How Janelle Monáe Stole the Show on Chanel’s Front Row 

If you’ve been paying any attention to the front rows of Paris Fashion Week this season, you’ll already have noticed the divine presence of Janelle Monáe. The multi-tasking actress-singer-producer has style to spare, and nowhere was that more evident than at Chanel’s fall 2020 show. As Virginie Viard debuted her latest interpretation of the Chanel woman, Monáe presented her own take on the concept. In a black and white tweed suit worn unbuttoned to the navel with layers of chains and a double C brooch, Monáe was subdued yet sexy. A modern riff on a classic silhouette, the look she created with stylist Alexandra Mandelkorn spoke volumes.

A regular at Chanel for nearly a decade, Monáe is well-versed in the house’s designs, but that didn’t make the experience of taking in a show at the Grand Palais any less magical. Seated next to Atlantics director Mati Diop, and joined by fellow trendsetter, Deep Cotton’s Nate Wonder, Monáe took in all the collection had to offer. Here, she takes Vogue along for the fun, sharing all the moments behind the scenes of a jampacked day—from getting photographed by fashion legends Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin to posing for the scores of street style photographers parked outside the venue.