Janelle Monáe in Christopher John Rogers at the 2023 Soul Train Awards: IN or OUT?

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Please file this under “Problems We’re Thrilled to Have,” but there are so many red carpet events and so many stars hitting the streets and the talk shows since the strike ended, that it’s actually hard to find a single person standing on a red carpet wearing an outfit worthy of an IN or OUT vote. We’re doing all of these Style Files and Rundowns just to keep with the tsunami of looks. Enter Janelle Monae, solving all of our problems:

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This is a particularly good entry, because we’re genuinely unsure what we think of it. Janelle had been in something of a style rut for some time, falling back on the rigid red/black/white color scheme she’s imposed on herself, as well as a sort of robot doll/afro-futurist style and posing that had come to define her style. The results were almost always unusual and interesting, but there were diminishing returns over time and it felt for a while like she didn’t know where she wanted to take her style next. We don’t know if this is some sort of new direction for her or if she just picked a dress because she liked it, but it feels like a notable change. The more we look at this dress, the more we think it’s better from further away (check the runway shot below). Up close, the rough edges, differences in textile weights, and slightly clashing colors all seem a bit more obvious to us. Still, it’s different and it’s eye-catching in its own way. We don’t hate it, but we’re going to ask you to make the final call:

Janelle Monae’s Game-Changing Patchwork:

IN or OUT? 

Style Credits:
– Christopher John Roger Sequin Patchwork Strapless Dress from the Resort 2024 Collection
– Noudar White Gold Diamond Choker and Ring
Styled by Alexandra Mandelkorn

[Photo Credit: BET/Soul Train Awards, Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET, Leon Bennett/Getty Images for BET, christopherjohnrogers.com]

• Alexandra Mandelkorn
• Awards
• BET
• Christopher John Rogers
• In or Out
• Janelle Monáe
• Red Carpet
• Soul Train Awards