While it feels like yesterday, it’s already been eight months since the 2024 Met Gala, when Zendaya shut down the iconic staircase in two unforgettable looks — one from Givenchy Spring 1996 and another courtesy of Maison Margiela. And now, even though Zendaya’s take on the “Garden of Time” dress code is still top of mind, breaking news regarding the upcoming Met Gala proves its time to switch gears. On Feb. 4, five months after the 2025 Met Gala theme was confirmed as “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” the Costume Institute announced the highly-anticipated dress code: “Tailored For You.” Now that the theme and dress code are finally revealed, A-list attendees can start prepping for the first Met since 2003’s “Men in Skirts” to focus exclusively on menswear.
A few days before the official start of New York Fashion Week, Vogue’s exclusive announcement proved that the industry never sleeps. According to the publication, “the dress code is a nod to the exhibition’s focus on menswear and is ‘purposefully designed to provide guidance and invite creative interpretation.’” In a sleek detour from 2024’s princess-y ballgowns and floral ‘fits galore, 2025’s exhibit will “take the Black dandy as its subject, examining the importance of clothing and style to the formation of Black identities in the Atlantic diaspora,” Vogue confirmed. Black dandyism can be traced back to 18th-century England, when the “Atlantic slave trade and an emerging culture of conspicuous consumption generated a vogue in dandified Black servants,” said Monica Miller, professor and chair of Africana studies at Barnard College, Columbia University in her book, Slaves To Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling Of Black Diasporic Identity.
In partnership with Head Curator of the Costume Institute, Andrew Bolton, Miller will guest-curate the exhibition and provide clothing, photography, drawings, paintings, and film excerpts to illustrate the convergence of fashion and Black culture. “What makes it possible to translate Monica’s book Slaves to Fashion into an exhibition is our collection of high-style menswear, which serves as a foundation for imagining and realizing a sartorial history of Black dandyism,” Bolton told Vogue. Miller described Black dandyism as “a strategy and a tool to rethink identity, to reimagine the self in a different context. To really push a boundary — especially during the time of enslavement, to really push a boundary on who and what counts as human, even.”
On Feb. 4, Miller added that this exhibition and gala will “explore dandyism as both a pronouncement and a provocation.” “Dandyism can seem frivolous, but it often poses a challenge to or a transcendence of social and cultural hierarchies,” she revealed in an official statement. “It asks questions about identity, representation, and mobility in relation to race, class, gender, sexuality, and power.”
With that said, you can expect a good amount of suits to take over the Met Gala red carpet, each with an unconventional and experimental approach to tailoring. Vogue offered a sneak peek at art from the upcoming exhibit, which will undeniably influence the celebrity attire. The Metropolitan Museum of Art showcased multiple zoot suits from the 1940s, a patterned suit with an over-the-shoulder shawl from Virgil Abloh for Louis Vuitton Fall/Winter 2021 Menswear, and a checkered Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2025 suit (to name a few notable numbers). “The contemporary designers that are in the show are there because many of them talk about and use the history that we’re recounting as part of their design philosophies,” Miller shared with Vogue.
According to Vogue, the dresscode and theme were chosen in accordance with a menswear renaissance, which Bolton believes is fast approaching. “That’s thanks not just to Black designers but also to men of style, like the male co-chairs for our Met Gala,” Bolton said. This year’s co-chairs will be Pharrell Williams, Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, and Anna Wintour, of course. LeBron James will also serve as honorary co-chair. With Williams as co-chair, it’s no surprise that Louis Vuitton is a co-sponsor of the 2025 Met Gala, given his role as menswear creative director. So, don’t be shocked if Louis Vuitton dominates the step-and-repeat circuit.
While the co-chairs were selected months ago, on Feb. 4, Vogue announced the revival of the Met Gala Host Committee, which will support Williams, Domingo, Hamilton, and A$AP Rocky. The group features 26 notable names across art, literature, film, music, and sports, including Simone Biles, Doechii, Ayo Edebiri, Regina King, Janelle Monáe, Tyla, Angel Reese, Sha'Carri Richardson, and more.
Without a doubt, these updates prove the Met ball will outdo itself on the fashion front. So, there’s a lot to look forward to. In the meantime, stay tuned to TZR for more Met-related teasers.
This article was originally published on Oct. 9, 2024
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