The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute has revealed the theme and dress code for the upcoming 2025 Met Gala. The annual evening is a celebration of the museum’s upcoming exhibition and arguably the biggest night of the year in fashion. The theme for the exhibition, which was announced in October 2024, is “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” and is inspired by Guest Curator Monica L. Miller’s 2009 book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity.
Keeping in line with the exhibition’s theme, the dress code for the upcoming Met Gala is “Tailored for You,” according to Vogue. It is a nod to the exhibition’s focus on menswear and is “purposefully designed to provide guidance and invite creative interpretation.” From well-tailored suits to avant-garde outfits with corporate-core touches, the Met Gala red carpet on Monday, May 5, 2025 will no doubt offer a stage for daring interpretations of classic menswear displayed by some of the most influential names in fashion.
Further clarifying the theme of the red carpet event, Vogue explained: “Tailored for You can be interpreted in a myriad of ways, but it mostly means embracing looks reflective of one’s personal style.”
“We can surely expect inspired takes on suiting—from versions of the zoot silhouette popularized by jazz musicians in the 1940s to the bold, colorful styles worn by Congolese sapeurs—though other menswear staples, such as hats, ties, canes, brooches, and pocket squares, are likely to have a strong showing too.”
Who are the co-chairs for the 2025 Met Gala
This year’s Met Gala will have a diverse group of co-chairs. In addition to the ever-present Vogue editor Anna Wintour, LeBron James will be the honourary chair for the evening. Lewis Hamilton, Pharrell Williams, Colman Domingo, and A$AP Rocky will serve as co-chairs for the event.
Additionally, André 3000, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Jordan Casteel, Dapper Dan, Doechii, Ayo Edebiri, Edward Enninful, Jeremy O. Harris, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Rashid Johnson, Spike Lee, Tonya Lewis Lee, Audra McDonald, Janelle Monáe, Jeremy Pope, Angel Reese, Sha’Carri Richardson, Tyla, Usher and Kara Walker will be a part of the host committee.
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.
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.
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 first 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.
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*Header image (L-R): “T.G.B.J.” ensemble, Tremaine Emory (American, born 1981) for Denim Tears (American, founded 2019), 2024; Courtesy Denim Tears. Photo © Tyler Mitchell 2025 / Suit, Ev Bravado (American, born 1993), Téla D’Amore (American, born 1994) for Who Decides War (American, founded 2015), Fall/Winter 2024–25; Courtesy Who Decides War. Photo © Tyler Mitchell 2025
