Givenchy signs up Erykah Badu for Spring 2014

Trend setting R&B star Erykah Badu has been signed as the face of Givenchy’s spring 2014 campaign in reaction to a fashion industry tendency to use predominantly white models on the runway.

The label’s creative director Riccardo Tisci said that, though unexpected, Badu’s casting in the campaign makes perfect

sense since she was one of the inspirations behind the collection it features.

Tisci called her an 'icon' and told Style.com that Badu, 42, is ‘one of the most stylish women I’ve met in my life.'

Tisci explained that Badu has ‘such a good sense of proportion, of colors,’ when it comes to fashion.

Riccardo Tisci

Time for change: Riccardo Tisci feels that fashion should embrace black models

His spring 2014 collection for Givenchy was inspired by the traditional costumes of Africa and Japan.

Badu first garnered style kudos upon breaking out on the late 90s music scene for her chameleon-like adaptations of traditional African dress.

Tisci’s decision to use Badu represents more than just an unexpected casting choice. For Tisci, it is also a deliberate move to introduce more faces of color into the fashion fold.

Tisci said: ‘For me, I grew up in a family and I grew up in a culture, an education, that we all are the same.’

He added: ‘I discovered Joan Smalls, I discovered Maria [Borges]. I discovered a lot of black girls, and I’ve been always supporting them.’

Tisci was careful to note that he hopes the rest of the fashion world soon catches up to his lead

He said: ‘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.’