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Met Gala 2025 theme explained; What does Black Dandyism mean?

Met Gala 2025 theme explained; What does Black Dandyism mean?

Matte Jr07 mins

The Met Gala 2025 is making the rounds on the internet after a rather unexpected announcement from the organizers. While the new theme is celebrating Black culture, they also announced the first all-Black hosts/co-chairs for next year’s event. The co-heads were confirmed to be Pharrell Williams, Lewis Hamilton, Colman Domingo and A$AP Rocky, along with honorary president LeBron James. Meanwhile, the theme was titled Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, which was described as an expression of black dandyism.

According to reports, following the Met Gala on May 5, Superfine: Tailoring Black Style will take place from May 10 to October 26, 2025 at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s spring exhibition. The show and exhibition will be inspired by the work by Monica Miller, professor and chair of African Studies at Barnard College. The theme is also heavily inspired by his book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity.

The art exhibition will be organized by Andrew Bolton of the Met Costume Institute, as well as Miller herself. The exhibition will focus on “the importance of clothing and style for the formation of black identities in the Atlantic diaspora”. While the exact dress code has yet to be announced, fans are concerned about how the theme could lead to cultural appropriation.

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Many internet users also celebrated the theme and what it would mean for the representation of Black Culture at the Met gala, on the catwalk at The Met. One user said: “Wow! I’m impressed! This is incredible! I could see Beyoncé being in this one!” Another impressed fan said: “A great opportunity to engage black fashion historians, designers and innovators as cultural commentators and writers. Don’t screw it up. However, there were also angry thoughts about it, the tweet added: “Black Americans? Who are you talking about? Black people are not all the same…stop using Black American culture and not representing history properly.”

The theme is expected to focus on black dandyism, which Miller described as “a strategy and a tool for rethinking identity, for reimagining oneself in a different context. To really push the boundaries – especially during the time of slavery, to really push the boundaries about who and what is considered human, even. As reported by Vogue, Bolton added that “I think a lot of black designers today are exploring the different modalities that the black dandy represents – things like freedom, dissonance, theatricality.”

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Andrew Bolten discovered Miller’s work during his research for the 2021 Costume Institute program and said Black Dandy is an approach inspired primarily by Zora Neale Hurston’s 1934 essay called “The Characteristics of Negro Expression.” The exhibition at the Institute will focus on the evolution of black fashion over the years and will begin with “Property,” a look at the belongings of an enslaved person from Maryland in the 19th century. You’ll then explore contemporary pieces designed by the likes of Pharrell Williams and the late Virgil Abloh.

Miller explained that the exhibition will also “illustrate how black people have transformed from enslaved and stylized as luxury items, acquired like any other symbol of wealth and status, to autonomous, self-fashioning individuals who are global trendsetters.”

Cover image: Instagram

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