Janelle Monae is a raging success with her Dirty Computer Tour and got great reviews in Miami Beach. We leap at every opportunity to display her fashion sense. The show is built around her concept of Afrofuturism – an idea Prince would have loved. She’s also in touch with the reality of today and urges everyone in her audience to register to vote in the lobby after the show.
Photo Credit: BACKGRID-USA
Sorry, but when Janelle Monae hits the red carpet, everybody else might as well go home. In our world, she is the undisputed Queen of Red Carpet Fashion. Janelle does not obediently throw on some publicity-hungry designer’s dress – it’s glaringly apparent that SHE DRESSES HERSELF and stays true to her own evolving style. When she started out in the music biz, Janelle wore all kinds of creative black and white tuxes, but now the pint-sized (5’) fashionista is introducing COLOR – as only she can. We like her movies (Hidden Figures) and her music, (check out her Dirty Computer video) but we love love love HER STYLE – why doesn’t she have a fashion deal like Rihanna?
Above, Janelle at BET Awards
Photo Credit: BACKGRID-USA
Oscar fashion was perfectly civilized, safe and mostly elegant – but BORING. We’ve seen those same long gowns in assorted colors with borrowed diamond necklaces year after year. Actress/singer Janelle Monae is a risk taker. Yesterday she showed up at the Independent Spirit Awards in truly festive attire. What we love about her is she never looks like someone else dressed her – she has powerful and specific taste of her own, and always livens up the atmosphere.
Photo Credit: BACKGRID-USA
It IS fashion week and this Yohji Yamamoto dress is a heart-stopper. It’s a combination of Victorian detail and futuristic dreaming. Why are Japanese designers so rarely seen on red carpets like MTV or music award shows? Are they TOO outrageous or do the Japanese simply NOT bribe celebrities the way French designers do? Janelle Monae is a perfect candidate for Yohji designs. Years ago, we actually saw Diane Keaton wearing an extravagant black Yohji outfit while shopping at the Rose Bowl flea market in 90 degree weather! Way to be noticed!
Photo Credit: Pacific Coast News
When it comes to fashion, Janelle Monae, 31, never disappoints. We were aware of her courageous style long before we heard her music. She frequently appeared at music award shows in variations of a tuxedo – like a modern Marlene Dietrich. In the music biz she’s described as a mini-mogul and it just keeps getting better. Given her beauty, it makes sense that she would get movie offers, and her FIRST acting job was in the excellent “Moonlight!” Believe it or not, her SECOND film is another Oscar contender: Hidden Figures. We can’t say enough good things about Hidden Figures – it’s probably the most fun and satisfaction you can have at the movies today. There are a lot of red carpets in Janelle’s immediate future!
Photo Credit: Pacific Coast News
The holidays always bring out the best of the movies and this season is a bonanza. Our favorite holiday movie so far is Hidden Figures. It’s the true story of three brilliant black female friends and their amazing – and unheralded – contributions to the NASA Space Race. Taraji P Henson plays a mathematics genius turned physicist and space scientist whose calculations helped John Glenn orbit the earth and return safely. Octavia Spencer plays a forward-thinking computer programmer who worked on the IBM original, and Janelle Monae’s character fought prejudice to earn a degree in engineering. Most of all, this film shows what life was like in the business/government world in Virginia in the 60’s. Women were treated badly and black women faced unimaginable situations, the least of which was bathrooms labeled White Only. White male superiority prevailed and shameful treatment of everyone else was tolerated. Despite the subject, this film is funny and sweet and romantic – entertaining AND important.
Janelle Monae has long been one of our fashion icons and she never disappoints. The petite singer (from Kansas City, of all places) is only five feet tall, but she doesn’t hesitate to wear flat shoes – and rather fancy ones at that. Janelle almost always wears a highly creative version of a tuxedo – she says it’s “the uniform of her career.” Her hair and makeup are always perfect. Now she’s an actress too – above, she’s at the London Film Festival premier of her movie “Moonlight.”
Photo Credit: Pacific Coast News
When it comes to fashion, the brilliant Janelle Monae, 29, is one of a kind. She has her own definitive style and never wavers. She’s not a performer who wears anything a famous designer gives her. She’s only 5 feet tall but Karl Lagerfeld recognizes her uniqueness and she appeared in his show wearing what she prefers – a black and white feminine version of a tuxedo. Janelle says she was influenced by Grace Jones and Josephine Baker, but her image is very original. To be honest, we’ve never heard her music, but we love looking at her. (Above, Janelle at the Stella McCartney show in Paris)
Photo Credit: AKM-GSI
