Rihanna's transformation from girl next door to stunning sex kitten

Now and then ... Rihanna is barely recognisable from her former self

By IAN GARLAND

Published: 21st September 2012

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IN seven years Rihanna has transformed from a clean-cut girl next door into the sexiest star in pop.

This week the 24-year-old chart-topper unveiled her most recent look, after chopping all her hair off to leave her with a brand new boyish barnet.
It's just the latest transformation for the fashion chameleon who's had more haircuts than hits and loves to shock.
The Rihanna who burst onto the scene in 2005 with debut single Pon de Replay is now barely recognisable.

Fresh-faced ... Rihanna was clean cut when she burst into the scene in 2005

The Barbadian beauty looked like butter wouldn't melt when she first appeared before cameras, aged just 17, to promote the song and her debut album Music of the Sun, wearing jeans, a waistcoat and her curly hair as nature intended.
It wasn't long before she discovered flesh sells and by the time her second album A Girl Like Me was released the following year - she was already sporting an edgier choppy haircut and deep plunging neckline.

Girl next door ... shs started to test the water with more daring outfits when her second album launched in 2006

The older she got, the more comfortable she felt showing off her fabulous figure.
The prolific pop princess was already on her third album, Don't Stop the Music, by 2007.
And she promoted the disc with a daring bob hairdo and a series of skimpy and sexy outfits.
Rumour has it early in her career Rihanna's record label banned her from cutting her long curly locks - unless she wore long extensions.

Bobby dazzler ... By 2007 Ri had ramped up the sex factor

If it's true, the music moguls relaxed their grip on the the star as she matured as an artist - and her fashion adventures succeeded in landing her even more fans.
Just months after her shocking beating at the hands of boyfriend Chris Brown at the 2009 Grammys, Rihanna stole the show at the Met Costume Gala in New York with her latest daring get-up.

Ri's the man ... she rocked an androgynous look at the 2009 Met Gala

The singer strode the red carpet wearing an androgynous tuxedo, her short black hair streaked with blonde dye.
It started a style revolution for Rihanna, whose sexuality and fashion creativity went into overdrive.
Later that year she squeezed her curves into a saucy skintight all-in-one bandage dress to perform Wait Your Turn at the 2009 American Music Awards in Los Angeles.

Curves the word ... the same year she treated us to a first glimpse of her fab figure

The following year she went a step further at a concert in Glasgow - posing astride a phallic pink cannon, while wearing Mickey Mouse ears.

Sex sells ... Rihanna's not afraid to stare sex in the face

And in June 2010, she emulated the original pop queen Madonna onstage in Madrid, sporting one of her raunchiest costumes to date - a conical black bra, tiny shorts and fishnet stockings.
She topped it off with a shorter than ever hairstyle, dyed bright red.

Bra-vellous ... she can even out-sex Madonna

Fishnets and flesh were to become a popular theme for the sexy star, who was growing more and more confident with her curves.
So confident she was kicked off a video shoot in Northern Ireland in 2011 after a farmer complained she was frolicking topless.

Flesh and fishnets ... Rihanna insists her image is an "act"

She also caused a furore when she released her single S&M in 2011.
In the accompanying video Rihanna wore a dress with the words "whore" and "slut" emblazoned on it.
The promo was banned in 11 countries.
When she performed S&M with Britney Spears at the Billboard Awards - the singers both dressed in bondage gear and caused gasps from the crowd when they smooched onstage.

S&M ... Britney and Rihanna kiss

Getty

Rihanna's sex factor was, by now, at full pelt - and she dazzled fans in London in October last year, writhing onstage as she belted out her hits, wearing tiny emblazoned shorts and bra.
The same year she stripped down to her underwear to pose for fashion giant Armani.

Underwear model ... in 2011 she posed in lingerie for Armani

Giorgio Armani

And she's kept up her enthusiasm for fashion transformations into 2012.
She showed she can still do glam at the Grammy's in February, wearing a sleek and sexy black dress, slashed down to the navel.
Her hair was long, curly and blonde with her black roots exposed.
She then stripped down to a Cleopatra-themed gold bikini for a benefit gig in New York in May - her hair straight this time.
But the longer locks didn't stay long. This month she walked the red carpet at the MTV VMAs in LA with a schooboy-style short do.

All glammed up ... Rihanna at the 2012 Grammys

 

Elleuk.com editor Carrie Tyler insists Rihanna is the most fascinating fashionista in pop.

Men love to lust over her - and women want to look like her.

Tyler said: "Everytime we write about Rihanna - her nails, clothes, make-up or hair - our traffic goes through
 the roof. She is a figurehead for gutsy, confident fashion choices.
"Women are fascinated by her because she takes the risks that her fans would like to take themselves. She's got a beautiful, curvy figure but it's her confidence that appeals as much as her body."

Cleopatra ... in a gold bra at a benefit gig in New York

Rihanna, meanwhile, insists the overt sexuality is all an act.
When her S&M video was criticised, she told reporters: "That's not me. That's a part I play. You know, like it's a piece of art, with all these toys and textures to play with."
Whether it's an act or not, it works, as We Love Pop Editor Malcolm Mackenzie explains: "There is such an energy about Rihanna. She looks like a young woman who is living her life and doing things her way. Whether or not it is all part of a marketing campaign, the point is that it doesn't come across like that."

Boy interrupted ... Rihanna debuts her new boyish do at the MTV VMAs