The 2025 Met Gala: “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style”

On Monday, May 5, the Metropolitan Museum of Art held their much-anticipated Met Gala. This year, the museum’s Costume Institute’s spring 2025 exhibition presents “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.” Drawing inspiration from Monica L. Miller’s Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity, the exhibition examines Black culture and history through the lens of dandyism, considering how Black people, particularly Black men, have used tailored fashion to express and to shape perception. “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” is currently on view until October 26. Accordingly, this year’s Met Gala dress code was Tailored for You, reflecting the theme of self-expression through fashion.

Many high-profile stars attended this invite-only event, dazzling the runway with their beautiful, on-theme outfits. The co-chairs featured four Black men—Actor Colman Domingo, Formula 1 Driver Lewis Hamilton, Artist A$AP Rocky, and Artist Pharrell Williams—each bringing different perspectives to this year’s theme and gala. As co-chairs, the four men presented their best selves for this year’s event.

Domingo’s outfits were inspired by many aspects of history, including the Harlem Renaissance. The consistently Best-Dressed actor arrived at the Met Gala in a royal blue Valentino Robe paired with an intricate collar. Later in the evening, he switched out his robe for tailored pieces inspired by the Zoot suit. One of Domingo’s stylists, Wayman Bannerman, said, “We wanted to pay homage to African history, the richness and ruling of that culture of how it impacted [fashion] through the centuries to its current time.” Domingo also spoke on how, while he had previously looked for visions of Black male styles outside of himself, he now had the chance to curate this vision for himself and others. Indeed, both his outfit and his presentation of it at the Met Gala spoke to his Black queer identity.

Lewis Hamilton was outfitted in a custom ivory Wales Bonner suit with a beret by Stephen Jones Millinery. “[As a teenager] I was trying to understand how I wanted to present myself,” Hamilton said, reflecting on his personal history with fashion and self-expression. “I would wash cars along my street for pocket money and go to the little thrift store in town and get the Tommy Hilfiger pieces that I saw in music videos. They gave me the confidence to show up and say, ‘This is who I am.’”

Simultaneously, Hamilton hopes this year’s Met Gala sparks conversation around fashion and self-expression in Black culture. He said, “I hope [this year’s Met Gala] allows us to show that we have ownership of our identity and how we see ourselves and how we see one another, and how we use fashion to combat preconceived notions with humanity and dignity.” Intertwining personal and cultural history, Hamilton’s outfit perfectly reflected this year’s theme.

A$AP Rocky was dressed in a custom design from AWGE, his label. Putting his spin on dandyism, Rocky opted for a sportswear-inspired approach to his tailored outfit. He paid homage to the Marmot jackets he saw growing up in Harlem. Rocky’s outfit truly expressed his personal experiences and style.

“I’m looking forward to seeing everybody celebrate Black excellence,” Rocky said in anticipation of the Met Gala. “When people celebrate a different culture or race, sometimes it’s done with intent, sometimes with ulterior motives,” he adds, noting possible concerns around this year’s theme. Yet, he thinks this year’s exhibition and gala are very genuine and important.

Pharrell Williams, the creative director for men’s fashion at Louis Vuitton, showed up on the red carpet in a custom double-breasted pearl blazer he designed, featuring 100,000 pearls. The jacket was paired with black flared dress trousers. “To me, dandyism is about intentionality—a sport of getting dressed,” Williams remarked. “It’s not just about dressing well. It’s about using style as a form of self-expression and freedom.”

The four chairs this year wore only some of the many outfits that stunned the audience. Aspen Goldstein ’25 exclaimed, “I really liked Zendaya. She’s Zendaya, she can pull off anything!”

Beyond just being a time for brands, designers, and celebrities to showcase their newest looks, this year’s Met Gala paid important tribute to the history of Black dandyism and the movement’s impacts, with this year's co-chairs epitomizing the significance of this year’s theme: “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style”.