Janelle Monáe embraced Black dandyism’s class on the Met Gala in an all-star collaboration with Oscar winner Paul Tazewell and designer Thom Browne, finishing her look with a glowing moral diamond brooch from 1800 Tequila for a crowning glory.
Identified for turning heads together with her gala seems to be, Monáe strutted the carpet in a black, purple, and white pin-striped go well with tailor-made to her body with sharp, pointy shoulders. She topped the go well with with a black prime hat and wore a small black-and-gold clock over her left eye. She wore the tequila diamond brooch tucked beneath her outer jacket, finally revealing it on her tie — a daring assertion honoring her ancestors and dandy-dressing relations whereas celebrating a extra acutely aware strategy to trend jewellery.
Monáe stated the ensemble she revealed Monday honored her ancestors and dandy-dressing relations whereas celebrating a extra acutely aware strategy to trend jewellery.
“It felt like the right statement to make in fashion,” the Grammy-nominated performer advised The Related Press in a current interview earlier than the gala. She felt like she was again in artwork faculty to do a gaggle undertaking with Tazewell and Browne, calling the collaboration “one of a kind.”
In March, Tazewell made historical past on the Oscars, changing into the primary Black man to win greatest costume design. Browne gave Monáe her first go well with when, she says, “nobody else would,” and designed her 2023 Met Gala purple carpet ensemble: an oversize half-black, half-white tweed go well with worn over a hoop skirt that earned rave critiques.
“Just having all three of our minds together around this theme, it’s honestly the most exciting thing,” Monáe stated. “The experience of us creating this look together, putting our heads together, getting excited and dreaming up whatever we wanted to dream has been the best part of it all.”
With Black dandyism carving its place in Met Gala historical past, Monáe discovered sentimental worth in sporting the 1800 Tequila moral diamond, a gem not mined from the earth, however crafted from the model’s Cristalino tequila, with the brooch design impressed by the crystalline bottle.
“Knowing the impact that traditional diamond mining has had on African nations, it felt important to me that this piece reflected a more conscious and considered approach to jewelry wearing,” stated Monáe, who is part of the host committee alongside the likes of Simone Biles, Spike Lee, Ayo Edebiri and André 3000.
Monáe is likely one of the many cultural powerhouses main Black dandyism into the style highlight on the Met Gala, because the Metropolitan Museum of Artwork unveils its new costume exhibit, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.” It marks the Met’s first present centered completely on Black designers and the primary in additional than twenty years to highlight menswear. It’s additionally a tribute to the wealthy legacy of dandyism, a mode that has lengthy carved area for radical self-expression, particularly for these neglected or misunderstood.
Monáe stated she was in awe of the know-how used to craft the diamond from tequila. The tequila was aged for 16 months in each new American and French oak barrels earlier than being completed in port wine casks for an extra six months.
“It gives a rare brilliance and shine,” she stated. “I’m future focused, and I feel like this should be the future of diamond making. Something that’s more ethical. Something that’s safe to wear.”
