During Rihanna’s return to the stage during the 57th Super Bowl halftime show, Rihanna was shown to be sporting a full red Loewe jumpsuit with red Maison Margiela shoes.
The outfit was beautiful on stage, but one element was added to it towards the latter half of the performance that pays tribute to an icon within the fashion world.
Toward the end of her performance, Rihanna was seen to be sporting a custom red Alaïa floor-length puffer coat.
Now while this coat produced a stunning performance, this also served as a beautiful tribute to Andre Leon Talley, a staple within the fashion industry who passed away on Jan. 18, 2022.
The coat Rihanna sported was a nod to his infamous red Norma Kamali blanket jacket, which he wore several times, even when he was picked to be the new face of UGG in 2021.
Those behind the famed fashion pioneer’s Instagram account acknowledged the tribute by showing a side-by-side of Leon Talley and Rihanna with her lyrics, “When the sun shines, we’ll shine together. Told you I’ll be here forever, said I’ll always be your friend.”
The style icon has always shown his admiration for Rihanna’s sense of style, with the pair having a moment while Leon Talley was a correspondent on the carpet of the 2015 Met Gala.
While Rihanna was climbing the stairs in her custom yellow Guo Pei dress that was made to fit the night’s theme, “China: Through the Looking Glass,” Leon Talley looked at the outfit in complete joy and awe.
Leon Talley, proclaiming that the outfit was the “black frozen” and that she was “the queen of the night,” knew right then that she was a force to be reckoned with in fashion.
Both came from humble beginnings to dominating in their respective careers; every subsequent year at the Met Gala, the pair would exchange compliments as Leon Talley would always compliment Rihanna’s fashion and eye for it.
With his history as a former editor-at-large at Vogue, as well as being a distinguished fashion journalist, his extreme attention to detail and love for all things extravagant makes sense for this to be the way to honor that legacy.
They both revel in the extravagance in fashion, which wasn’t missed with her wearing the iconic coat for her performance.
This tribute, among other elements of her 13-minute performance, helped to create not only an iconic fashion moment but an iconic Super Bowl halftime show.