” the website Refinery29. “When women get pregnant, society tends to make it feel like you hide, hide your sexy, and that you’re not sexy right now [but] you’ll get back there and I don’t believe in that shit.”
In my case, by the time the third trimester rolled around, I have to say I wasn’t feeling particularly sexy. But I do understand the need to feel good about yourself and the way you look, especially after your body has made such drastic changes that, sometimes, it’s hard to even recognise yourself. And I understand that for celebrities especially ones like Rihanna, pregnancy can either be a time to withdraw from the public eye or court it like she has done.
There is no denying that Rihanna is a fashion trailblazer. Her maternity wear is making women explore the concept of taking risks with how they dress when pregnant - you don’t have to hide that growing bump, you can celebrate it, if you want to. She is making fashion choices while pregnant that she wouldn’t have considered before her pregnancy.
“I’m trying stuff that I might not have even had the confidence to try before I was pregnant. The strappiest, the thinnest, and the more cut-outs the better for me,” she told Refinery29.
And as mentioned in Vogue, Rihanna’s pregnancy style may have ushered in an era of celebrating the pregnant body on the catwalk. Pregnant model Maggie Maurer during London Fashion Week in a “a nude translucent sequined slip that outlined her baby bump”, while designer celebrated the female form by using pregnant women in her collection.
For many of us, pregnancy wear might be mostly about getting comfortable in stretchy pants and tops that don’t make us sweat. But for Rihanna, pregnancy is another way to push the concept of fashion in the eyes of the public, and see that becoming the norm. Which is why while my days of maternity wear are over, I’m looking forward to more women embracing their changing form and showing off their power bump with pride.
Saman Shad is a freelance writer.
