Janelle Monae wore monochrome to "honor" her parents at the 2017 Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Awards.

The singer and actress was recognized by the organization on Monday night (05Jun17) for her contributions to the Women's March in Washington earlier this year (17), and dazzled in an offbeat black and white Christian Siriano jumpsuit, featuring one-half of a blazer and stripes.

As she took to the stage, the Tightrope singer thanked CFDA president Diane von Furstenberg and board member Anna Wintour, while also discussing her style beginnings.

"My relationship with fashion - and this is one of my favorite events to come to, this is my second year - began with my music as a way of paying homage to my working-class family," she told the crowd in New York. "As a kid I had to get very creative because my parents could not afford the latest fashion... My mother was a janitor, my father was a trash collector, and my stepfather worked at the post office and they worked really hard to provide for my sister and me and they wore those uniforms proudly, they helped build this country.

"They served their community with such great pride and I stand here in my black and white giving honor to them."

The 31-year-old, known to break boundaries with her unique taste in clothes, went on to recall the marches which took place after President Donald Trump's inauguration in January (17).

People involved walked to raise awareness for various issues, including women's rights, racial equality, and healthcare reform, with Janelle remembering the atmosphere at the time.

"I was scared - when you have thousands of people looking at you and saying, 'Yeah! Give us something, give us some answers!'" she said. "But as I think about that march in Washington, I am reminded of all of those faces that I saw, I saw so many people from different walks of life: young, old, gay, straight. I saw different religious backgrounds, it didn't matter because they were together as human beings, and that's the one thing that left with me."