This past October, one of our favorite icons (of music, fashion, and everything else, really), Erykah Badu received the Fashion Icon award at the 2024 CFDA Awards. Of course, everyone wondered what look the iconoclast would grace us with on this magical evening, and Ms. Badu did not disappoint.
Badu donned a stunning Thom Browne suit, but it was her showstopping headpiece from CHRISHABANA that showed why she was so deserving of the award. In a statement in Vogue Badu said “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 …I’m always looking for more innovative, exciting ways to be more expressive and connect with people – to be closer to nature.”
That statement was fully displayed with the electrifying accessory Badu commissioned from popular New York-based jewelry and creative studio CHRISHABANA. Taking inspiration from an AI-generated image by Italian Art Director Parallel, Badu asked CHRISHABANA, who worked together on past projects, to realize Parallel’s design for a piece she could wear to the event. A week later, the AI-generated image was transformed into an unreal headpiece and septum piercing that adorned Badu on that late October night.