World sensation American popstar Rihanna amazed all by wearing a South African Zulu traditional outfit at the event of her own brand Fenty Beauty. There she promoted love and unity of the Zulu Culture.
But what actually made people question is that why South Africa or Zulu as she natively belongs to Barbados, which is a Caribbean island.
Rihanna wore a stunning traditional Zulu outfit that included the wide isicholo hat, cowhide skirt and a beadwork top. By carrying this attire she celebrated the African pride and heritage at the Fenty Beauty event.
The ‘don’t stop the music’ singer attracted huge praise for showcasing African royalty and unity as many commented on the elegance and cultural respect that she showed.
At Fenty Beauty Event
Calling out its cultural significance, the outfit was a beautiful tribute to Zulu culture that symbolised African pride and heritage. As she wore traditional adornments like the large, circular isicholo (hat) and layered necklaces, these are the elements that are typically seen on married Zulu women.
The look was widely celebrated across social media as a powerful moment of cultural appreciation and elegance.
Rihanna chose to wear that as she launched Fenty Beauty in 2017 with a focus on inclusivity, and recent posts from late 2025 show her embracing South African traditional wear, emphasising unity and African identity through her style.
Rihanna wore a South African Zulu traditional outfit, promoting the love and unity of the Zulu Culture. ♥️🖤 pic.twitter.com/KYbMAXBhoJ
— Zoom Afrika (@zoomafrika1) December 23, 2025
About Zulu Outfit
Zulu outfits are vibrant, symbolic traditional clothes from South Africa that features colorful beadwork and animal skins (like cowhide/goat skin) that denote status, marital state, and occasion, with women wearing skirts/beads and married ones the wide isicholo hat. While men wear skin aprons (ibheshu) and arm/leg bands (amashoba), especially for ceremonies that communicates identity and heritage.
The Beadwork on the central part of the attire, and colours convey messages such as white is for purity, black is for mourning, red is for passion, green is for fertility, and yellow is for wealth. Animal Skins are used for skirts known as isidwaba for women), aprons known as ibheshu for men, and adornments as tails on arms or legs. The status is symbolised with a wide hat isicholo that signifies a married woman and different skin types show different status.
With the changing time the traditional dress is worn for special events like weddings and cultural festivals. Yet the modern designs often blend traditional elements with bright fabrics like shweshwe.