The 2025 Met Gala is still months away, but it takes time, money and a whole lot of planning to make the so-called Oscars of Fashion as glitzy as it seems. So, now that the big brains behind the shindig have officially announced the theme for next year’s do, it’s time for celebrities to begin their scramble to work out what they’re going to wear.
Last October, the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced the Costume Institute’s spring 2025 exhibition would be “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style”.
Now, we have a dress code for the Met Gala itself: Tailored for You. And yes, the exhibition and dress code are different. (More on that in a minute.)
Who are the hosts for the 2025 Met Gala?
Along with the theme, the co-chairs — the creative minds who help to publicise and bring the event to life — play an important part in proceedings. This year Condé Nast creative director and Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour will be joined by a notably fashionable group which includes actor Coleman Domingo, F1 icon Lewis Hamilton, rapper A$AP Rocky, and singer and producer Pharrell Williams. NBA legend LeBron James will also be joining the gang as an honourary co-chair.
The Met Gala has also drawn from tradition and announced a host committee: André 3000, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Grace Wales Bonner, Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens, Jordan Casteel, Dapper Dan, Doechii, Ayo Edebiri, Edward Enninful, Jeremy O. Harris, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Rashid Johnson, Regina King, Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee, Audra McDonald, Janelle Monáe, Jeremy Pope, Angel Reese, Sha’Carri Richardson, Olivier Rousteing, Tyla, Usher, and Kara Walker.
Doechii???? Ayo??? The girls stay winning.
Superfine: Tailoring Black Style Met Gala Theme, Explained
The exhibition and Gala is based on Professor Monica L. Miller‘s 2009 book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Stylings of Black Diasporic Identity.
A ‘dandy’ was a term used to describe someone — historically a man — who takes great pride in their style, so much so that it is almost a discipline. At the time, the style was crisp, tailored and sartorial, so think suits, blazers and timeless men’s fashion.
In the 18th century, the emerging consumerist culture mixed in with the dandy aesthetic saw dandyism being imposed on Black men in Europe caught up in the slave trade. As a result, there was a trend of dandified servants throughout the 18th century.
According to Miller, Black dandyism is not only an aesthetic but a political construct.
“[Dandyism is] a strategy and a tool to rethink identity, to reimagine the self in a different context,” Miller says, per Vogue.
“To really push a boundary—especially during the time of enslavement, to really push a boundary on who and what counts as human, even.”
Further, bringing Black dandyism to the forefront at the Met Gala highlights the grey area between Black excellence being hyper-visible on the red carpet, whilst simultaneously receiving a lack of acknowledgement in institutions like The Met.
Superfine: Tailoring Black Style is the second Met Gala to exclusively focus on men’s wear, with the last being 2003’s Men in Skirts.
However, Met Gala curator Andrew Bolton says that the 2025 Met Gala will go down in history.
“I feel that the show itself marks a really important step in our commitment to diversifying our exhibitions and collections, as well as redressing some of the historical biases within our curatorial practice,” Bolton explained to Vogue.
“It’s very much about making fashion at The Met more of a gateway to access and inclusivity.”
Tailored for You: the 2025 Met Gala dress code, explained
Like we said, the theme and the exhibition are different. Technically, the theme is the dress code, and when celebs arrive at the gala on the first Monday in May, they’ll be expected to be dressed to suit the Tailored for You dress code.
The dress code is “purposefully designed to provide guidance and invite creative interpretation”, according to the Met. It means men’s suiting will take front and centre, which makes it an exceptionally good choice that Colman Domingo is a co-chair. The man has never made a suit look boring in his life.
Other things we can expect to see? Tailoring from different eras, non-black suits, and statement-making menswear accessories like hats, ties and pocket squares. If anyone dares turns up in a boring black tie, they should be escorted out by the Miss Anna herself.
What’s the difference between the Met Gala theme and the exhibit?
The Met Gala isn’t just a party for the armchair fashion experts among us to judge celebs wearing dresses we’ll never afford: it’s technically a fundraising gala. Designers or brands buy a table, then invite celebs to attend (and wear their designs, naturally). Obviously, Anna Wintour approves each and every attendee, because this diva is nothing if not a perfectionist.
The Met Gala raises money for New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, which each year unveils an exhibited — decided upon by head curator Andrew Bolton — dedicated to the art of fashion. The Met Gala’s theme is then chosen to reflect the exhibition.
When is the Met Gala 2025?
Each year, the Met Gala takes place on the first Monday in May. So for 2025, it’s locked in for May 5 — meaning for Australians, it takes place on May 6.
LFG!!!!
Lead photo: Getty.
The post ‘Tailored For You’: What Does The 2025 Met Gala Theme & Dress Code Actually Mean? appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
