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A sking someone to jump in a shark
tank for the sake of fashion is an exercise in insanity. But Rihanna
is not just someone. When I talked to her about the concept
last fall, she just thought it was “cool.” (Her team was slightly more
anxious.) Cut to the Florida Aquarium in Tampa, one day in
December. In the tank live three sand tiger sharks, none shorter
than eight feet long. The sharks are used to divers, but photogra-
phers and pop stars are another thing entirely. Photographer
Norman Jean Roy donned a scuba suit and jumped in. Rihanna
followed—a dozen dives, and three outft changes, while the sharks
circled her intently. When the shoot was done, she was shivering,
more cold than “cool.” Then she few to Germany. Just another
day in the life of a global pop star who spends her life swimming
with sharks.
Laura Brown: Swimming with sharks is not only scary, it’s a
big metaphor. How did you learn to swim with the sharks of life?
rihanna: I try my best to avoid the sharks of life, but I have had
my share of experiences with them, and in those cases I just have
to handle them accordingly. But I do not swim with sharks ... sharks
swim with sharks.
LB: Did you watch Jaws as a kid? Did it scare you or thrill you?
r: Both! It freaked me out because I was a beach baby, so every
time a new Jaws came out I would take months of from the beach
or just sit on the sand. If I happened to get in the water, my dad
would hum the theme music, and I was right back out of it. But
that was really my fault because I was obsessed with Jaws. Steven
Spielberg was my childhood hero.
LB: Would you say you’re adventurous? What is the greatest adven-
ture you’ve been on, and what would you like to do?
r: Greatest adventure? Are you kidding me? I just did a photo shoot
in the midst of sharks. It’s going to be pretty hard to beat that.
LB: You are fearless with your style, but in what ways are you
fearless in life?
r: I think I’m like most people—we fear the unknown and the
things that have yet to come to pass, which are the very things that
don’t deserve to be feared. When you give God complete control,
it’s very hard not to be fearless.
LB: Being famous for a decade now, you would have had to develop
a thick skin. In what ways are you tough, and in what ways are
you sensitive?
r: This skin has been developing since my frst day at school. It
didn’t happen after fame; I couldn’t survive fame if I didn’t already
have it. So sometimes the toughest thing in life is to be vulnerable.
I’m not generally a sensitive person, but I tend to be more sensi-
tive toward others and what they’re going through. I don’t know
if that’s the healthiest thing, but it’s the truth.
LB: You’re about to release a new album. How ambitious are you,
having achieved so much? Are you competitive at all?r: I am very ambitious! It’s ridiculous how much I want to put
on my plate, which is already full. I am sensitive to what my team
is going through. Actually I’m lying. They get no sympathy ... we
love what we do!
LB: You’ve been killing it stylewise. Do you have to psych yourself
up for a daring red-carpet look or do you just go for it?
r: The way I dress depends on how I feel. I never have to psych
myself up. Usually it just feels like it works.
LB: What has been your favorite red-carpet look ever?
r: My favorite red-carpet looks are usually the ones I get to help
design: the Adam Selman Swarovski crystal dress at the CFDAs,
the Stella McCartney all-white dress at the Met Gala, and the
Adam Selman white jersey dress from the VMAs. But the red
Azzedine Alaïa at the Grammys is also one of my favorites.
LB: Whose style would you like to steal for a day?
r: Zac Posen and his sick custom suits ... and the hair.
LB: Is there a line, fashionwise, that you would never cross—
something you would never wear?
r: I don’t like to commit to those kind of rules. You never know.
LB: How much maintenance does your style take—hair, nails,
fttings, et cetera?
r: At times a lot of maintenance, and at times none. I have a job
that requires quite a lot of glam, and I have a great team that helps
me with that. But sometimes, like when I’m in the studio or on
vacation, there’s little to no maintenance.
LB: What was behind your return to Instagram? Did you miss it?
How much does connecting with your fans daily mean to you?
r: I ... like ... pictures! And that’s the bottom line.
LB: How do you feel about censorship on social media? Should
the nipple be truly free?
r: The C-word?!!! I don’t even know how to spell that.
LB: What makes a BadGal in 2015?
r: You’re about to fnd out.
LB: What do you want to achieve this year, in life and in love?
r: The same goal I set every year—to be happy.
LB: Who is your most unexpected friend?
r: I have friends from rock stars to Rastas; I don’t even know what
an unexpected friend is at this point.
LB: Do you make new friends easily?
r: No.
LB: What is a perfect day for you?
r: The day I wake up without cellulite? Now that would be the
perfect day.
LB: What is your guilty pleasure?
r: Reality TV. I can’t get enough of it.
LB: Finally, how do you eat goddamn pasta every day and still
look like that?
r: You mean how I got my cellulite? n“Greatest adventure? Are you kidding me? I just did a photo shoot
in the midst of sharks. It’s going to be pretty hard to beat that.”
School of rock. Bikini, Burberry.