Luxury French label Givenchy has signed R&B singer Erykah Badu as the new face of the label’s Spring 2014 campaign in reaction to the fashion industry’s likelihood to use predominantly white models on the runway.
Givenchy’s creative director Riccardo Tisci said that Badu’s casting in the campaign is perfect as she was one of the inspirations behind the collection the campaign features. Givenchy’s Spring 2014 collection was inspired by the traditional costumes of Africa and Japan.
Tisci also called the 42-year old an “icon” and told Style.com that she is one of the most stylish women he’s ever met in his life. He further explained that Badu has “such a good sense of proportion, of colours”, when it comes to fashion.
Badu first gained attention for her style upon breaking out on the late 90’s music scene for her chameleon-like adaptations of traditional African costumes.
For Tisci, this is also an intended move to introduce more faces of colour into the world of fashion. He said, “For me, I grew up in a family and I grew up in a culture, an education, that we all are the same.”
“I discovered Joan Smalls, I discovered Maria [Borges]. I discovered a lot of black girls, and I’ve been always supporting them,” he added.
He also hopes that the rest of the fashion industry will follow his lead.
He mentioned, “It’s 2013… At the end of the day, why are not so many black girls or Latin girls in shows? When you have an American president who is black! When I see this happening, it’s quite sad, I think.”
“People can be so avant-garde, so advanced, but actually not, because people are still making differences between skin color.”
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