Met Gala 2025: Black Style, Tailoring, and the Glamour of Resistance

The Met Gala returned to New York City in 2025 with a bold celebration of Black style and masterful tailoring. Fashion’s biggest night once again drew the world’s attention—not just for its dazzling looks, but for the deeper themes woven into the evening’s narrative. The event aligned with the spring exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, titled “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style”, with a fitting dress code: “Tailored for You.”

This year’s co-chairs included Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams, and, as always, Vogue’s editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. NBA star LeBron James was named an honorary chair but was absent due to a knee injury. A host committee of 25 celebrities rounded out the evening’s leadership.

Although the theme had the potential to ignite political conversation, the night leaned into elegance over activism. Superfine: Tailoring Black Style explores the subversive brilliance of Black fashion and the legacy of dandyism in challenging traditional concepts of masculinity. In theory, the gala served as a glamorous tribute to diversity in a political climate increasingly hostile to it. But in practice, it was a party first. Politics, if present, was an understated plus-one.

Even Vice President Kamala Harris, the highest-profile political figure in attendance, slipped in quietly through a side entrance, avoiding cameras. The evening became a thoughtful yet joyful celebration of Black heritage, talent, and creativity—without overt political statements.

Fashion moments were rich and symbolic. Diana Ross wore a feathered ivory gown with an 18-foot train embroidered with the names of her children and grandchildren. André 3000 arrived with a grand piano strapped to his back. Rihanna revealed her third pregnancy in a pinstriped bump-hugging ensemble and matching bustle. Hailey Bieber’s Saint Laurent tuxedo came paired with a martini—and no pants.

Still, the night didn’t quite reach the shock factor of Kim Kardashian’s Marilyn Monroe dress or Rihanna’s papal moment, and certainly not Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s infamous “Tax The Rich” gown from 2021.

Homages to Black fashion legends André Leon Talley, Josephine Baker, and Dapper Dan were woven throughout the night. It was Talley’s passing in 2023 that inspired curator Andrew Bolton to conceptualize this year’s exhibition. “He radiated joy,” Wintour wrote in a recent tribute—and his influence was unmistakable on the red carpet. Colman Domingo’s electric blue cape echoed Talley’s 2011 Met Gala look, while singer Doechii staged a photo op twirling one of his signature accessories: a Louis Vuitton tennis racket cover.

The fashion headline of the evening was the revival of Harlem glamour from the 1920s and 1930s. FKA twigs channeled Josephine Baker in a scalloped, feather-trimmed cocktail dress and chiffon stole, created by British designer Grace Wales Bonner. Zendaya stunned in an immaculate ivory three-piece “zoot suit”—a nod to Harlem dancehalls and the flamboyant tailoring of queer blues icon Gladys Bentley.

Dapper Dan, the legendary Harlem tailor and godfather of hip-hop fashion, arrived in jazzy black-and-white tailoring, topped with a matching two-tone hat and shoes. “This personifies the Harlem Renaissance,” he told red carpet reporters.