Janelle Monáe’s appearance at the 2026 Met Gala was far from ordinary; her outfit transcended mere fashion to become a kinetic masterpiece.
At the heart of this innovation was Cameron Hughes, who played a pivotal role in bringing Monáe’s ensemble to life.
“I was responsible for crafting the four animated butterflies and two dragonflies that adorned Janelle Monáe’s gown designed by Christian Siriano,” said Hughes, a 32-year-old animatronics engineer based in Manhattan, in an exclusive conversation with The Post about his intricate creations for the acclaimed 10-time Grammy nominee.
Monáe was among the dazzling stars who graced The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s annual gala on Monday, marking the grand opening of the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition, aptly titled “Costume Art.”
Alongside luminaries such as Beyoncé, Heidi Klum, and Rihanna, Monáe elegantly climbed the museum’s iconic steps, adhering to the evening’s thematic dress code, “Fashion is Art.”
This sartorial directive challenged both celebrities and designers to conceive ensembles that honored clothing as works of art, promising to stand alongside The Met’s storied collections of paintings, sculptures, and historical relics.
Siriano took the task and ran with it, whipping up a moss-and-wire gown inspired by Monáe’s vision for the frock, “art overtaking the machine.”
“The earth is overpowering the machine and the technology,” Siriano explained to E! of the number, made with live moss, eight succulent plants, 230 electrical wires, 5,000 black crystals and Hughes’ mechanical animals.
It was a collaborative slay as the Manhattanite was tapped to join just two weeks before the big show, as the three powerhouses — Siriano, Monáe and Hughes — all worked together on it.
“Christian designed the whole dress in, like, six or seven days,” continued Hughes. “Everything was, like, basically done once I stepped in with the butterflies and the dragonflies.”
Hughes previously engineered a moving “Clock Monocle” for Monáe, whose stylist discovered his robo-artistry on Instagram, at the 2025 Met Gala, honoring “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, so rejoining forces for this year’s fête was an automatic no-brainer.
To mobilize the animatronics, Hughes, with a bachelor of fine arts from Syracuse University, used micro servos — tiny, lightweight actuators programmed to control precise movement and positioning in robotics — to enliven the winged insects.
From the closet-turned-design studio he built in his apartment, the innovator churned out a total of nine butterflies and dragonflies, made of silk organza and silk taffeta, via his in-house 3D printers and laser cutters.
“Making [the butterflies and dragonflies] was because I did everything on the computer,” he revealed with a chuckle. “I sent the designs to the printer and the cutter, they made the parts, and I just glued them together.
“I was at the studio, putting stuff together, gluing things in place like the day before the gala.”
Hughes created a small controller, a device nicknamed the “Electric Lady” after Monáe’s second studio album, allowing the songstress to control the speed of the wings.
“There was a little button controller on the actual dress near her hip,” he said, noting that each component of the craft is “really expensive” to make. “I also made an iPhone app so that she can control the wings from her phone, too.”
For the “beating heart” handbag Hughes manufactured to complete influencer Sabrina Harrison’s Met Gala getup, the visionary used five nano servos and carbon fiber.
Adorned in gold metal plates by jewelry designer Chris Habana, the pulsating purse — originally programmed for Wi-Fi activation — ultimately functioned via an on-and-off switch Hughes installed for fear of internet connectivity issues on the revered walkway.
He spent nearly 10 days tweaking the eye-catching accessory to heart-pounding perfection.
It was a labor of love that makes his work a cut above.
“[In fashion] everything has already been done with beading, embroidery and all of that,” said Hughes. “Robotics is just a new process, a new way of making beautiful things.”
The chic machines are making his dream come true, too.
“Designing for the Met Gala is exciting; it’s like a dream,” said Hughes. “I always want to be on the cutting edge of cultural conversions — using fashion and technology to create for the world.”
