Erykah Badu Gets Decked in Her Signature Face Jewelry as Her Trailblazing Style Is Honored at 2024 CFDA Awards

The award has previously been accepted by Rihanna, Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez and Serena Williams

Erykah Badu
Erykah Badu at 2024 CFDA Fashion Awards. Photo:

Jamie McCarthy/WireImage

Erykah Badu has arrived at the CFDA Fashion Awards (and her entrance was nothing short of showstopping).

On Oct. 28, the singer-songwriter, 53, became the newest recipient of the Council of Fashion Designers of America's Fashion Icon award and hit the carpet in a look befitting for, well, an icon.

The Grammy winner wore an hourglass all-in-one chesterfield, sportcoat, embroidered cardigan, pleated skirt and trouser in black cashmere, three-ply mohair, wool flannel and silk faille with an oversize jumpsuit suit in black three-ply mohair with black grosgrain tipping and wingtip pumps in black patent leather — all by Thom Browne. She completed her look with a custom beaded CHRISHABANA headpiece and septum jewelry.

Erykah Badu
Erykah Badu at 2024 CFDA Fashion Awards.

Jamie McCarthy/WireImage

For the custom headpiece and septum jewelry, CHRISHABANA’s creative director, Chris Habana, worked closely with Badu herself. The singer asked Habana to reinterpret an AI-generated image that was a collage of global styles and influences.

The design team created a “global citizen” figure who was influenced by diverse cultures and became the inspiration for the final design. The team hand-carved and cast a variety of sterling silver charms and trinkets, mixing them with both hardware and sterling silver chains, as well as decorative steel chains. Each piece was meticulously hand-stitched onto a base framework hood crafted from Thom Browne fabric, adding a couture edge to the look.

Badu joins Zendaya, Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna and Lady Gaga among the stars to have received the prestigious award, which has recognized influential figures in fashion since 2010.

The honor celebrates Badu's "distinctive, fearless" sense of style, including her signature love for bold headwear.

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"This honor is amazing, and I do not take it for granted. I’ve always had a love for taking bits and pieces of the things I am attracted to and creating something far more grand than the sum of those parts. From the music I make, to the looks I put on, to the technology I’m developing, I’m always looking for innovative, exciting ways to be more expressive and connect with people, to be closer to nature," Badu shared in a statement.

Erykah Badu attends The 2024 Met Gala Celebrating "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 06, 2024
Erykah Badu in Comme des Garçons at the 2024 Met Gala.

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

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CFDA will also fête her bold sartorial résumé, which has featured looks from designer labels such as Rick Owens, Rihanna's Savage x Fenty and Thom Browne.

“Erykah Badu and fashion are synonymous in many ways. Erykah effortlessly exudes herself, her unique point of view, through the clothing she chooses to wear and each look she dreams up is so individual and true to herself,' shared Browne, who's also a CFDA chairman.

The 2024 CFDA Fashion Awards are hosted by Cynthia Erivo and will be presented by Amazon Fashion at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. 

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