Celebrities and designers graced the stairs of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City Monday night dressed in their finest tailored suits and gowns to celebrate the opening of The Costume Institute’s Spring 2025 exhibition, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.”
Inspired by Monica L. Miller’s 2009 book, “Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity,” the exhibition presents a cultural and historical examination of the Black dandy, from the figure’s emergence in Enlightenment Europe during the 18th century to 21st-century incarnations in the cosmopolitan cities of London, New York and Paris.
Related Stories
“Over the last few years, men’s wear has undergone somewhat of a Renaissance. At the vanguard of this revitalization is a group of extremely talented Black designers who are constantly challenging normative categories of identity. While their styles are both singular and distinctive, what unites them is a reliance on various tropes that are rooted in the tradition of dandyism, and specifically Black dandyism,” said Andrew Bolton, curator in charge, The Costume Institute.
The exhibition features historical garments and accessories as well as contemporary garments by designers working in the U.S. and Europe. The garments are presented alongside drawings and prints, decorative arts, ephemera, paintings, photographs, and film excerpts by “individuals whose work has been instrumental to the formation and understanding of Black identities and experiences from the 18th century to to-day,” the museum stated.
The exhibition will be on view from May 10 to Oct. 26, 2025
Monday night’s Costume Institute Benefit, also known as The Met Gala, was co-chaired by Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams and Anna Wintour. The annual event provides the department with its primary source of annual funding for exhibitions, publications, acquisitions, operations and capital improvements. The gala raised a record $31 million this year.
The dress code for the evening was “Tailored for You,” a nod to the exhibition’s focus on suiting and men’s wear. Each year the dress code for The Met Gala takes inspiration from the exhibition theme.
Attendees interpreted the theme through tailoring and traditional suiting fabric used in unconventional ways. Gowns incorporated elements of men’s wear, while classic suiting evolved into diverse silhouettes. Accessories like capes, hats, floral pins, canes and cigars added a touch of theatrical flair the event is known for.
