Sometimes it makes SO MUCH SENSE that Tessa Thompson and Janelle Monae used to be best friends. (The friendship part makes sense, that is, not the “used to,” which is sad. It’s TRUE that they had a falling-out right? I didn’t hallucinate that? The Internet wanted them to have been dating on the down-low for a few years and I don’t think they’ve ever confirmed or denied it, but I believe they either friend broke-up or real broke-up, and it’s a bummer because I liked the idea of them together. END DIGRESSION.) They both have a taste for the avant-garde, though I think Tessa’s flourished somewhat during their palling-around period, and this whole outfit is something that I think Janelle would also have welcomed with open arms. That hat is pure Monae cosplay; you could argue this whole thing is. I enjoy this in theory very much, but in practice the skirt almost looks like improv. It’s turned her into a human bell, as if a giant picking her up and gently jiggling her back and forth would cause her to ring.
Nnamdi Asomugha was there, too, in a suit that’s not awful but rather one-note. He seems like a very interesting guy, and he’s married to a fashionista and also here working with one. I yearn for something snazzier. I ALSO yearn for a Kerry sighting, but the two of them are almost never photographed in the same space at the same time. Can we put that on our wish list for 2021?
