Ladies and gentlemen, we have a theme for the 2025 Met Gala! In a Wednesday announcement, Vogue revealed that the theme will be “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.” The publication explained that the theme will focus on “Black dandy as its subject, examining the importance of clothing and style to the formation of Black identities in the Atlantic diaspora.”
This show is ultimately inspired by Monica Miller, Professor and Chair of Africana Studies’ book “Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity,” where she “establishes Black dandyism as both an aesthetic and political construct.” As intriguing as that sounds, it gets even more exciting with the celebrity co-chairs for the annual event, which include the Fashion Killa himself, A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams, the amazing Colman Domingo, F1 driver Lewis Hamilton, and Anna Wintour, alongside honorary chair LeBron James. This will mark the first time the Met Gala will focus on menswear since 2003!
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Curator in Charge Andrew Bolton, who will be working alongside guest curator Miller, told Vogue, “I feel that the show itself marks a really important step in our commitment to diversifying our exhibitions and collections, as well as redressing some of the historical biases within our curatorial practice.” Bolton emphasized that “It’s very much about making fashion at The Met more of a gateway to access and inclusivity.”
He went on to say, “What’s interesting about Black dandyism is it’s not just an identity. Obviously, you have people like Iké Udé, the photographer and artist who self-identifies as a dandy [Udé is serving as Special Consultant to the exhibition], but it’s also a concept as well […] I think a lot of Black designers today are exploring the different modalities that the Black dandy represents—things like freedom, dissonance, theatricality.”
Last year, the theme was “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” with the official dress code being “The Garden of Time.” The Met Gala is a fashion event fundraiser held annually at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York City.
The 2025 edition is scheduled for May 5.