Erykah Badu Was Paris Fashion Week’s Clear Street Style Winner

Now that Paris Fashion Week has wrapped, we can formally declare Erykah Badu the spring 2023 season’s street style winner. The 51-year-old musician stood out at show after show, and not just because she could reliably be found in one of her signature towering hats. A large part of how Badu knocked it out of the park was her bold approach to footwear. She first put the focus on her feet at Thursday’s Rick Owens show, which she attended wearing a truly innovative take on the so-called ugly shoe. The pair that had her feet looking like they had bright red tentacles came courtesy of Myah Hasbany, a Central Saint Martins student who first caught Badu’s attention when he was just a teen. (She technically classifies them as “sea anemone” leg warmers rather than shoes.) It would go on to become one of several instances in which she championed the up-and-comer, who has yet to turn 21, and his experimental knitwear.

Badu completed the look with an oversized black jacket and a number of chunky bangles, which she made sure to show off in the video below. (It almost goes without saying that she also accessorized with a top hat.)

Just two hours later, Badu went to see Ib Kamara’s Off-White debut wearing a new kind of statement footwear. She matched another oversized hat with a knee-high pair of boots that also bore a bit of resemblance to tentacles.

The big tentacles were back on Friday, when Badu proved that she had another set of Myah Hasbanys in her wardrobe. She hit the streets in a grey pair worn with casual grey track pants and yet another large hat.

After a brief break from the front row—on her Instagram Stories, Badu shared that she was somehow finding time to record music during her Paris stay—she returned to the spotlight in a feathery showcase of Valentino’s signature hue. Leave it to Badu to make PP Pink, which has been all over the red carpet for months now, feel new.

It ended up being the first of two hot pink Valentino looks. The evening saw Badu step out in a slightly different shade of pink, again in the form of a hat and coat that stretched down to her toes.

The next day, Badu attended her final show of the season fully decked out in Thom Browne. At first, it seemed like we wouldn’t get to see her final footwear choice. But when her floor-length striped skirt—which she paired with a grey blazer draped casually over her shoulders—raised as she went up the steps of the Opéra National, we got a glimpse: a laced pair of platforms with heels made of toy blocks. Quite the fitting choice for someone whose approach to fashion can be summed up as playful.