Filipino-American accessories designer Chris Habana reflects on the making of his custom creation for Erykah Badu, an AI art-inspired headpiece that she paired with Thom Browne for the CFDA Fashion Awards. When music icon Erykah Badu graced the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Fashion Awards , her entire look immediately turned heads. Wearing a textured cashmere and mohair ensemble by Thom Browne and a striking headpiece and septum ring by Filipino-American accessories designer Chris Habana , Badu graciously accepted this year’s prestigious Fashion Icon award.
Her jewelry, one she collaborated on closely with Habana, is a stunning fusion of art, technology, and cultural inspiration. The collaboration began with a bold concept: Badu brought Habana an AI-generated rendering by digital artist Parallel , which she discovered online, and challenged him to translate its surreal, futuristic design into a tangible masterpiece. “It was intriguing and meta to reverse the process,” Habana says.
“We took inspiration from an image produced by a collage of other ideas and re-engineered it into a 3D object.” To bring Badu’s vision to life, Habana’s team experimented with materials to capture the digital aesthetic while ensuring that the pieces embodied her personal energy and presence. “Erykah’s openness to experimentation really allowed us to take risks, blending raw sterling silver with gemstones, to create a piece that felt ancient and futuristic, and felt.
