NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 Erykah Badu was bestowed the fashion icon award by the Council of Fashion Designers of America, playfully saying it was an honor she鈥檇 been hoping to get most of her life.
Wearing a headdress of jewels and a jacket, Badu accepted the award Monday night in Manhattan, saying she鈥檚 been trying to win the icon award since she was 6 years old. Badu described dressing up as a sport, therapy 鈥 and, she joked, her husband.
Andr茅 3000 brought out an orange caution cone to the stage as he introduced Badu, who is the mother of his son.
鈥淭he world is a private joke between me and my things,鈥 she said. Andr茅 3000 took the cone as he walked off with Badu.
The Grammy Award winner has become one of the great fashion disruptors of red carpets over the years, shaking up black tie conformity with her own Afrocentric style of tall hats and headwraps, oversized jewelry and talismans and layers of patchwork fabric adorned with accents that move and make music.
The CFDA Fashion Awards were held at the American Museum of Natural History at a ceremony that attracted celebrities like Katie Holmes and Kylie Jenner, designers and fashion industry giants to honor the best in design. Star of the movie 鈥淲icked鈥 hosted the evening in a hooded gown from
The final award of the night went to Rachel Scott of Diotima for womenswear designer of the year. Scott was overwhelmed with emotion while accepting her award and thanked her mother and the women who crochet her designs in Jamaica, where she is from.
鈥淚鈥檝e spent so much of my career on design teams so I鈥檓 really unaccustomed to this recognition,鈥 she said.
Scott, known for her exquisite knit designs, was awarded the emerging designer of the year award in 2023.
Pop star Troye Sivan presented the menswear designer of the year award to Willy Chavarria, making this his Chavarria said it鈥檚 a strange time for him working on his autumn/winter 2025 collection with
鈥淚 do know so many people in this room are very concerned about their rights,鈥 he said. 鈥淒iversity in humanity makes us much stronger.鈥
This year, Chavarria was up against Mike Amiri of Amiri, Emily Adams Bode Aujla of Bode, Todd Snyder and Browne for the award.
opened the night by encouraging the influencers, fashion designers and celebrities dining in the room to tap into their collective influence to motivate their followers to vote: 鈥淚f we wake up on Wednesday and we don't recognize this country, and we didn鈥檛 leave it out on the field, we have no one to blame but ourselves.鈥
Browne, CFDA chair, also drove home the message of voting: 鈥淔ashion like democracy is about choice.鈥
Actor Molly Gordon and designer Brandon Maxwell presented the award for emerging designer of the year award to Russian-born designer Henry Zankov, known for his colorful knitwear. (Maxwell is a previous emerging designer winner.) Other contenders for the honor were Presley Oldham of Presley Oldham, Tanner Richie and Fletcher Kasell of Tanner Fletcher, Jackson Wiederhoeft of Wiederhoeft and Connor McKnight.
Celebrity duo Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie teamed up to present the award for accessory designer of the year to Raul Lopez of Luar. Lopez said the win is for everyone like him, who grew up the child of immigrants.
鈥淚鈥檓 just a vessel in this industry to guide the kids that come after me to see they can do it to,鈥 he said.
Lopez beat out nominees Ana Khouri, Stuart Vevers for Coach, Catherine Holstein for Khaite and Tory Burch.
Another icon shaking up the fashion industry, was honored as the international designer of the year. Roseberry鈥檚 designs have been dominating red carpets with Schiaparelli鈥檚 unconventional couture and surrealist pop of gold embellishments. Actor Nicole Kidman stunned at the Venice Film Festival when she walked the carpet in one of Schiaparelli鈥檚 couture corseted looks with beaded fringe and a deconstructed neckline.
Roseberry is the first American to lead a French couture company.
Other honors of the night included the Amazon Innovation Award which was awarded to Vevers, famed photographer Annie Leibovitz received the media award and the positive change award went to Michael Kors. Designer Stephen Burrows was honored at the event with the lifetime achievement award. Burrows was one of the five U.S. designers who competed in the 1973 fashion show.
With her latest award, Badu now joins the ranks of celebrities like Serena Williams, Kim Kardashian and Zendaya who previously took home the 鈥渇ashion icon鈥 title.
