The 2025 Met Gala is set to take place on the first Monday in May at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, attracting a myriad of designers, artists, celebrities, and Hollywood personalities. The event will coincide with the opening of the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition titled “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” which is the central theme guiding the gala this year.

The gala’s co-chairs are notable figures from various fields: musician Pharrell Williams, Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, actor Colman Domingo, basketball icon LeBron James, and rapper A$AP Rocky. Vogue’s Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour will also serve as a co-chair as customary.

The 2025 Met Gala committee includes a diverse array of influential figures such as Simone Biles and her husband Jonathan Owens, fashion pioneer Dapper Dan, musicians Doechii and André 3000, editor Edward Enniful, writers Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, artists Jordan Casteel and Rashid Johnson, actress and director Regina King, filmmaker Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee, among others. This eclectic mix underscores the event’s focus on celebrating Black creativity and style.

“Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” marks the first Met exhibition in two decades to concentrate almost exclusively on menswear, with an emphasis on Black dandyism. The theme was unveiled during a press conference in October 2024 at the museum. Andrew Bolton, the Costume Institute’s head curator, described the exhibition as inspired by Monica L. Miller’s 2009 book, Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity. Miller joined Bolton at the press event to elaborate on how aspects of her book inform the exhibition.

Miller explained that dandies historically were men, primarily from the 18th century, who paid meticulous and sometimes extravagant attention to their dress. She noted that dandyism served as both a vehicle of enslavement and liberation for Black people, shaped by the political realities of the time. The exhibition investigates the dual nature of dandyism — both as a style and a form of self-fashioning — addressing themes of identity, representation, mobility, race, class, gender, sexuality, and power.

The exhibit comprises an extensive collection of garments, paintings, photographs, and other artefacts that span from the 18th century to contemporary times, organised into 12 thematic sections: Ownership, Jook, Cosmopolitanism, Presence, Distinction, Disguise, Freedom, Champion, Respectability, Heritage, Beauty, and Cool.

Notably, the Ownership section explores the intersection of “being owned” and “owning it,” featuring a purple and gold-trimmed coat worn by an enslaved man from 1770s Maryland. The Jook section highlights “Zoot suits,” known for their exaggerated silhouettes and cultural significance, including suits worn by Malcolm X in the 1940s that challenged norms surrounding masculinity and Black propriety. Cosmopolitanism examines Black dandyism within the context of an interconnected and sophisticated global Black diasporic community.

The exhibition will showcase creations from renowned Black designers, including Pharrell Williams’ work at Louis Vuitton and pieces by the late Virgil Abloh, founder of Off-White. In addition, artists such as Toykwase Dyson, André Grenard Matswa, photographer Tyler Mitchell, and designer Tanda Francis contribute to the richly textured narrative of Black dandyism through their contemporary expressions.

The “Tailored for You” dress code for the gala encourages guests to creatively interpret the theme by wearing garments that reflect their personal style while paying homage to the exhibition’s focus. Vogue describes the dress code as guidance meant to inspire individuality, which is expected to bring forth looks ranging from classic double-breasted suits and kaleidoscopic Zoot suits to more modern, baggy silhouettes reminiscent of Willy Chavarria’s fashion designs.

The exhibition will be open to the public from May 10 to October 26, 2025, allowing visitors to explore the evolution and cultural significance of Black dandy style as presented through an array of historical and modern lenses. This year’s Met Gala promises a dynamic celebration of fashion, culture, and art centred on the rich legacy and ongoing influence of Black menswear and style.

Source: Noah Wire Services