Is this a case of fashion déjà vu?
During an episode of America's Next Top Model in early January, the remaining contestants were tasked with turning the aisles of a Harlem supermarket into the perfect backdrop for their couture ensembles. They got to werk, striking poses around the meats, melons and milk.
As one of the show's judges and Paper's chief creative officer Drew Elliot told the ladies, the photoshoot was inspired by a 2014 Chanel runway show during Paris Fashion Week, where the models strutted along aisles of groceries.
The event was attended by Rihanna, who coincidentally appears on the cover of Paper's most recent March issue posing in the aisles of a New York deli/grocery hybrid.
The bold photos feature the star rocking blue spiky hair in front of a refrigerator filled with soda cans and at work behind the counter, similar to the style of the VH1 contestants striking poses in their couture getups.
RiRi sported a series of avant-garde looks for the shoot, including cascading lilac hair, a yellow, pink and orange fur coat, oversized square earrings and a denim jacket embellished with beading. "We thought it would be interesting to put a superstar like Rih in such an everyday surrounding," Shannon Stokes, the co-stylist behind the futuristic shoot, said.
While the resemblance between the two shoots could be pure coincidence, given the Drew Elliot connection, one could have easily inspired the other or worked as a test run for the singer's newest spread.
No matter the inspiration, one thing is clear—a grocery is apparently the perfect place to test-drive your boldest look.