Did Erykah Badu Style Givenchy’s Spring Campaign?
Erykah Badu and Riccardo Tisci for 'V' magazine.
Photo: V Magazine
Erykah Badu’s relationship with Givenchy keeps getting better. Not only did the neo-soul songstress partly inspire the fashion house’s Afrocentric-meets-Japanese spring collection, she was also tapped to star in their campaign. And it’s one of the better ones of the season, with Badu flawlessly modeling some of the collection’s strongest looks, like the off-the-shoulder beaded mask tapestry and the deconstructed tux kimono with a top hat. In a batch of campaign photos Badu posted to her Facebook page, she also mixes pieces from Spring '14 with ones from past seasons and her signature turban.
As it turns out, the styling on photos felt so close in spirit to Badu’s own wardrobe because she assisted with it. In her joint V interview with Givenchy’s creative head Riccardo Tisci, the pair open up about their collaborative process and how they worked together on the styling. “Not only does he have a superb eye for silhouette and technique, but he also has an imagination that’s pretty out there," Badu said of her new bestie. "That’s why we get along pretty well. He allowed me to contribute to the style of the shoots.”
“She put the looks together in such a strong way," Tisci replied. "I was really very impressed. Some celebrities are in campaigns for money or whatever but it’s forced.” With Badu’s thoughtful styling and poses, it’s easy to pick up on her connection to the clothes and Tisci. It's still unclear, however, whether Badu styled just herself or the entirety of the Spring '14 Givenchy campaign, including the other models.
Also in the V interview, Badu talked about how her music overlaps with Tisci’s vision. “I think that we keep each other moving creatively, especially those that have been in this game awhile,” she said. “To see our fellow artists like Riccardo and Donatella choose musicians only shows that we are all connected. My creative song is married to Riccardo’s creative eye, perhaps because I can sing a lot of songs about these designs and ideas that he has... I think right now we’re completing each other’s sentences, artistically.”
We can only hope this means that now Badu will tap Tisci to design the artwork for her impending next album. Tisci wouldn’t be out of his realm!
