Superfine: Tailoring Black Style — Inside the 2025 Met Gala

By Mariam Dzadzamia

For years, I watched the Met Gala unfold from a screen — often in the early hours of the morning in Georgia — mesmerized by the intersection of fashion, culture and storytelling. This year, I found myself standing just steps from the red carpet, surrounded by fashion journalists and media professionals from around the world. It was not a coincidence. It was the result of deep admiration for fashion, countless hours of research, writing and connection — and a belief that fashion is not just what we wear, but how we tell the world who we are.

The Met Gala, held annually on the first Monday in May, serves as the grand opening of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute exhibition. More than a glamorous celebrity gathering, the event is a major fundraiser supporting the Institute’s curatorial work and preservation of fashion history. Each year’s theme guides both the exhibition and the guests’ attire, often provoking timely cultural conversations. This year’s theme — Superfine: Tailoring Black Style — focused on the lineage and artistry of Black menswear, celebrating elegance and self-expression through tailored fashion.

Curated by Andrew Bolton and Monica L. Miller, the 2025 exhibition explores the concept of Black dandyism — how black men have historically used tailoring not only as a fashion statement but as an act of resistance and confidence. As playwright Jeremy O. Harris put it in the Vogue special The Met issue, “The Met Costume Institute tells the story of Black dandyism as a joyous, sartorial force and crucial tool for moving the social and political needle.” Among the icons honored is André Leon Talley, the legendary Vogue editor and the first Black male to hold the position of creative director at the magazine. Known for his powerful presence and extravagant style, Talley once said that fashion was his armor. As one Vogue editor noted, “Getting dressed was an act of autobiography” for him.

The night was led, as always, by Vogue’s Global Editorial Director Anna Wintour, with co-chairs Pharrell Williams (Louis Vuitton Men’s Creative Director), A$AP Rocky (rapper and Ray-Ban collaborator), actor Colman Domingo and Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton. These four men, each from distinctly different fields, reflect the diverse expressions of Black masculinity and style. Hamilton, known for his bold red carpet looks, has spoken to Vogue magazine openly about breaking traditional definitions of masculinity through fashion. “There are so many different ways to present as a man,” he said, “you don’t have to be traditionally masculine.”

Standing outside the Gala, I witnessed firsthand how tailoring — sharp lapels, bold color, understated elegance — transformed into a form of storytelling. “Superfine” described the fabric or fit but also embodied the confidence and grace sewn into every stitch. As someone who has long turned to fashion as a tool for self-expression, this experience was a profound reminder of clothing’s ability to transcend trends and speak to heritage and artistry.

The Superfine: Tailoring Black Style exhibition is open to the public from May 10 to October 26, 2025, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. For anyone interested in how fashion functions as both a cultural archive and a living, breathing act of identity, it is not to be missed.