Janelle Monáe arrived at the Oscars on Sunday night wearing a custom Ralph Lauren gown adorned with 168,000 crystals.
The open-backed, long-sleeved silk lamé tulle gown came took Ralph Lauren’s seamstresses over 600 hours to hand-embroider and featured a full A-line skirt and an open back.
Monáe accessorised with a chunky diamond choker and went for bold, fresh makeup with a strong brow, full lashes and glittery black liner and a bright orangey-red lip.
The Dirty Computer singer later changed out of the gown to take to the stage to perform the Oscars opening number, a reworking of her 2010 song “Come Alive.” For this she wore Ralph Lauren once again, this time wore a velvet tuxedo jacket, wool tuxedo pant; silk satin cummerbund, tuxedo shirt with pique bib; and black silk hat.
Monáe made asides during her performance about the lack of female directors represented among the nominees.
“We celebrate all the women who directed phenomenal films, and I’m so proud to stand here as a black queer artist, telling stories. Happy Black History Month," she said on stage.
