The Met Gala 2025 - Superfine: Tailoring Black Style
The Met Gala 2025 – Superfine: Tailoring Black Style
2025 was the first year that the Met Gala used black culture to inspire the theme of the event, by bringing the iconic Dandyism and Belle Epoque inspired looks back from hundreds of years ago, to life. The event highlighted the impact that black culture has had in the world of luxury fashion as Dandyism is defined by Vogue as a fashion revolution, a movement steeped in history, resistance and pride in response to the confinement and suppression of black people. The style was historically used as a way of regaining the sense of identity which had been lost after being oppressed for so many years, a way so those could shine in a way that no one at that time expected them to.
Dandyism includes impeccably styled and tailored suits with bright, vibrant colours, extravagant patterns and bold accessories such as statement hats. Today, the vibrancy of the modern dandyism is symbolic of what dandyism wholly stands for; to honour the ancestors of black men and women who had to fight, not just to be seen for their heritage, but themselves as a whole person - it is about letting your clothes do the talking.
2025 saw the event hosted by Pharrell Williams, Lewis Hamilton, ASAP Rocky and Colman Domingo, and the attendees of the Met Gala 2025 brought to life this poignant moment within history. Rihanna showed wearing custom Marc Jacobs, with a polka dot, satin cravat, a cropped black blazer, and a wide brimmed hat to attribute to the theme. Others, such as Sabrina Carpenter wore iconic Louis Vuitton, which resembled her provocative personal style which often includes similar corset-like bodysuits when she is on stage performing. Stormzy was less adventurous but equally impactful in his Tom Ford suit.
The dress code, Tailored For You, shifted the focus of this years event onto men’s tailoring, and was inspired by the book ‘Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity’, written in 2009 by Monica L. Miller, which draws on the importance of acknowledging the emergence of the black dandy, and how it has evolved through cultural history since the Age of Enlightenment in England during the 18th century. The Met Gala is hosted once a year to raise money for the Metropolitan Museum of Art and has previously incorporated themes including ‘About Time: Fashion and Duration’, ‘In America: A Lexicon of Fashion’, and ‘Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination’.