Janelle Monáe Debuts 'Phish Boy' Halloween Character at Wondaween

Janelle Monáe unveiled a new original character, "Phish Boy," as her Halloween look for 2026. She first wore it at her annual Wondaween festival on October 29, then shared photos and a video of the costume on October 30.

The festival, called Wondaween Festival: Creature Carnival, was held at Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, California. "Creature Carnival" was the event's theme this year.

In an Instagram reel posted to her official account, @janellemonae, Monáe described "PHISH BOY" as "an original new creature" and "Creature Carnival's newest attraction." The caption opened with "Happy Halloween Eve!" and tagged @wondaween, the festival's account.

The outfit is built around a striped vest, matching trousers and a red tie. The rest is makeup work. Billboard reported that the look includes special-effects makeup, prosthetic fins on the hands and face, bulging eyes and what it called hyperrealistic fins. Prosthetics are pieces of silicone or foam that are glued onto the skin to change a person's shape.

Before the event, Monáe promoted Wondaween in a series of Instagram videos in which she appeared as a decomposing green ghoul she called "Ghostess With the Mostess." The festival is her own Halloween celebration, and she has used it for costume reveals in past years. In 2024, she dressed as E.T. and unveiled the costume on Instagram, according to People. In 2025, she wore a gory shark-bite costume to a BACARDÍ Rum x Wondaween party, according to People.

Vogue also published an interview with Monáe about becoming Phish Boy for Halloween. The character is a new name on the costume list, and it arrived with a full set of effects, a red tie and a carnival theme that Monáe tied into her own sign-off.