Anticipation is at an all-time high for Rihanna’s upcoming performance at the Super Bowl halftime show.

The Barbadian singer will be taking on the 13-minute slot on Sunday, marking her first live performance in seven years – and the first since the birth of her son with ASAP Rocky in 2022.

At the Apple Music pre-game press conference on Thursday, Rihanna said: “When you become a mum, there’s something that just happens where you feel like you could take on the world. You can do anything, and the Super Bowl is one of the biggest stages in the world.

“So as scary as that was, because I haven’t been on stage in seven years, there’s something exhilarating about the challenge of it all.

“And it’s important for me to do this, this year it’s important for representation and it’s important for my son to see that.”

For the press conference, the 34-year-old chose to wear a crocodile print dress paired with a shearling moto jacket and strappy high heels by Alaïa.

It’s a taste of things to come, and Rihanna will undoubtedly wear some fashion-forward and extravagant outfits for her performance. These are some of the looks that have helped solidify her status as a style icon…

At the CFDA Awards

This outfit has gone down in fashion history as one of the original ‘naked’ dresses, sparking a trend that’s still going strong today.

At the 2014 CFDA Awards, Rihanna accepted the Fashion Icon Award in a sheer Adam Selman dress studded with Swarovski crystals. She paired it with a matching headscarf, gloves and a fur stole – an exciting mix of cutting edge and Old Hollywood glamour.

At the Met Gala 2015

Plenty of Rihanna’s most memorable fashion moments come at the Met Gala, where the Barbadian superstar is never afraid to commit to the dress code.

The theme for the 2015 event was China: Through the Looking Glass, and Rihanna chose Chinese designer Guo Pei to create her elaborate yellow look, which took two years to make.

At the Grammys

Rihanna regularly shuts down the Grammys red carpet, and in 2017 she did so in a dramatic Armani Privé outfit – made up of a sparkling tangerine crop top and a voluminous black skirt.

At the Met Gala 2017

The 2017 Met Gala was dedicated to experimental designer Rei Kawakubo and the fashion house Comme des Garçons, and while many attendees shied away from making too much of an impact, the same couldn’t be said of Rihanna.

She committed to the theme in a full Comme des Garçons look, that could be described as an avant-garde flower bomb.

At the Cannes Film Festival

While Rihanna isn’t afraid to take risks with her fashion, she also knows how to style a classic look. Take this bridal-inspired white strapless gown worn to the Cannes Film Festival in 2017 – it’s timeless and elegant, but given a modern touch with small sunglasses.

At the Met Gala 2018

The 2018 Met Gala explored the relationship between Catholicism and style, and Rihanna made a statement dressed as a high fashion Pope. The heavily bejewelled look by Maison Margiela featured a minidress, a heavy looking coat and a pontiff-inspired hat.

At the premiere of Ocean’s 8

After taking on the role of Nine Ball in Ocean’s 8, Rihanna made sure to give fans a fashion extravaganza for the promotional tour. For the London premiere of the movie, she wore a liquid gold dress by Poiret with an asymmetric hemline and off-the-shoulder silhouette.

At the Diamond Ball

Rihanna’s Diamond Ball is a celeb-stacked event supporting her charity, the Clara Lionel Foundation. She wore Givenchy couture for the 2019 ball: a black velvet turtleneck gown, elevated with a structural white cage skirt.

At the Met Gala 2021

Rihanna knows how to make a political statement with her fashion. For the 2021 Met Gala, she wore an oversized black Balenciaga coat and beanie – she said it was a powerful and feminine interpretation of the hoodie, saying on the red carpet that “is the thing that we are usually incriminated by as black people”.

Pregnancy fashion

Rihanna’s pregnancy fashion was nothing short of ground-breaking – she shunned maternity style norms, instead wearing experimental and revealing outfits as her bump grew. For the Off-White fashion show in early 2022, she wore a skin-tight peach leather minidress, with a matching shearling coat over the top.