He made the Mountie hat fashionable, he wore tuxedo shorts on the red carpet at the Oscars and made the tracksuit his uniform du jour, when it comes to style Pharrell Williams plays by his own rules. And the world of fashion has taken note with the singer being honoured with the prestigious Fashion Icon Award at the 2015 CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) Fashion Awards at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall on June 1.
The 41-year-old singer, rapper and producer has long been a player in the fashion game. He is a collaborator with Adidas is the co-founder of clothing brands Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream Footwear, and he has a partnership with Bionic Yarn, a company that manufactures eco-friendly clothing made out of plastics.
His style CV also includes a stint with fashion king Karl Lagerfeld. The pair worked on a campaign together for Chanel, collaborating on a short film, in which Pharrell starred with supermodel Cara Delevingne.
When discussing the decision to honour Pharrell Diane von Furstenberg, president of the CFDA, revealed his coolness is what gives the singer his edge. She said: “If cool was a person, it would be Pharrell, not just for his looks and sense of style but for his kindness and openness. I cannot imagine anyone not seduced by him.”
Previous honourees have included more risque fashion trailblazers including Rihanna who collected her award while wearing a see-through outfit, Lady Gaga, who made the meat dress famous, and a scruffy Johnny Depp who made pirate chic an actual thing.
One thing is for sure, when choosing the worthy Fashion Icon Award honouree, the CFDA like to think outside of the box. When hearing he had been chosen for the prestigious award Pharrell Williams took to Twitter to express his humble appreciation, simply saying: “Wow. Thank you!”
We can’t wait to see what he chooses to wear when he collects the award… here’s hoping it’s going to be suitably unpredictable.
