FASHION

Rihanna Is All of Us on Labor Day

… If we all had Margiela track pants.


Labor Day is the last call of summer. It creeps up on you suddenly, and before you know it, you’re at the beach just one last, perhaps ill-advised, time before hanging up your swim suits for winter. Despite its name (or perhaps because of it), it’s the laziest holiday of the year, meant for lounging too late in sweats and getting dressed only for excursions that involve basking in the sun. Rihanna, queen of chill, fundamentally understands this. What the rest of us feel on this one Monday per year, Rihanna has made a lynchpin of her personal style. So it’s only reasonable that she got a head start on Labor Day dressing, kicking off the weekend in a Margiela sweat suit ensemble.

Rihanna in Maison Margiela in New York, New York, September 2016.

BuzzFoto via Getty Images

Who: Rihanna.

When: Friday, September 2.

Where: Out in Soho, New York, with her best friend Mel.

What: A Maison Margiela sweatshirt that reads “Principles Before Personalities,” periwinkle track pants, also by Margiela, and matching periwinkle heels.

Why: It’s the sweatshirt contraption that first caught our eye here. At first glance, it’s business as usual: slightly distressed, heather grey, black ribbing. But on closer examination, the raw edges and asymmetrical design stand out. One sleeve is accounted for, and the other is torn away, replaced by a cascade of ruffles. It’s half sweatshirt, half poncho. The pants pick up a similar vibe; they appear pretty standard issue, except that they’re also held together by a line of snaps down the sides — and they end just above the ankle, the culotte equivalent of sweats. This is something we didn’t know was a necessary addition to the world of athleisure till just now, and we welcome it. Moving on, Bad Gal tops off the look with a pair of matching periwinkle blue stilettos, because one should always match one’s track suit to the appropriate footwear. And the most important lesson of all: Never go anywhere without your number two.

Watch W’s most popular videos here: