Exclusive | Meet the Met Gala design engineer who adorned Janelle Monáe’s costume with mesmerizing robo-butterflies

Exclusive | Meet the Met Gala design engineer who adorned Janelle Monáe’s costume with mesmerizing robo-butterflies

Cameron Hughes, 32, an animatronics engineer, from Manhattan, created robotic butterflies and dragonflies for Janelle Monáe’s 20206 Met Gala gown, designed by Christian Siriano, and created the "beating heart" handbag worn by fashion influencer Sabrina Harrison at The Metropolitan Museum of Art's star-studded event Monday.

Nikki Nelms Takes Us Behind The Scenes On How She Created Janelle Monáe's Sculptural Bob For The 2026 Met Gala

Every May, the Met Gala reminds us that fashion is storytelling, theater, and,  increasingly, art with a capital “A.” The 2026 edition, themed “Costume Art” with a dress code of “Fashion Is Art,” may have been the most conceptually loaded night the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s storied steps have ever seen. Designers, stylists, and celebrities weren’t just dressing up. They were making arguments about what fashion can mean. From head to toe, only…