Erykah Badu celebrated as fashion icon at CFDA Awards after years of pushing boundaries

Erykah Badu was bestowed the fashion icon award by the Council of Fashion Designers of America, playfully saying it was an honor she’d been hoping to get most of her life.

Wearing a headdress of jewels and a Thom Browne jacket, Badu accepted the award Monday night in Manhattan, said she’s been trying to win the icon award since she was 6 years old. Badu described dressing up as a sport, therapy and her husband.

Andre 3000 brought out an orange caution cone to the stage as he introduced Badu, who is the mother of his son.

“The world is a private joke between me and my things,” she said. Andrew 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 Afro-centric 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 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 be best in design.

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 in Jamaica, where she is from, who crochet her designs.

“I’ve spent so much of my career on design teams so I’m really unaccustomed to this recognition,” she said.

Scott, known for her exquisite knitted designs, was awarded the emerging designer of the year award in 2023.

Popstar Troye Sivan presented the menswear designer of the year award to Willy Chavarria, making this his second menswear win. Chavarria said it’s a strange time for him working on his autumn/winter 2025 collection with an upcoming election so close.

“I do know so many people in this room are very concerned about their rights,” he said. “Diversity in humanity makes us much stronger.”

This year, Chavarria was up against Mike Amiri of Amiri, Emily Adams Bode Aujla of Bode, Thom Browne and Todd Snyder for the award.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand opened the night by encouraging the influencers, fashion designers and celebrities dining in the room to tap into their collective influence to drive their following to the polls on Tuesday. “If we wake up on Wednesday and we dont recognize this country, and we didn’t leave it out on the field, we have no one to blame but ourselves.”

Designer and CFDA chairman Thom Browne also drove home the message of voting: “Fashion like democracy is about choice.”

Actor Molly Gordon and designer Brandon Maxwell presented the award for emerging designer of the year award to Russian-born designer Henry Zankov, who is known for his colorful knitwear. (Maxwell as a previous emerging designer winner.)

Other contenders for honor were include 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 Laur. Lopez said the win is for everyone like him, who grew up the child of immigrants.

“I’m just a vessel in this industry to guide the kids that come after me to see they can do it to,” 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, Daniel Roseberry of Schiaparelli was honored as the international designer of the year. Roseberry’s designs have been dominating red carpets with Schiaparelli’s 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’s couture corseted looks with beaded fringe and a deconstructed neckline.

Roseberry is the first American to lead a French couture company.

Badu joined the ranks of celebrities like Serena Williams, Kim Kardashian and Zendaya who were honored in years past with the CFDA’s fashion icon honor.