Rihanna's Savage X Fenty store opens in Detroit with fans lining up outside

Dozens of shoppers waited in line on a hot and humid Friday morning for the opportunity to be one of the first customers inside Rihanna's Savage X Fenty store in downtown Detroit.

Inside, guests were greeted with a brightly lit space with mannequins reflecting a wide range of body types dressed in lingerie and loungewear. A DJ played as shoppers browsed through racks of clothes and shelves and displays advertising five pairs of panties for $30, lingerie, leggings and men's underwear, in sizes up to 4XL.

The Savage X Fenty store, located at 1442 Woodward Ave., was more than two years in the making, with the brand first announcing it would open a brick-and-mortar store in Detroit in May 2022. This is the company's only store in Michigan and is among 14 Savage X Fenty stores across the U.S. that will be open by the end of the year. The Detroit store is the third Savage X Fenty store to feature the brand’s new design concept, according to a news release sent Thursday announcing the store's opening.

"Through accessibility and convenience, we want to ensure that Savage X Fenty’s customers can shop and explore the brand on their own terms," Vanessa Wallace, chief marketing officer of Savage X Fenty, said in the news release. "With our new store, we hope to reach all of Detroit and provide more opportunities to engage with our products firsthand."

This is the latest business that has opened along Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit since around the time of the NFL draft in April, when Next Level by RollerCade, which offers arcade-style games and a roller rink, opened , along with the Detroit-themed pop-up apparel store Born in Detroit, which just extended its lease and will remain open until the end of 2025 .

Until Friday, Saniyah Woods had been buying from Savage X Fenty online . She came out with her mom, Britnee Carter, to the store opening Friday.

"I love the brand," Woods, 18, of Detroit, said. "I bought from them multiple times. They support body positivity, which is great. ... We're also here supporting Rihanna. I love what she stands for."

More on Savage X Fenty's Detroit store: Rihanna's Savage X Fenty store to open in downtown Detroit on Friday

More recent store openings: Michigan's 1st Sheetz store opens in Romulus: Why people are excited

Tieya Mallory and Aileen Mallory, also a mother-daughter duo, were there to check out Savage X Fenty's leggings, which they said they've heard great things about.

"I've seen her products, and I know a couple friends that have products from (Savage X Fenty)," Tieya Mallory, 27 and a Detroit resident, said. She said her friend said the leggings are comfortable, roomy and "different than your regular leggings."

Tieya Mallory and Aileen Mallory, 51, didn't plan to buy anything Friday but said they shop in downtown Detroit about once a month and plan to make a stop at Savage X Fenty a part of their regular rotation.

Contact Adrienne Roberts: amroberts@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Rihanna's Savage X Fenty store opens in Detroit with fans lining up outside