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Met Gala after parties 2025: Janelle Monae shocks with topless outfit

This actress and singer wasn’t to be upstaged at her own Met Gala after-party, as the star rocked up to the event in a totally topless outfit.

The most outrageous and memorable Met Gala 2025 looks

It was a fine and dandy night.

The fabulous fashion fiends and A-listers who were specially chosen to attend the 2025 Met Gala bounced around the city — many after a quick costume change into their second look, of course — to attend a grab bag of glitzy afterparties.

The city was abuzz on the first Monday of May, from classic hotspots like Lower Manhattan’s Casa Cipriani to newer locales like the Crane Club in western Chelsea, packing the house with a who’s who.

Janelle Monáe welcomed guests to the PUBLIC Hotel’s nightclub Artspace for a “Phenomenal Affair,” also hosted by Grammy-winning rapper Doechii.

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Monáe jumped onstage to greet the crowd, which was filled with variations of tailored suits, top hats, and a few sexy, pantless partyers rocking only leotards under their jackets.

The gracious host herself also arrived without a usually integral part of any outfit — a shirt.

Janelle Monae at the PUBLIC's Met Gala after-party with Doechii and Janelle Monae. Picture: Gilbert Flores/WWD via Getty Images
Janelle Monae at the PUBLIC's Met Gala after-party with Doechii and Janelle Monae. Picture: Gilbert Flores/WWD via Getty Images
The actress wore a wild topless look. Picture: Gilbert Flores/WWD via Getty Images
The actress wore a wild topless look. Picture: Gilbert Flores/WWD via Getty Images

The star confidently strutted into the event wearing a sailor-inspired look of high-waisted shorts, a jacket, tie, hat, monocle, and the bottom half of a corset. The latter was cut off right below her breasts, which were out to play with only nipple pasties in the shape of anchors covering her.

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Her entourage followed suit in similar outfits: black bikini bottoms, black suit jackets, black top hats, white bow ties, white gloves and white nipple pasties.

Monae’s look was custom made by Thom Browne. Picture: Gilbert Flores/WWD via Getty Images)
Monae’s look was custom made by Thom Browne. Picture: Gilbert Flores/WWD via Getty Images)

Revellers danced the night away to 90s and early 2000s club bangers — Back That Azz Up by Juvenile was a big hit — under a sea of disco balls bouncing a rainbow of colours.

Jenna Ortega’s Met Gala dress was made entirely of metal rulers

In honour of Monáe and Doechii, party goers kept the Champagne flowing — Perrier-Jouët, to be exact — and celebrated Cinco de Mayo in their own way. Featured cocktails included the Doce Mezcal “Lipstick Lover” and an “Alligator Bite” Código Blanco Tequila concoction — named after their respective musical tracks.

The A-listers began to filter in shortly after midnight before being escorted upstairs to the two fifteen cocktail lounge, around 2am, where a more exclusive group mingled through the early hours of the morning with nightcaps, French fries and caviar bumps.

Other star-studded events took place across the city, hosted by a roster of celebs.

Here are some of the festive moments from fashion’s big night out — after hours.

Kim Kardashian. Picture: Diggzy / BACKGRID
Kim Kardashian. Picture: Diggzy / BACKGRID
Hailey Bieber. Picture: BlayzenPhotos / BACKGRID
Hailey Bieber. Picture: BlayzenPhotos / BACKGRID
Kendall Jenner. Picture: BlayzenPhotos / BACKGRID
Kendall Jenner. Picture: BlayzenPhotos / BACKGRID
Julia Fox. Picture: JosiahW / BACKGRID
Julia Fox. Picture: JosiahW / BACKGRID
Chappell Roan. Picture: XNY/Star Max/GC Images
Chappell Roan. Picture: XNY/Star Max/GC Images
Rihanna. Picture: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for AWGE
Rihanna. Picture: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for AWGE
Sabrina Carpenter and Jenna Ortega. Picture: BACKGRID
Sabrina Carpenter and Jenna Ortega. Picture: BACKGRID
Hunter Schafer. Picture: BACKGRID
Hunter Schafer. Picture: BACKGRID
Zendaya. Picture: Diggzy / BACKGRID
Zendaya. Picture: Diggzy / BACKGRID
Charli XCX. Picture: BACKGRID
Charli XCX. Picture: BACKGRID
Doja Cat. Picture: BACKGRID
Doja Cat. Picture: BACKGRID
Jaden Smith. Picture: BACKGRID
Jaden Smith. Picture: BACKGRID
Heidi Klum. Picture: BACKGRID
Heidi Klum. Picture: BACKGRID
Colman Domingo. Picture: BACKGRID
Colman Domingo. Picture: BACKGRID
Olivia Ponton. Picture: Alessandra G / BACKGRID
Olivia Ponton. Picture: Alessandra G / BACKGRID
Stella Maxwell. Picture: BACKGRID
Stella Maxwell. Picture: BACKGRID

Vogue this year opted for a theme of ‘Superfine: Tailoring Black Style’, with a dress code of ‘Tailored for You’.

The theme was reportedly based off the vision of author Monica L. Miller, who wrote the 2009 book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity. According to the fashion bible, the exhibit will highlight “the indelible style of Black men in the context of dandyism, from the 18th-century through present day.”

Among the highlights were Halle Berry, who flaunted her fit figure in a daring sheer gown, Sydney Sweeney, who showed off her famous assets in a glamorous black beaded gown, and New Zealand singer Lorde, who opted for a near-nude top and skirt ensemble.

Fans were also treated to some big news on the red carpet, courtesy of Rihanna, who revealed she was pregnant with her third child.

This story originally appeared on New York Post and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as Met Gala after parties 2025: Janelle Monae shocks with topless outfit

Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-style/met-gala-after-parties-2025-janelle-monae-shocks-with-topless-outfit/news-story/d6f96850c585cb2f773af79a6d4992d5