Rihanna Makes History As The First Black Celebrity To Star In A Dior Campaign

Rihanna has been named as the newest face of Dior's Secret Garden campaign - making her the first black celebrity to be featured in a campaign by the fashion house.

"The house of Dior is pleased to announce that the fourth episode of Secret Garden was filmed this week by Steven Klein in Versailles, guest starring Rihanna," said Dior in a statement.

"I feel very special, not just as a woman of colour, which I think is brilliant, but as a woman to be acknowledged by Dior is very special," Rihanna told Australian entertainment site news.com.au.

RiRi later made a further comment to MTV: “It feels fantastic,” she said. “It is such a big deal for me, for my culture, for a lot of young girls of any color. I think to be acknowledged by Dior means a lot, as a woman, to feel beautiful — to feel elegant and timeless.”

The 27-year-old Bajan singer will feature in a short film and a print ad set to debut this spring. She was recently spotted being photographed in a silver dress at the Palace of Versaille in Paris, in what is believed to be her first shoot for the campaign.

Raf Simons, the label's current creative director, came under fire in 2012 for not casting black models in his shows. It was not until his seventh Dior collection (autumn 2013) that he finally included six black models in a catwalk show.

This is not Rihanna's first outing for a fashion house, she has already posed for Gucci, Emporio Armani and Balmain.

SEE MORE

Jourdan Dunn Becomes First Black Model To Land Solo British Vogue Cover In 12 Years

Rihanna And Leonardo DiCaprio To Take Things To The Next Level?

Previous celebrities who have starred in Dior campaigns include Jennifer Lawrence, Natalie Portman, Charlize Theron and Marion Cotillard. But up until now the Secret Garden campaign has featured only models, not singers or actresses.

Rihanna has been a regular on the front row of Dior shows over recent years, and in honour of her new job we've rounded up some of her best moments wearing Dior.