As far as pop culture moments go, few events have quite the same glossy allure asthe celebrity wedding. From David and Victoria’s 1999 masterclass in nuptial based profiteering to Nicola and Brooklyn’s faux pas fuelled affair decades later, pulling off the perfect day is an art form with career defining implications for the rich and famous.
Music legend Lionel Richie’s youngest child Sofia clearly understood the assignment when it came to her own South of France based celebrations. The extravagant wedding weekend – and most notably the bride’s wardrobe – have quickly become the internet’s new obsession this week. Social commentators are abuzz with new takes on the former model’s wedding wardrobe which boasted three custom looks by Chanel and several other classic colour blocked tailored numbers curated by stylist Liat Baruch.
The younger Richie sister has undergone a recent reinvention – that much is clear. But the internet’s assumption that her pivot in dressing is the result of some scheme to attract a more suitable man is sketchy. At 18, Sofia Richie was infamously involved with Kardashian ex Scott Disick, a man 15 years her senior, in a relationship with at least outward signs of dysfunction. At the time she dressed, as many 18-year-olds in her position do, like an LA ‘party girl’. Now, five years later at 23, Sofia’s clothing has, rather predictably, adapted to match her current style. I defy you to find anyone, celebrity or civilian, who dresses the same at 23 as they did at 18.
Instead of simply putting this change down to age and the ongoing trend cycle, the discourse surrounding Sofia's style has a misogynistic edge which has become prevalent on social media in recent days. As one Tik Tok user put it, 'Conservative dressing, not showing skin is the fastest way to pull a wealthy man'.
It goes without saying that a woman’s worth cannot and should never be determined by the clothes she chooses to wear and the suggestion that Sofia's new, conservative wardrobe now makes her worthy of a healthy relationship is disturbing. The conversation feeds into an emerging trend of self-appointed ‘femininity coaches’ doling out thinly veiled misogynistic takes on how to secure a ‘high value man’ through dressing in a style incorrectly identified as ‘old money’.
Elliot Grainge (who she has married) is indeed a very wealthy man, born into musical aristocracy as the son of Sir Lucian Grainge, CEO of Universal Music Group. But to suggest that Sofia has ‘levelled up’ and married into ‘old money’ because of her change in style is ludicrous. Her father Lionel Richie is worth is around $200m and is a long-time collaborator with Lucian Grainge, Sofia has simply married within her own circle. Falsely advocating that one can dress their way into an ‘old money’ family grossly underestimates the immense socio-political barriers which surround the deliberately insular universes of those with generational wealth. Idolising ‘old money’ which is often accumulated through oppressive practices is not the hot take we think it is.
The Chanel collaboration, along with Sofia’s style renaissance as a young woman, have evidently been in the works for a while. Back in October 2022 she enjoyed a Parisian bachelorette party complete with a trip to the fashion brand’s atelier and last month both Richie sisters (Sofia and her sister Nicole) were dressed by Chanel to attend their Paris fashion week show. Even the decision to work with stylist Baruch, known for her high-end minimalism foreshadowed the very deliberate messaging Sofia is pursuing. Galaxies away from the streetwear clad 18-year-old the world was introduced to; Sofia 2.0 is all about high fashion.
The sad thing is, in the internet’s desperation to centre this whole affair around the male gaze, we’ve lost sight of just how impressive a feat Sofia and her team have pulled off. She soared where Peltz Beckhams stumbled in leveraging her wedding to cement herself as the new ‘It Girl’.And is even hotly tipped to become a Chanel ambassador. Such an ascension up the ranks of fashion’s elite takes an abundance of skill and strategic execution – to suggest it was all in aid of a man is insulting.
Sofia’s style transition also follows a clear shift towards ‘elevated basics’ and the ‘clean girl aesthetic’. It’s very likely that her alignment with these trends was born out of a desire to maximise her commercial appeal rather than attract a certain type of man. As the daughter of an industry legend and younger sister to one of the original ‘It Girls’ Nicole Richie, it’s obvious Sofia’s thinking long term about her career here. To reduce her efforts to chasing a husband is to imply that women do not have aspirations outside of pandering to the whims of men.
Amid all the debate surrounding her nuptials, one voice has remained distinctly silent – Sofia Richie’s. One of the most significant days of her life has been caricatured as a way of blaming women for the way they are treated by men, equating their value to their wardrobe and propelling sexist tropes all without a shred of consideration for her feelings.
Using the wedding of people we know little about to illustrate a misogynistic theory is damaging and inaccurate. We should let Sofia speak for herself.