Rihanna Covers EE72 Magazine Summer 2026 Issue in New Szilveszter Mako Shoot

Rihanna doesn't do safe. Not in music, not in business, and certainly not on magazine covers. So when EE72—the Budapest-based publication known for its fearless, almost confrontational aesthetic—tapped Hungarian photographer Szilveszter Mako to capture her for their summer 2026 issue, you knew the result would cut deeper than the usual celebrity flattery. What emerged is nothing short of a masterclass in editorial restraint: raw, immaculate, and impossibly commanding.

The Mako Effect

Szilveszter Mako has built a reputation on stripping subjects down to their essence, finding beauty in negative space and the brutal honesty of natural light. His previous work—moody, conceptual, sometimes deliberately uncomfortable—prepared us for something different. But seeing Rihanna through his lens feels like watching someone you thought you knew reveal a completely new dimension.

The cover image itself is almost shockingly simple: Rihanna in profile, her skin luminous against a near-white background, wearing what appears to be a custom piece by a designer we're still trying to identify (EE72 is keeping that close). Her hair is pulled back with architectural precision, her expression neither smiling nor brooding—just present. Unflinching. The kind of photograph that makes you pause mid-scroll.

"I wanted to photograph her as she actually exists—not as an idea, not as an icon, but as a person at a specific moment in time. No artifice. That's where the power lives." — Szilveszter Mako

Minimalism as Statement

In an era of maximalist celebrity content—the overproduced TikTok, the filtered Instagram sprawl, the endless brand partnerships—Rihanna's choice to embrace this stark visual language feels almost radical. There's no dramatic makeup, no architectural haute couture, no thematic narrative sprawling across multiple images. Just her, light, and the photographer's unwavering gaze.

The accompanying spread inside maintains this philosophy:

• Shot 1: Rihanna in a sheer, barely-there Maison Margiela piece, shot in profile again—repetition as power

• Shot 2: A close-up of her hands, wearing nothing but a sculptural ring by emerging jewelry designer Marina Grzinic

• Shot 3: A full-length moment in neutral-toned tailoring that reads almost masculine in its precision—the kind of piece that would look unremarkable on anyone else

• Shot 4: Her face, eyes closed, in what feels like a moment of genuine rest or meditation

Why This Matters Right Now

Rihanna has spent the last few years in a careful balance between invisibility and ubiquity. Her Fenty empire dominates fashion and beauty. Her music remains omnipresent. Yet her personal visibility—the carefully curated image—has become more selective, more guarded. This shoot feels like a conversation with that tension. By handing herself over to Mako's unflinching lens, she's not revealing more; she's revealing differently.

There's also something culturally significant about EE72 being the vehicle. The magazine has emerged as a genuine alternative to the traditional luxury publishing establishment, unafraid to work with photographers and stylists who challenge rather than flatter. That Rihanna would choose them—over Vogue, over Harper's Bazaar, over the obvious choice—signals a shift in how the world's most powerful cultural figures think about their image.

The Styling Breakdown

The Rihanna we see in this issue is deliberately desexualized, deliberately stripped of the elements that usually define her public presence. There's no luxury logomania, no statement bags, no gravity-defying silhouettes. Instead: cream, white, natural fibers, architectural simplicity. It's the kind of fashion that only works when you have the bone structure, the presence, the sheer force of personality to carry it. Anyone else would disappear. She becomes inevitable.

EE72's summer 2026 issue hits newsstands this week, with the full feature and additional photographs available on their site. Pre-order your copy now—this is the kind of image that transcends the magazine itself and becomes part of how we'll remember this moment in Rihanna's visual evolution.