Erykah Badu Makes Her Styling Debut at NYFW

Queen of style and iconic soul singer, Erykah Badu shared her fashion sense with the runway at New York Fashion Week, making her debut as a stylist for menswear label Pyer Moss.

The star flew to New York with seven trunks of jewels and accessories to style the show, with her touch leaving models clad in dark shades, military-ready hats and the sort of metal jewellery Ms Badu is known to rock, as well as pins baring slogans like “Zoloft” and “LSD”, which the singer made herself.

The Haitian designer, 28-year-old Kerby Jean-Raymond, established his brand in 2013 but made headlines last year in September, by weaving themes of police brutality into his showcase and standing up for the  Black Lives Matter movement, via outerwear decorated with blood-spatter patterns and background displays including footage from the deaths of Eric Garner and Walter Scott.

This season, the designer opted to highlight mental health, specifically inspired by the theory of “double bind” – a theory that describes a situation where a person is confronted with two irreconcilable demands that can sometimes cause them to be depressed – the show punctuated with a finale look including a banner that read: “My demons won today / I’m sorry”; a reference to the statement Black Lives Matter activist MarShawn M. McCarrel II posted on Facebook last week, before committing suicide.

The designer said of his choice to highlight depression;

“In our culture, especially in black culture, it’s taboo to talk about depression, to talk about when things bother you. People say “man up,” but that’s not a real diagnosis and I think that it’s important that we address it.

Nina Simone had a great quote. She said: “How can you be an artist and not represent the times?” And that’s one of the mottos that I live by.”

Ms Badu was first introduced to Pyer Moss when she wore the brand’s clothes;

“…For some interviews and I kept them. You’re not supposed to keep them, and when I got home, Jason Rembert – the guy that pulled the clothes who is a mutual friend of ours –  said, ‘Kerby wants the clothes back.’

I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, I’ll get to it’.”

Channeling the “double blind” theme right down to the finger tips, the “On and On” singer painted her fingernails in opposing shades of electric coral and bright yellow, telling Billboard of the look;

“They’re competing.”

She also spoke of how she and the designer came to work together and what was in it for her, saying;

“I have a super masculine style, silhouette-wise, and I love what he does with the body. I learned that Kerby had wanted to work with me in some capacity for a few years.”

I don’t make any money off of any of these things. It is really about a complete love for the process. The adrenaline right before the show, the throwing things together at the last minute, staying up all night . . . that’s why I’m delirious right now. Making the buttons for the hats, all of those things.

Team SPICE love the inspiration and how Erykah Badu’s personal style manifested on the models – but tell us what you think to her styling debut at New York Fashion Week, and Pyer Moss’ Autumn/Winter’16 collection by tagging us in your comments online @SPICETVAFRICA.

Image source: Nymag.com, Billboard.com