Every year on the first Monday in May fashion fans come together for the annual invitation-only fundraising gala for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. The annual evening is a celebration of the museum’s upcoming exhibition and arguably the biggest night of the year in fashion, so as soon as the Costume Institute announced the theme of the 2025 Met Gala: “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” social media predictably began the countdown to the big night and the accompanying exhibition. The exhibit will delve into the sartorial legacy of the Black Dandy and explore how clothing has shaped Black identities, largely drawing inspiration from co-curator Monica Miller’s 2009 book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity.
Read on for all of the details we have so far for the 2025 Met Gala and the extravagant exhibit that will open to the public a few days after fashion’s biggest night of the year.
What is the Met Gala 2025 theme?
After criticism about the lack of Black representation at the Costume Institute’s annual exhibits, the 2025 theme marks a promising step forward. The 2025 theme delves into the sartorial legacy of the Black Dandy under the title “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.” The 2025 exhibition will explore how clothing has shaped Black identities within the Atlantic diaspora, drawing inspiration from co-curator Monica Miller’s 2009 book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity. Miller is a Professor and Chair of Africana Studies at Barnard College, Columbia University and in her work she positions Black dandyism as both an aesthetic and a political statement describing it as “dressing wisely and well.”
The show will be organized around 12 defining traits of Black dandyism, a structure informed by Zora Neale Hurston’s 1934 essay, The Characteristics of Negro Expression. Through fashion, photography, art, and film, the exhibition traces the journey of Black individuals from enslavement to becoming global trendsetters featuring contemporary designers like: Grace Wales Bonner, Pharrell Williams, and the late Virgil Abloh, each contributing to this dialogue on identity and fashion.
Interestingly, this will be the exhibit dedicated entirely to men since 2003’s Men in Skirts.
What is “Black Dandyism”?
To begin with, Black Dandyism goes way back to the 18th and 19th centuries. It emerged as a response to the constraints imposed on the Black community at the time, and later evolved into an identity of resistance. While the term dandyism refers to the manner and dress of a dandy—a man who is elegantly and fashionably dressed—this movement saw African Americans using fashion as a way to form an assertive identity of their own. It was a means of expressing individuality, fighting stereotypes, and celebrating their cultural heritage in a society that constantly marginalised them. Think: tailored suits, bold patterns, accessories like hats, pocket squares, fancy footwear, bow ties, crisp dress shirts, and stylish coats that make an instant statement.
Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Langston Hughes, and James Baldwin are some of the names you will most likely hear when discussing Black dandyism. These poets, social activists, novelists, and writers led the movement by using their distinctive styles as a form of self-expression, challenging the norms while reasserting their dignity through fashion.
Of course, the idea of dandyism has evolved since the 18th century. The contemporary definition of dandy men has expanded to include hip-hop artists, fashion icons, and influencers who have taken it up a notch. Black artists today are using hip-hop streetwear—graphic tees, stylish joggers, oversized jackets, and statement sneakers—to convey their strong sense of identities.
When is the 2025 Met Gala?
The 2025 Met Gala will take place on Monday, May 5, 2025. As usual, it will be held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and will include a star-studded red carpet taking place on the museum’s iconic front steps.
Who are the 2025 Met Gala co-chairs?
The co-chairs for the 2025 event are some of the best-dressed men of the moment. The (almost) all-male lineup includes Pharrell Williams, Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky and, of course, Vogue‘s Anna Wintour. NBA legend LeBron James joins as an honourary co-chair.
Who is attending the 2025 Met Gala?
The exclusive event’s guest list is never revealed before the gala, but you can expect to see a ton of your fave celebrity faces on the museum’s red carpet.
When will the “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” exhibit run?
The Costume Institute’s spring 2025 “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” exhibit will be on display at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City from Saturday, May 10 to Sunday, October 26, 2025.
What about previous themes?
The theme of the Costume Institute’s 2024 exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art was entitled “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.” Prior to that past themes included: “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” (2023), “In America: An Anthology of Fashion” (2022), “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion” (2021), “Camp: Notes on Fashion” (2019), and “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” (2018).
The history of the annual Met Gala
The Costume Institute houses a collection of more than 35,000 costumes and accessories spanning five continents and just as many centuries, and is the only curatorial department at the famed Met in NYC that has to finance its own activities. The annual gala is its biggest fundraiser. Click here to read THE STORY OF: The Annual Met Gala for a little context on the fashion industry’s most important party.
