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Rihanna shines bright in New York, fashion & philanthropy

The pop star hosted her third Diamond Ball on Thursday night in New York City for her organization, the Clara Lionel Foundation, which promotes education and arts globally.
Rihanna attends Rihanna's 3rd Annual Diamond Ball Benefitting The Clara Lionel Foundation at Cipriani Wall Street on September 14, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Clara Lionel Foundation)

NEW YORK - Rihanna played the role of slick bartender at her charity event, encouraging the audience to drink up and donate money to her foundation at the same time.

The pop star hosted her third Diamond Ball on Thursday night in New York City for her organization, the Clara Lionel Foundation, which promotes education and arts globally.

She told the audience the more they drank "the more inspired you'll be to donate money ... and help kids around the world."

Dave Chappelle worked as Rihanna's right-hand man. He first told jokes and later joined the auctioneer onstage, even purchasing a Retna art piece for $180,000.

Jay-Z, Beyonce, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx and Trevor Noah attended the black-tie event, which included a video message from former President Barack Obama.


PHOTOS | Third Annual Diamond Ball

But this wasn’t the only highlight of the week for the Barbadian songstress. Starting with her Fenty Beauty makeup launch party and continuing a few days later with her jaw-dropping, BMX-themed Fenty x Puma fashion show that turned NYC's Park Avenue Armory into a motocross rally, Rihanna hit the sweet spot of well-executed clothing, a solid dose of celebrity and inclusivity that feels like the future of American fashion.

As the industry struggles to figure out what's next for New York Fashion Week, Rihanna may have shown the path forward.

Her star power brought the attention of fashion editors and the masses, but instead of putting on a spectacle for spectacle's sake, she delivered with sportswear infused with enough of her trend-setting style but not so much to render it unwearable for everyone else. Her legions may not be able to carry off the entire look, but women across the country will be scoping individual pieces to buy come February.


(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Copyright 2017 USA Today)

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