This year’s theme
The 2025 Met Gala was certainly a successful evening for fashion this year. This year, Usher and Stevie Wonder performed inside the Met. They both showcased their biggest hits.
Celebrating Black style and dandyism, this year’s Met showcased tailoring from dresses to suits. This year’s spring exhibition theme was “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” and the dress code was “Tailored for You”. An assortment of suits, pinstripes, blacks and greys was envisioned before the evening’s guests revealed their outfits. This year has been one of my favourites due to the ability we have, as viewers, to decipher the looks and their vision due to how straightforward the theme is. Of course, many left us disappointed, and I couldn’t help but think if some guests got the memo. But the majority of attendees, especially the Black community present, embraced the theme fully and gave us extraordinary looks.
The theme had dandyism at its core. What is dandyism? Dandyism is a style and attitude which can be defined by the attention to detail when dressing. The movement rejected past aristocratic fashion and instated meticulous tailoring. Refined manners, elegance, and class can all be seen in this concept. In the context of Black Dandyism, it can be seen as a form of artistic expression and resistance. It is now mainly a declaration about fashion and identity that aims to protest against the racism and rules put on Black people. Some key words to modernly explain Black dandyism can be extravagance, class, tailoring, statement and elegance. It is all about fighting against stereotypes and this year’s met demonstrated that beautifully.
Monica Barbaro
Since it is not possible to talk about every look by default, in no particular order, here are my five favourite looks. Starting strong, Monica Barbaro wore Dior to this year’s Met, and it was her debut at the Gala as well. She wore an ivory-sinched blazer with a diamond Bulgari brooch on her collar. Underneath was a white shirt and black silk tie and a black tulle skirt. She accessorised with some black leather gloves, black pumps and a white boater hat. This look represented what I imagined for the dress code. In Harper’s Bazaar GRWM video, Barbaro explained her look was inspired by the original Bar jacket designed by Christian Dior in 1947 as a wink to tailoring. She embraced the elegance of dandyism and had the tailored dress code on point with the skirt at perfect length, the blazer sinched perfectly and the hat to tie it together. It wasn’t the most outrageous or extravagant, but she mindfully respected the theme and dress code and made it her own while honouring Christian Dior’s impact on tailoring.
Colman Domingo
One of this year’s co-chairs, Colman Domingo, used Black dandyism to its fullest. The actor focused on the influence of the Moors during the Harlem Renaissance and thought about ways to use that and represent the importance of Black style and dandyism. There were two parts to his outfit, the first was comprised of a Valentino royal blue cape with a silver embellished collar, an homage to the Moors and Andre Leon. Underneath, he revealed a black and white check patterned blazer with grey trousers and a polka-dotted flower brooch, which was an homage to the Harlem Renaissance. In an interview with Variety, Domingo’s stylist expressed: “For us, dandyism is just our culture, our heritage, Black excellence. […]. It’s really just putting forth your best foot, really being the epitome of style and confidence, and really making sure you exude that at all times.”
Jennie
This year, the Chanel team did not disappoint with their guests’ chosen looks. Jennie wore a custom black Chanel tuxedo gown which was composed of an over-skirt and a jumpsuit. She accessorised with a boater hat, white pearls and the classic Chanel white camelia. This is the star’s third Met and second time wearing Chanel. In her Vogue interview with Lala Anthony, live from the blue carpet Jennie explained how her look was inspired by the 20s and the 30s of the Coco Chanel runways. The Blackpink star was a chosen global ambassador for Chanel by Karl Lagerfeld himself and she represents classic and timeless Chanel perfectly.
A$AP Rocky and Rihanna
Last but not least, are Rihanna and A$AP Rocky. Rihanna never announces her pregnancies mundanely. Back in 2023, the singer announced her second pregnancy through her Super Bowl performance. This time, she chose the Met to announce the coming of her third child with A$AP Rocky. The star wore a Marc Jacobs ensemble that had a black and grey corset, a black pinstripe skirt that represented an open blazer tied around her waist, and a cropped black jacket. She accessorised with a black hat designed by Jacobs and Stephen Jones and a red tie with white polka dots. A$AP Rocky came to the Met as a co-chair this year in his own designed outfit from his brand AWGE. The newly named creative director of Ray-Ban wore a double-breasted parka jacket inspired by Marmot jackets he saw in Harlem when he grew up, which he thought represented modern dandyism, with a black vest and trousers with exposed satin boxers. He accessorised with Bulgari jewels, AWGE glasses and an umbrella.
Main image: “Met Museum of Art” by Annalisa Welinder is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Link to the image.