Oscars red carpet: Janelle Monae's hooded gown took 600 hours to make, covered in 170,000 crystals
LOS ANGELES -- Janelle Monae shined at the 2020 Oscars. Literally.
The singer/actress wore a custom-made Ralph Lauren gown adorned in 170,000 Swarovski crystals to the red carpet at the 92nd Academy Awards.
The silver dress, complete with long sleeves and a buzzworthy hood, required more than 600 hours of expert hand-embroidery.
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"She always brings such drama to the carpet in such an elegant way," E! style correspondent Zanna Roberts Rassi said of Monae's look. Monae, along with Eilish and Billy Porter (in a golden feather top and orange ball skirt), show trends aren't everything. The trend was to be yourself."
The hostless ceremony opened with a bold and rousing performance by Monae, kicking off the show with "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" and weaving new, relevant lyrics into her own song "Come Alive," with some help from the multi-faceted Billy Porter.
"I'm so proud to be standing here as a black queer artist telling stories," Monae said. "Happy Black History Month."
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
