Beyonce wins the CFDA Style Award

By now, we all know that Beyonce likes to drop big, dramatic, media-quaking surprises. The latest: she is this year’s CFDA fashion icon.

Rumours have been swirling around who would win this particular accolade since the list of nominees and honourees was posted back in March with the notable absence of an Icon. Kim Kardashian had been the hot favourite, although the name of Michelle Obama was also being batted around for a while before the Ceremony.

However, in hindsight we all should have guessed that Beyonce would be the one to win it; the star is notoriously private when it comes to interviews and red carpet appearances, preferring instead to let her lyrics and visual albums do the talking for her. She’s also become known for her unexpected album drops and other projects shrouded in social media hype and intelligent marketing, so we should have realised that the silence around this year’s award was only to make the singer’s appearance all the more dramatic.

Beyonce has also had a very good year when it comes to making a sartorial impact. She packed a whole lot of style into her latest visual album, Lemonade, including a bright yellow Roberto Cavalli gown and a floral suit by Gucci – both of which already feel like iconic fashion/music moments.

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In typical Beyonce style, she did not appear on the red carpet before the Ceremony, instead sneaking in a back door with Jay-Z and Blue Ivy at her side. Collecting the award from designer and CFDA president Diane von Furstenberg, the new icon proved herself more than worthy of the fashion award in a glittering tuxedo and matching wide-brimmed hat by Givenchy.

The star gave a heartfelt speech paying particular tribute to her mother, Tina Knowles, who designed many of her outfits when she was first starting out with Destiny’s Child (and doesn’t that feel like forever ago?) She cited the transformative power of fashion, praising designers as “fairy godmothers, magicians, sculptors and sometimes even our therapists,” emphasising their potential to inspire and empower women and girls everywhere.

A deserved winner, Beyonce joins an illustrious list of winners that includes Rihanna (who accepted hers wearing that infamous see-through Swarovski crystal gown two years ago), Lady Gaga in 2011, and Pharrell Williams last year.

Grace Cain