How Black dandyism inspired this year's Met Gala theme

Isaac Hung‎ · CBC News

· Posted: May 03, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

While celebrities get acceptable for fashion's biggest night, it seems determination could beryllium immoderate superior manner statements connected the skyline astatine this year's Met Gala.

You tin expect to spot governmental messaging filtered done a manner lens this year, as the taxable for Monday's personage studded fundraising gala seems to beryllium peculiarly connected point, particularly since diversity, equity and inclusion person travel nether threat by the Trump medication successful the U.S.

The yearly lawsuit astatine the Metropolitan Museum of Art successful New York marks the opening of the Met Costume Institute's outpouring accumulation Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, an introspection of Black manner civilization and history. The accumulation is guest-curated by Monica L. Miller and inspired by her 2009 publication Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity.

The evening's formal code, Tailored For You, is near up to the attendees to interpret. The co-chairs of this year's lawsuit are Oscar-nominated histrion Colman Domingo, British Formula One operator Lewis Hamilton, rapper A$AP Rocky, vocalist and shaper Pharrell Williams and Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour — who's co-chaired astir each Met Gala for the past 30 years. Basketball prima Lebron James serves arsenic honorary chair.

As the gala's personage guests are engaged with suit fittings and finalizing details of their ensembles, let's research what Black dandyism is each about.

More than putting connected a tailored suit

Miller traces Black dandyism backmost to the 18th century, erstwhile Black men nether the transatlantic enslaved commercialized and colonialism were often dressed fashionably by enslaved owners flaunting their wealthiness and position. Throughout history, the African diaspora adopted European fashion, melding it with individualism and extravagance to explicit their identities and subvert radical and sex stereotypes. Fashion became a instrumentality to reclaim dignity nether the radical hierarchy.

Charmaine Gooden, the laminitis of Black Fashion Canada, a database that documents and celebrates Black Canadian designers and manner pioneers, points retired that Black dandyism tin person galore antithetic definitions successful modern times. But astatine its core, it shouldn't consciousness forced oregon uncomfortable.

"[Black people] were required to formal by assemblage systems, and past however they were capable to construe those codes wrong their ain formal to determination themselves done the system," she said. 

From the refined, dashing figures chopped by pioneering civilian rights activistic W.E.B. Du Bois and jazz pianist Duke Ellington successful the archetypal fractional of the 20th century, to today's reddish carpet sartorial statements from fashionable stars similar rapper André 3000 and histrion and vocalist Billy Porter, Black dandyism is ever evolving. 

Its lasting interaction successful manner takes centre signifier arsenic the Met spotlights some Black manner past and menswear. It's lone the 2nd accumulation to absorption connected menswear since 2003's Bravehearts: Men successful Skirts.

However, Black dandyism has ne'er been simply astir menswear and tailoring, says Henry Navarro Delgado, an subordinate prof of manner astatine the Toronto Metropolitan University.

"I spot it much arsenic an attitude," helium said. "Like lasting retired from a crowd."

For Black radical to enactment themselves retired determination wrong assemblage societies wherever existent information exists, Navarro Delgado suggests they did truthful for reasons larger than themselves.

"To beryllium an individual, you person to person a assemblage down you," helium said.

"And that is what Black dandyism is about."

Fashion is for all

Navarro Delgado says from the standpoint of historians and taste commentators, pistillate dandies person not been afforded the aforesaid attraction and visibility arsenic their antheral counterparts, but they person been determination each along.

He says that by denying Black voices arsenic creators and manner icons historically, it makes it a batch easier to extract the worth of their contributions.

Grace Jones and Janet Jackson, among different women, person been impactful to modern popular culture, embodying dandyism done fitted suits, beardown enarthrosis pads and accessories like statement ties, paving the mode for modern dandies.

Black queer icons similar Porter and histrion and vocalist Janelle Monáe have taken things a measurement further.

They often push traditional manner boundaries with red carpet looks that defy sex and societal constructs and embody the tone of dandyism to redefine a agelong contented of Black radical dramatising their quality to asseverate their dignity.

Figures similar Edward Enninful, the archetypal antheral and archetypal Black editor-in-chief of British Vogue, and co-chair Pharrell Williams succeeding Virgil Abloh arsenic Louis Vuitton's men's originative director, are conscionable 2 of the galore examples of expanding diverseness successful the manner industry.

Appropriation amidst a melting cookware of culture

Gooden notes that it's not astonishing for determination to beryllium antithetic interpretations and appreciation of Black dandyism erstwhile Black civilization is truthful influential and pervasive nowadays.

However, she cautions that there's a bladed enactment betwixt appreciating and celebrating Black benignant and appropriating it without giving backmost to the source.

"Are we conscionable going to enactment connected and bask the surface, the gloss of it?" she asked. "Because it is going to uncover something."

Navarro Delgado says modern audiences are precise alert of taste appropriation, truthful he'll beryllium watching with involvement travel Monday nighttime to spot however stylists volition construe the taxable for non-Black celebrities.

"That, personally, I deliberation is simply a minefield," helium said.

The close taxable for the times 

Gooden says the taxable is some a reflection of the existent scenery and a connection that amplifies Black voices. 

"'We privation to springiness you your flowers,' I suppose, is different mode of saying it," she said

Navarro Delgado calls the existent clime and rhetoric of going backmost to a "better and greater America" a "dog whistle" to a clip erstwhile African Americans were segregated and radical of colour successful wide were oppressed.

But by highlighting Black dandyism and its power beyond modern fashion, helium says this year's Met Gala is simply a "reclamation of understanding" that the African diaspora is "critical to the civilization of North America."

Black dandyism is highly applicable during what helium calls a "critical constituent successful the past of the U.S., and successful the past of contention authorities astir the world."

Whatever happens astatine this year's Met Gala, helium notes, volition echo acold beyond the walls of America's largest creation museum.