Janelle Monáe found a unique way to make a statement in the lead-up to Sunday’s Super Bowl ― no easy feat given the weekend’s emphasis on all things football.
The actor and singer, who goes by the pronouns “she” and “they,” turned up at the 2024 NFL Honors in Las Vegas last week in an eye-popping circular dress designed by Tony Ward that featured stripes in black, white, silver and purple.
Monáe paired the dress with black, open-toe stiletto heels, and wore their hair in a Betty Boop-style pixie cut.
“Into the radius of a statement mini black dress with a voluminous circular pattern of black and silver sequins embroideries innovatively stitched together on a tulle base to wrap the allure,” Ward’s website says of the ensemble, which is part of the designer’s spring-summer 2024 collection.
Fans and media outlets, however, compared the look to a rug, a CD and even a piano.
Now in its 13th year, the NFL Honors celebrates the league’s best plays and players from the concluding season.
Among those fêted at last week’s ceremony were Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, who was named “Offensive Rookie of the Year,” and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, the NFL’s MVP for 2023. The “Coach of the Year” award went to Kevin Stefanski of the Cleveland Browns.
One of the evening’s presenters, Monáe was coming off a big week of her own. Her most recent album, “The Age of Pleasure,” was up for two prizes at the 2024 Grammy Awards, held in Los Angeles on Feb. 4.
Speaking to People last year, Monáe cited their young niece, Jorgie, as her ultimate style inspiration.
“She’s confident and free,” they explained. “She puts together clothes and they don’t have to match. They don’t have to be in the same genre. And she’s so happy. That’s what I think clothing is about. I don’t need to be uncomfortable.”
As for their well-established love of black-and-white ensembles, Monáe said much of it stemmed from necessity.
“A lot of my fashion came from just not having enough money for things,” they told People. “As I was performing, I couldn’t have a new look every performance. So I would just go to thrift stores and I would buy black, two dollar trousers or tuxedo pants and have them tailored to fit my body. And I would go to Banana Republic and get a white button down shirt.”
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