Red carpet, May 5, 2025: the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art filled with stars in tailoring. The night’s theme was “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” and the dress code was “Tailored for You,” ABC News reported, citing Vogue.
The theme matched the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition of the same name. The museum described the show as a cultural and historical look at the Black dandy, from the figure’s first appearance in 18th-century Enlightenment Europe to versions seen in cities worldwide today. Archival garments, artworks and film excerpts were to carry the story.
Where the idea came from
The exhibition grew out of Monica L. Miller’s 2009 book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity. Miller, who chairs Africana Studies at Barnard College, Columbia University, served as guest curator.
It was the first show devoted purely to menswear in twenty years. The last was “Braveheart: Men in Skirts” in 2003.
The museum explained that dandyism was first forced on Black men in 18th-century Europe, where the Atlantic slave trade and a growing consumer culture produced fashionably dressed servants. Over time, it said, Black people used clothing, gesture, irony and wit to remake the identities handed to them.
The night itself
Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton and A$AP Rocky were among the co-chairs, joined by Pharrell Williams and Anna Wintour. LeBron James took on the role of honorary co-chair, his first Met Gala. ABC News said Domingo, Hamilton and Wintour reached the carpet early in dandy-inspired looks. Zendaya, Diana Ross, Shakira and Teyana Taylor posed later in the evening.
Before the event, Page Six had reported a list of expected guests that included Madonna, Lauryn Hill, Lorde, Angela Bassett and Demi Moore. The Met kept the full list confidential.
Guests were told to arrive in outfits drawn from the theme. Grazia’s pre-event piece pointed to Dapper Dan, André Leon Talley’s red padded coats and Prince’s ruffled blouses as touchstones.
Sources
- Superfine, Indeed: Everything We Know About The 2025 Met Gala
- The best looks from the 2025 Met Gala red carpet
