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Beyoncé Presented With Fashion Icon Award by the CFDA

Photo: Getty Images/Theo Wargo

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After months of speculation and rumors of a Kim Kardashian win, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) presented this year's Fashion Icon Award to none other than Beyoncé.

And she accepted the award in a glittering suit and a massive, can't-ignore-me hat. Of course.

Some snippets and highlights from her speech:

At first, though, it wasn't even clear that Beyoncé was in attendance at the annual awards ceremony. The news that Queen Bey had snuck into the CFDA Awards (with Jay-Z and Blue Ivy in tow) came straight from social media. The Lemonade singer slipped into the event through the back about an hour late, completely missing the red carpet. As soon as she was spotted, speculations of her being presented the coveted Fashion Icon Award — which the CFDA had kept under wraps — started brewing:

This would probably explain why the CFDA kept this year's winner so hush-hush. The organization usually announces the winner along with the other nominations in March. But we can only assume this year's delay was to build hype around the moment Beyoncé finally took the stage to accept an award that everyone thought Kim Kardashian West had in the bag.

Rumors of a possible Kim K. Fashion Icon Award started swirling in March after Vogue Runway's director Nicole Phelps penned an article about why she thought the reality star would be the perfect pick. People on Twitter had other ideas, though; while many hoped that another Kim — Lil' Kim — would be presented with the honor, others only wished that it would be somebody, anybody other than Mrs. Kardashian West.

Beyoncé's place setting at the CFDA Awards.
Photo: Getty Images/Nicholas Hunt

As it turns out, Kim and Kanye didn't even attend the awards this year (despite being in New York for last weekend's Governors Ball), and Kim pretty much confirmed that she wasn't there when she tweeted about "missing workouts and eating bad." Doesn't sound like someone who's preparing to accept a CFDA Award to me:

The CFDA Fashion Icon Award is meant to celebrate the person who has had the biggest impact on the fashion industry over the last year, and we can definitely see why Bey was chosen. Not only did she break the Internet (AGAIN) with her 2016 visual album Lemonade, but the outfits she wore during the accompanying hourlong film were insane — from a dramatic, yellow Roberto Cavalli gown to a floral Gucci suit. I mean, even the Yeezy Season 2 body-con leggings and sports bra she wore under a Hood By Air fur coat for "Don't Hurt Yourself" were fire.

According to social media, the singer wore Givenchy to accept her award from the designer Diane von Furstenberg. Here's a video of her sneaking into the show:

Riccardo Tisci's designs for Givenchy have been a go-to for the performer for a few years now (remember the latex dress she wore to this year's Met Gala, and the feathered and sheer gowns she wore the years prior?).

Past winners of the award include Rihanna, who accepted hers wearing a see-through Swarovski crystal-embellished dress in 2014, Lady Gaga in 2011, and Pharrell Williams last year.