Rihanna showcases 'ferocious sex appeal' as she poses nude under a furry stole for daring ELLE cover shoot

Rihanna wowed in her latest magazine shoot, as she stripped down to showcase her 'ferocious sex appeal' for ELLE's September issue. 

The Rude Boy hitmaker, 38, looked jaw-dropping in the cover, in which she went nude beneath a red fur stole while sitting with her legs akimbo. 

The cover image saw Rihanna give a piercing stare to the camera while appearing to go topless and wear a striking headpiece adorned with the 'Dior'.  

The shoot was accompanied by best-selling writer Roxane Gay giving a profile on the star, in which she wrote: 'She seems to live in her body unapologetically, and she does so with confidence and verve...

'It’s no easy feat given that women are, generally, punished for aging visibly and having any curves... There are also the endeavors that carry her name. Savage X Fenty, her lingerie brand, reflects her unique style and ferocious sex appeal'. 

Rihanna smouldered in further shots, including an image in which she reclined on a sofa with her hands raised in the air while sporting a silk gown. 

In a unique snap, she paired a strapless ball gown with a pair of low denier ankle socks and a pair of patent loafers to give an androgynous look. 

In her profile of the star, Roxane reflected on meeting Rihanna at a party and witnessing her charisma in real time. 

She said: 'This one time, I was in Rihanna’s vicinity. It was in Hollywood, at an after-party for something, I can’t even remember what.

Even in a room full of reasonably famous people, she commanded the attention of all those proud peacocks. She was…absolutely entrancing...

'It was one of those moments when I understood, with great clarity, what charisma looks like when someone genuinely has it. Her beauty, in person, cannot be overstated. Her eyes shine bright like a diamond. (See what I did there?)...

'Her skin is dewy and clear. And she smells amazing. As she walked by, I didn’t even try to speak to her. I just admired her and then returned to my awkward shuffle.'

On why her confidence is powerful, she went on: 'She seems to live in her body unapologetically, and she does so with confidence and verve. It’s no easy feat given that women are, generally, punished for aging visibly and having any kind of curves.

'But instead of making herself smaller or living in her body according to the whims of a fickle and ever-changing audience, she lives in her body on her own terms... 

'She is at home in her body whether she is very slender or in the rounded afterglow of childbirth. She allows her taste to dictate what she wears, not arbitrary ideas about bodies and how they should be clothed...

'And she is almost defiant in how she presents herself to the world. This confidence and attitude are incredibly alluring because, unfortunately, we live in a world where a woman has to defy a lot of expectations if she dares to live confidently in her body.'

The shoot comes after Rihanna took to Instagram on Tuesday to share rare photos with all three of the kids she shares with longtime partner A$AP Rocky.

She smiled alongside sons RZA, four, Riot, three, and daughter Rocki, one, in September.  She took her brood to her childhood home in Barbados, where the street she grew up on was renamed in her honor.

In December 2017, Westbury New Road in Bridgetown became Rihanna Drive.

Rihanna, born Robyn Fenty, wrote in the caption: 'One minute I feel like that kid from Westbury…the next minute I’m bringing my own kids back to “Rihanna Drive.”

'Trippy how life works! And the Glory STILL and WILL ALWAYS belong to the Almighty Creator!!!'

The new issue hits newsstands on August 25 and on ELLE.com now