Adam Selman, the American fashion designer from Belton, Texas, who studied at Pratt Institute in New York, is the brainchild of Rihanna’s see-through dress at the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) awards in 2014.

He was introduced to the Barbadian singer through her stylist in 2011. Since their business partnership on her Loud tour, he has been responsible for most of her memorable fashion moments.

Image: Rihanna

“Her street style has evolved into her stage style,” the Texas-bred designer said of her client.

“Everything doesn’t have to be embellished. It can be simpler so that she can shine and it’s not necessarily about the clothes; it’s more about her.”

Now that you know Selman, here’s what not to miss.

In 2015, Selman was MasterCard’s favorite at the time it considered several brands to launch the Big New Idea about clothes that can also serve as mobile payment devices.

At the 20/20 Money conference in Las Vegas that year, Mr. Selman presented a dress, sunglasses, earrings, gloves and a clutch which all had micro-chips embedded in the seams.

Better still, the fashion items didn’t look weird or futuristic as one would have expected prior to the unveiling.

The inspiration was that no matter what item you choose to buy, you’re sure to have a chip which contains your credit card information. You can connect with it via an app on your phone or through Bluetooth.

Pay-made-easy, you’d say.

Owners of the wearables only have to wave any of the items at a contactless reader for immediate payments. The fashion items were an extension of Apple Pay and Android Pay.

Talking about the idea, Sealman said: “I was riding with friends in a cab earlier this summer, and we were actually saying how the next thing to go would be the swipe,” referring to the readily available credit card payments phone apps.

He continued: “Then, the next day, MasterCard called about this. They gave me total leeway; the idea was less about a specific product, than about changing how we think about paying, which is what designers need to do: push boundaries, think about what’s next.”

Out of ten finalists, Selman was one of the two runner-ups selected for the 2016 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund award, receiving $150,000 for his efforts and contributions in the fashion industry.