Rihanna welcomes baby with A$AP Rocky after high-fashion, self-affirming pregnancy

The singer rewrote style rules while she was expecting first child

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky have welcomed their first child, reportedly a baby boy. Getty Images

Singer Rihanna and rapper A$AP Rocky have reportedly welcomed their first child, following a pregnancy the singer flaunted in a radical revamp of normally covered-up maternity style.

The entertainment and fashion mogul behind hits Diamonds and Umbrella gave birth to a boy on May 13 in Los Angeles, according to TMZ, which first reported the news.

People Magazine confirmed the celebrity birth, citing a source close to the couple who said they are at home with the baby and that "Rihanna is doing well. They are very excited to be parents."

Representatives for the couple did not immediately respond to an AFP request for confirmation.

No other details, including the child's name, have been made public.

The Barbadian-born Robyn Rihanna Fenty, 34, in recent years has become a billionaire, parlaying her music achievements into successful makeup, lingerie and high-fashion brands.

Rumours that she and A$AP Rocky, 33, were dating swirled for years before the pair confirmed last year that their romance was official.

The pair announced they were expecting in January with a set of glamorous snow-dusted images taken in Harlem, the mother-to-be sporting a long pink jacket buttoned only at the top, paired with a long bejewelled necklace over her bare belly.

Since then, Rihanna has triggered a paparazzi frenzy and left the fashion industry in awe, appearing in barely-there maternity looks that showcased her growing baby bump, no holds barred.

See highlights from Rihanna's pregnancy wardrobe here:

ASAP Rocky and Rihanna arrive at a Fenty Beauty x Fenty Skin event at Goya Studios in Los Angeles, California on February 12, 2022. AFP

For the event, Rihanna wore a green string top by Attico with a pair of coordinated trousers. AFP

The Barbados-born singer spoke about her pregnancy style at the event, saying 'it's fun' but also 'a challenge' dressing her new bump. AFP

'I'm enjoying not having to worry about covering up my tummy,' she joked. AFP

Rihanna's maternity fashion look featured a backless green top and ombre pink trousers. AFP

Weeks after announcing her pregnancy, the pop icon dazzled the fashion week circuit in look after look, notably arriving in Paris in a completely see-through Dior lace cocktail dress, under which she donned lingerie from her own Savage X Fenty line.

Paired with spiky heeled knee-high boots, a leather trench coat, and silver necklaces, the star walked with such grace and confidence she appeared to float. During her pregnancy, Rihanna didn't just bare her belly, she boasted of it, adorning herself in jewels, sequinned bras, and low-slung miniskirts.

"She's changed something profound in fashion — single-handedly rewriting the rules of pregnancy dressing with one jaw-dropping style manoeuvre after another," wrote Vogue, which featured Rihanna on its May cover.

"I'm hoping that we were able to redefine what's considered 'decent' for pregnant women," the performer told the magazine.

"My body is doing incredible things right now, and I'm not going to be ashamed of that. This time should feel celebratory."

She's far from the first celebrity to show off her pregnant belly: Demi Moore posed nude while expecting on Vanity Fair's cover in 1991, a stunning move for the time.

Since then, Britney Spears, Cindy Crawford and Serena Williams have all sat for similar glossy pregnancy portraits. Beyonce, meanwhile, announced her twins with a highly polished, belly-baring Instagram post chock full of art-world references, including Botticelli's Venus.

But Rihanna's scantily clad looks have been far less calculated and far more frequent, a statement on maternity that goes beyond the magazine cover to be an everyday celebration of self.

"Right now I'm really into pushing the idea of sexy," she told the lifestyle website Refinery29 in February. "When women get pregnant, society tends to make it feel like you hide, hide your sexy."

"I don't believe in that," she continued. "So I'm trying stuff that I might not have even had the confidence to try before I was pregnant."

"The strappiest, the thinnest, and the more cut-outs — the better for me."