A writer’s honest thoughts on the 2025 Met Gala theme
Andre Leon Talley’s colourful kaftans and gigantic fur stoles. A$AP Rocky in that infamous bubblegum pink Loewe tuxedo, neck dripping in pearls. Jeremy Pope, looking effervescent in an all-technical silk suit that glowed under the red carpet lights. Black men have for decades been pushing boundaries in fashion, presenting us with memorable moments that have encouraged entire trend cycles. And it seems – finally – like the fashion industry is ready to pay its respects.
Earlier this week, the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced the Costume Institute’s 2025 Met Gala theme, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” looking at the fashions of the Black dandy and how they have evolved over time. Based on the work of co-curator and professor of Africana Studies at Columbia University Monica Miller’s 2009 book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity, the Met’s curation will examine the importance of clothing to the formation of Black identities.
Dandyism is a style movement that started in 19th-century Britain and encouraged opulence, elegance and good taste in men’s fashion. Think of any picture you’ve seen of American writer and civil rights activist, James Baldwin, looking unbearably chic and you’ve got a fundamental understanding of the concept. Bold fabric choices, impeccable tailoring, dressing with personality and intention. Basically put, if you’re in a simple black tux on the night, you have failed to meet the standards required of you as a guest at the annual Met Gala, and should be turned away.
It was a theme announcement so unexpected, the internet still doesn’t know what to think of it. Alongside this, also came the news that the first ever group of all Black co-chairs will play host on the night. They include the man who, for many, put F1 on the map Lewis Hamilton, rapper A$AP Rocky, Oscar nominee Colman Domingo, and Louis Vuitton’s Pharrell Williams, with LeBron James serving as an additional honorary chair. It will be the first time in more than two decades that the theme for the night will focus entirely on menswear (the last being the 2003 ‘Men in Skirts’ exhibit). The choice to not include a Black woman as a co-chair is a little surprising, but does much to set the focus of the night; the men.
There is often much criticism of the boring choices male guests make for Met Gala night (I, for one, threw metaphorical tomatoes at my screen when last year’s host Chris Hemsworth turned up wearing the plainest cream Tom Ford suit you’ve ever seen). This theme puts them right under the microscope for a change, as opposed to the women who are expected to show up and outdo themselves every time. Think Blake Lively, Rihanna and Zendaya, whose attendance on those famous carpet-swathed steps is awaited annually with bated breath.
My initial reaction to all this has been one of cautious excitement. Like so many, fashion is a form of escape and artistic inspiration for me. Getting to see a Met Gala dedicated entirely to exploring the work of Black designers past and present feels like a moment of real celebration. Ib Kamara, Dapper Dan, Christopher John Rogers, LaQuan Smith, Gordon Henderson. We have access to so many Black menswear designers who deserve their work photographed and talked about, just as their white peers have experienced repeatedly over the years. And what better occasion than fashion’s biggest night?
Black fashion lovers deserve this moment too. It was American fashion journalist Andre Leon Talley – a man whose style was the very definition of dandyism – who made the Met Gala an unmissable event for me and my friends growing up. It was his narration on those Met Gala steps as Vogue’s red carpet correspondent for many years that made me fall in love with the occasion; and his sartorial choices, an unending closet of colourful suits, that made made me fall in love with clothes.
He was distinct not only because he dressed to stand out, but because he was often the only Black member of real prominence on those steps. Something Vogue’s infamous editor-in-chief Anna Wintour acknowledged in 2020, apologising and taking responsibility for the publication’s past racially insensitive mistakes. Those who are sceptical of the theme online cite the industry’s general tendency to make grand promises and do very little to actually give us a seat at the table in any substantial way. Optics-wise, this is a brilliant move for not only the Met but for fashion’s gatekeepers, like Wintour, who have become synonymous with the event.
This theme means too much for it to be whitewashed and watered down, stripped of the political clarity the likes of Miller have given it. There have been – rightly in my opinion – fears raised about whether the theme will encourage the appropriation of Black fashion culture by guests, giving white attendees a pass to cosplay as their favourite Black celebrity.
When our style customs are restricted to within our own community, they are sometimes viewed as ‘ghetto’ by fashion’s (often white) gatekeepers; the long acrylic nails, the stacked, maximalist jewellery and gold chains, trainers paired with formal wear, long lashes and laid baby hairs. When they are colonised and interpreted on white bodies, then and only then do they become ‘high fashion’ or ‘trendy’. It would be uncomfortable to have to watch white celebrities parade around in gold grills for instance, or parodying our great figures of history.
There is so much to balance, so much care that needs to be taken in bringing this theme to life and as of right now, many do not know if it can be pulled off. For the Gala to be a success in my eyes, it needs to showcase Black fashion in all its forms; Black media and fashion commentators should be given priority access to cover the carpet, Black stylists should be working with all the guests, Black designers showcased in the exhibit and on the carpet, Black makeup and hair teams working with the talent. There should be no doubt about who that night belongs to.
We’ve waited a long time for this. Let’s hope it will be worth it.
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