Rihanna set to receive Fashion Icon of the Year Award for being ‘the most exciting style ambassador…’- Photos

Following in the footsteps of style icons Kate Moss and Lady Gaga, Rihanna has been announced as the recipient of the 2014 CFDA Fashion Icon Award.

The 26-year-old, who is the current star of Balmain’s spring 2014 campaign, will be presented with the honor on June 2 at Lincoln Center in New York City,

CFDA CEO Steven Kolb said in a statement announcing the award: ‘We are proud to present Rihanna with the CFDA Fashion Icon Award for her impact on the industry as fashion’s most exciting ambassador in recent memory.’

Scroll down for more pics...

Style icon: Rihanna (pictured here at last month’s Chanel show), will be honored as the year’s biggest fashion icon at the CFDA Awards

Fearless eye: In the last year, Rihanna has displayed a fearless approach for style, wearing everything from green lipstick (in September, left) to a fur sash, (worn last month, right)

In looking back, it is clear to see how the last year has been a landmark one for Rihanna in regards to her fashion credentials.
Over the last 12 months the songstress has not only established herself as a fashion force (most recently she has become a friend of Karl Lagerfeld, who flew her to Paris and Dallas to sit front-row at two of Chanel’s recent fashion shows), but has helped pave the way for others as well.
She is currently the star of Balmain’s spring 2014 campaign, and has become a friend of Karl Lagerfeld, who flew her to Paris and Dallas to sit front-row at two of Chanel’s recent fashion shows.
Rihanna’s award-winning style, primarily engineered by stylist Mel Ottenberg and costume designer Adam Selman, is equal parts high-fashion and streetwear – mixing couture items with cutting-edge T-shirts and sneakers.
Last April, she turned up to a Lakers game wearing sweatpants and a tank top by London-based brand KTZ, which she paired with white pointed stilettos and a dog collar necklace.

Runway looks: Rihanna has displayed and interest in high-fashion labels including Chanel (worn at the label’s Dallas show, left) and Alexander Wang (worn in September, right)

Streetwear approach: The 26-year-old has been a fierce champion of London-based label KTZ this year,even wearing an ensemble to a Lakers game last April

Serving up something a little more refined, earlier this month she appeared at the Comme des Garcons fall 2014 show in a fur stole emblazoned with the word ‘Fear’.
The piece was created by Korean designer Hyein Seo, who debuted the design just weeks earlier as part of the VFiles runway exhibition during New York Fashion Week.
Both ensembles are indicative of Rihanna’s outlook on fashion of which she told Vogue in 2011: ‘When I am putting looks together, I dare myself to make something work.
‘I always look for the most interesting silhouette or something that’s a little off, but I have to figure it out. I have to make it me. I think that’s the thrill in fashion.’
This boundary-pushing approach has inspired fellow artists from Rita Ora to Ariana Grande when creating their own public personas, albeit to a less effective result.
Rihanna’s look has become such a boon that in 2013, English high street label River Island linked up with the pop star for two limited-edition collections of her own design.

Serious credentials: Rihanna has worn designs by high-fashion critical darlings Altuzarra (left) and Raf Simons (right) in the last year

The man behind it: Rihanna’s stylist Mel Ottenberg (left) is a widely-revered figure in the fashion industry who has worked with magazines including Details, Purple, and Vogue Hommes International