Janelle Monáe puts latex centre stage at high profile events

JANELLE MONÁE PUTS LATEX CENTRE STAGE AT HIGH PROFILE EVENTS

Singer, songwriter, rapper and actress Janelle Monáe put latex centre stage in March with appearances at two high-profile US events. She wore it at the Human Rights Campaign’s 2025 Los Angeles Dinner on March 22, and before that, for her headlining slot on March 08 during the three-day BlerDCon event in Arlington, Virginia.

On both occasions she was dressed in latex by London-based label Dead Lotus Couture, whose owner/designer Nange Magro has been Monáe’s go-to choice for latex wardrobe for some years now (save for a temporary blip, now thankfully smoothed over — see bottom of article).

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) annual Los Angeles Dinner brings together LGBTQ+ advocates, allies and reformers to celebrate equality, representation and progress. At this year’s Fairmont Century Plaza event, Janelle Monáe won HRC’s Equality Award (which she is seen holding, above centre). Other HRC awards went to Hannah Einbinder (Visibility Award) and Ashley Park (Impact Award).

Top image: Janelle Monáe at March 22’s Human Rights Campaign’s 2025 Los Angeles Dinner, where she received its Equality Award (which she is holding, centre). The latex dress by Nange Magro’s Dead Lotus Couture is a bespoke variation on its Kotodama Dress

Monáe speaking at BlerDCon, where she was headlining on March 08, and promoting new graphic novel The Archandroid: Chapter 1. Her bespoke Dead Lotus Couture latex catsuit features trims similar to those of the earlier dress (stills from video at instagram/janellemonae)

Janelle’s wardrobe choice for the dinner (see top of page) was a bespoke variation on Dead Lotus’s Kotodama Dress featuring embellishments such as contrasting ‘shirt collar’, gauntlet cuffs, flared epaulets and harness detailing. The cute latex dress with its flirty flared miniskirt styling ensured maximum media coverage for the singer’s appearance at the event.

Variations on the styling embellishments mentioned above had also been seen earlier the same month on the Dead Lotus Couture catsuit Monáe wore when she headlined at BlerDCon, which took place at Arlington’s Hyatt Regency Crystal City between March 07 and 09.

The ten-times Grammy-nominated performer and self-confessed sci-fi geek, who has starred in movies including Harriet (2019) and Glass Onion (2022), was at BlerD on the 15^th anniversary of her debut studio album The ArchAndroid’s release. Along with writer Chuck Lightning and illustrator Chad Weatherford, her longtime collaborators, she took part in an interview and panel discussion marking the exclusive BlerDCon release of the graphic novel in which she now also stars — The ArchAndroid: Chapter 1.

Another view, left, of the DLC catsuit Janelle wore at BlerDCon (still from video at instagram/janellemonae). Right: Nange Magro in DLC kimono, skirt and corset at Torture Garden’s Halloween 2024 celebrations

Did we mention that Janelle Monáe is also a novelist? Her debut novel, a sci-fi work titled The Memory Librarian, was published back in April 2022. And to promote its release at that time, she wore a couple of different white outfits by her favourite latex designer when doing the rounds of the New York chat shows.

She wore a Dead Lotus Couture Kotodama Dress in white with contrast collar and cuffs in black for her chat with Trevor Noah on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show (during which, incidentally, she confessed that she came up with the idea for The Memory Librarian while on ’shrooms). And for her promo appearance on the Live With Kelly & Ryan Show, she wore the same designer’s white latex catsuit complete with matching open-face hood and bib-style mini-cape completing the sci-fi look.

Delving back a little further into the collaborative history between Janelle Monáe and Nange Magro, we’re reminded of Monáe’s memorable appearance at 2019’s Coachella music festival, when the singer performed in two bespoke DLC costumes that featured another Nange Magro speciality: latex and fabric mixtures.

The White Stuff: April 2022 found Janelle Monáe favouring white latex outfits from Dead Lotus Couture to promote her debut novel The Memory Librarian. She wore the futuristic custom catsuit, left, and Kotodama Dress, right, for appearances on the NYC chat show circuit

These costumes — of black latex with red trims (some of which were fabric) — were described at the time by some pundits as ‘military style’; others might say they resembled marching band uniforms. But apparently they more accurately reflect the performer’s fondness for tuxedo/bellhop-influenced looks that hark back to times when Janelle’s mother and indeed the singer herself had worked in hotels.

Sadly, the same year, 2019, also saw the hiccup referred to at the top of this story. It happened when Monáe performed at the Grammys in a latex outfit that people widely assumed was a Dead Lotus Couture creation, given how closely it resembled her classic Kotodama Bodysuit in black with contrasting white collar, cuffs and Kamy harness.

However, as Magro asserted on Instagram in no uncertain terms after watching Monae’s Grammy performance at the Staples Centre on February 10, the singer’s outfit was not a DLC original but a copy. Her accusation caught the attention of The Guardian newspaper, which ran a report quoting verbatim the designer’s “disappointed” response to the discovery.

Coachella 2019 saw Janelle performing in two bespoke outfits featuring another Nange Magro speciality: latex and fabric mixtures (photos: instagram/justjared)

This could have signalled the end to a beautiful relationship. But it’s apparent that in due course, things were patched up between the designer and the performer. Post-pandemic, their collaborations resumed, and as a result, we can today enjoy the very latest expressions of a unique creative partnership!

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