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Ever since Riccardo Tisci confirmed Erykah Badu was the face of Givenchy’s Spring/Summer 2014 campaign, we knew the two were a match made in fashion heaven.

Sure, their relationship is strictly platonic, but we have to admit, they’re our favorite fashion couple. Just look at how gorgeous they are together on the cover of Paper magazine.

Inside the issue, the dynamic duo join forces yet again in New York City. He, she, and her overwhelmingly tall top hat go underground in the subway tunnels for two different features – one a Q&A about being Badu, and the other chronicling the crazy and hectic life Tisci lives. Keep on reading for some shots of their spread, plus excerpts from Erykah’s interview.

How did your friendship with Riccardo Tisci start?

Last year, Riccardo reached out and let me know that he was a fan of my music. At the same time, I let him know that I was a fan of his eye. We were talking and he asked me to be the face of his campaign for [Spring] 2014, which was culturally themed and all of the models in the campaign were of color. He thought that the line would particularly speak through me. I said, “OK!” It was the first time I had done anything like that, besides the Tom Ford perfume ad.

What are some of the things that have excited you recently in fashion?

I love watching Rihanna in fashion. I like to see her take chances and risks. I like seeing Naomi Campbell in the forefront. They’re bold women who stand out and use their bodies as canvases to introduce this functional art to the world. They carry it in a way that is very inspiring. Rihanna’s an interesting reference because she’s really bridged the worlds of music and fashion.

Have you seen the relationship between the two change since you started performing?

Definitely. The platform is so big now for marketing. There’s a lot of cross-genre. With social media and the Internet, you can see a lot more talent from a single artist than you could before. A lot of people are so multifaceted that they get a chance to use their social networks to display these talents. And we don’t have to wait for a magazine; we can see it right away and make a decision for ourselves.

What do you make of more musicians turning to fashion — through collaborations and campaigns — to fund their art?

Well, music has never been lucrative to me. I think my image is more popular than my album sales. The stage is where I shine and pay my bills. But art is art to me. There’s nothing new about cross-pollination in art to me because it’s all one thing: an expression of who I am. I’ve always directed all of my videos and been in total control of my image. I write all of the lyrics, stage and produce all of the shows. It’s something that comes very naturally to me. It’s therapy. It makes me feel awesome, happy, centered and balanced when I can turn out some piece of art — whether the world sees it or not. It’s what keeps me going and breathing. When you released Baduizm, your music and style were instantly iconic. At the time, did you feel like you were doing anything radical in those realms? Kind of, because I’ve always been a nonconformist since I was a very small child. I’m one of those artists that never felt like I quite fit in. Too white for the black kids, too black for the white kids. I felt like I was a dangling participle. Once I got a record deal and was able to express some of these things, I saw that I was unique in what I was doing. It’s always given me the inspiration to push the ceiling higher and higher, thus only being in competition with my last level.

Pick up a copy of Paper to read both of their interviews in entirety today.

PHOTO CREDIT & SOURCE: Paper

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