The red carpet at the 94th Academy Awards had hardly ended when Janelle Monáe turned everyone's attention to the after-parties and her striking cutout little black dress for the night's festivities.
Monáe arrived to the step-and-repeat at Vanity Fair's annual Oscar party in a skintight, sleeveless black dress by Christian Siriano. Its most striking feature? Diamond cutouts separated by bold white circle buttons, from the top of the bodice down to the dress's ankle-skimming hemline.
To let her cutouts take the spotlight, Monáe kept her accessories minimal. She wore studded and chain earrings on both ears, and carried a tiny top-handle black bag. Monáe finished the look with strappy black sandal heels.
In short, her look is the blueprint for memorable after-party dressing.
Monáe's dress comes from Siriano's spring/summer 2022 collection, where daring cutouts reigned supreme. In the original collection, the barely-there dress appeared in mini and maxi lengths. (The former is available to order now, if you're so inclined.)
While the bold cutouts came from a recent runway, the bold black-and-white palette is classic Janelle Monáe. "What is something that I always feel comfortable in? It’s been black and white," the Homecoming star told Variety about her approach to personal style in 2020. "It's been the androgynous look that matched my energy."
Really inspired by Monáe's LBD? Cutouts like these are set to remain one of summer 2022's biggest trends, according to BAZAAR.com's discerning editors. Whether you wear them down to the floor is up to you.
