Janelle Monáe embraced Black dandyism’s magnificence 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 of completion.
Recognized for turning heads together with her gala appears, Monáe strutted the carpet in a black, pink, and white pin-striped swimsuit tailor-made to her body with sharp, pointy shoulders. She topped the swimsuit 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, in the end revealing it on her tie — a daring assertion honoring her ancestors and dandy-dressing members of the family whereas celebrating a extra aware method to style jewellery.
Monáe mentioned the ensemble she revealed Monday honored her ancestors and dandy-dressing members of the family whereas celebrating a extra aware method to style jewellery.
“It felt like the correct assertion to make in style,” the Grammy-nominated performer advised The Related Press in a latest interview earlier than the gala. She felt like she was again in artwork faculty to do a bunch venture with Tazewell and Browne, calling the collaboration “one in all a form.”
In March, Tazewell made historical past on the Oscars, changing into the primary Black man to win finest costume design. Browne gave Monáe her first swimsuit when, she says, “no person else would,” and designed her 2023 Met Gala pink carpet ensemble: an oversize half-black, half-white tweed swimsuit worn over a hoop skirt that earned rave opinions.
“Simply having all three of our minds collectively round this theme, it’s actually probably the most thrilling factor,” Monáe mentioned. “The expertise of us creating this look collectively, placing our heads collectively, getting excited and dreaming up no matter we needed to dream has been the very best a part of all of it.”
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.
“Understanding the impression that conventional diamond mining has had on African nations, it felt essential to me that this piece mirrored a extra aware and regarded method to jewellery sporting,” mentioned Monáe, who is part of the host committee alongside the likes of Simone Biles, Spike Lee, Ayo Edebiri and André 3000.
Monáe is among 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 Fashion.” 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 house for radical self-expression, particularly for these neglected or misunderstood.
Monáe mentioned she was in awe of the expertise 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 offers a uncommon brilliance and shine,” she mentioned. “I’m future targeted, and I really feel like this ought to be the way forward for diamond making. One thing that’s extra moral. One thing that’s secure to put on.”
