Janelle Monáe Transforms her Overcoat to a Deconstructed Suit at the 2025 Met Gala

Janelle Monáe stepped out for the 2025 Met Gala wearing a Thom Browne two-piece look. The trippy look was almost an optical illusion, with a trompe l’oeil, lapel and briefcase designed on the overcoat.

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Janelle Monae attends the 2025 Met Gala. Credit :

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

Janella Monáe sported two looks on the Met Gala carpet: an large overcoat and deconstructed sport coat The trippy outfit was almost an optical illusion, with a trompe l’oeil, lapel and briefcase designed on the overcoat Monáe's most recent Met Gala appearance was in 2024, where she arrived wearing a Vera Wang cutout dress made with holographic discs and extra-high heels — which nearly caused her to trip

Janelle Monáe is back at the Met Gala.

The multihyphenate, 39, walked the steps at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 5 wearing a Thom Browne two-piece look. The trippy look was almost an optical illusion, with a trompe l’oeil, lapel and briefcase designed on the overcoat. White vertical stripes covered the piece almost entirely. Underneath, she wore a floor-length skirt suit. On top of her head, Monáe sported a Magritte-style bowler hat. Attached to the brim was a monocle that extended in front of her left eye. 

While climbing the steps of the Met, costume designer Paul Tazewell removed Monáe’s overcoat to reveal another look. The second outfit of the night was a deconstructed sport coat and skirt. The left half was red wool crepe fabric with white accents; the right half was black and white pinstripes. 

“I’ve tried to deconstruct systems for many years through my work, through my art and activism,” Monáe told The New York Times. “I want to deconstruct respectability politics around suiting and around how Black people can show up in the world. I wanted to show that we get to decide who we are."

Janelle Monáe attends the 2025 Met Gala.

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Last October, Vogue announced Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams and Anna Wintour would co chairs this year's Met Gala, alongside LeBron James as honorary chair. The event, which is held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, is a fundraiser for The Costume Institute and spotlights the museum's spring 2025 exhibition, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, which is the theme for the gala.

Curator in Charge Andrew Bolton shared that the exhibit, which is inspired by guest curator Monica L. Miller’s 2009 book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity, explores “the Black dandy as both a concept and an identity signifier.”

The exhibit “presents a cultural and historical examination of Black style from the 18th century to the present through an exploration of the concept of dandyism,” according to a post on the museum’s Instagram.

The Met Gala's dress code — which is slightly different from the theme — is “Tailored for You.” It is a nod to the exhibition’s focus on menswear and suiting. The gala also has a star-studded host committee: Simone Biles and her husband, Jonathan Owens, as well as Doechii, Regina King, Spike Lee, Angel Reese and Usher.

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Monáe attended last year's Met Gala in a silver cutout Vera Wang gown. Embellished with large, holographic discs — many of them transparent for a more skin-barring look — the dress draped just above her toes and fell in a short train behind her. The discs also gathered to create a halter neckline, and on Monáe's shoulder, a large clear flower appliqué was the final touch. The ensemble, featuring hand-strung crystal beads, was crafted from recycled plastic bottles.

Janelle Monáe at the 2024 Met Gala.

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She accessorized with a diamond bracelet, which complemented her shimmery silver eye makeup. She added a pair of extremely tall heels — which almost caused her to trip while ascending the stairs into the event, though Monáe recovered gracefully and posed for more photos.

After the event itself, Monáe arrived at the Mark Hotel wearing a googly-eye ensemble. She sported a miniskirt, covered in small googly-eye appliqués, coupled with a bodice made from giant googly eyes. Her heels — no shorter than those from earlier in the night — also displayed one googly eye each, and she added a pair of drop googly-eye earrings. To top it all off, Monáe added massive googly eyes over her own eyes.

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Janelle Monáe at The Mark Hotel after the 2024 Met Gala.

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Met Gala 2025: Everything to Know About the Theme, Co-Chairs, Dress Code and More

Monáe's 2023 Met Gala appearance was something of a performance — which has become popular in recent years, as proven by Lady Gaga and Lil Nas X in 2019 and Blake Lively in 2022. She arrived at the event — the theme honoring the late designer Karl Lagerfeld — wearing a black and white Thom Brown overside overcoat with mismatched patterns and embellishments. She added a white leather quilted bag, shaped like a cat — Lagerfeld's famous feline Choupette.

She then shed the outfit's outer layer, revealing a cone-shaped hoop dress, made from sheer black mesh. Each hoop boasted an array of crystals, and underneath, Monáe wore a sparkly black bikini. Her hair was styled in a tall, intricate updo, and she finished off the look with platform heel sneakers.

Janelle Monáe at the 2023 Met Gala. Mike Coppola/Getty

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Monáe's look at the 2023 Met Gala was "full circle" for her, as at her very first Met Gala in 2011, she wore an ensemble from the late designer — black pants, a white button-up with frilly cuffs and a collar, plus a black top hat.

"I went with Karl, so this is sort of full circle for us to be honoring him," Monáe told PEOPLE in 2023. "I'm really excited about what we'll do."

Catch all the minute-by-minute fashion updates from the 2025 Met Gala red carpet right here! 

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