This year’s Met Gala is making history — not just with gowns and glitter, but by centering Black dandyism as a cultural force. Through sharply tailored suits and bold statements, the style tradition long rooted in rebellion, pride, and elegance is claiming overdue space at fashion’s most exclusive night.
Janelle Monáe, a host committee member, describes dandyism as “part of my fashion DNA,” tracing its influence back to her family and ancestors who wore uniforms and suits to serve their communities. For Monáe and others, this isn’t just about style — it’s a powerful, ongoing tribute to legacy and identity.
The evening also marks a landmark moment for the Met’s Costume Institute. Its latest exhibit, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” is the museum’s first show dedicated solely to Black designers and its first major menswear focus in over two decades. Cultural powerhouses like Pharrell Williams, Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, and LeBron James are leading the charge, alongside fashion icons like Dapper Dan and tributes to the late André Leon Talley, whose influence still looms large.
Historically, figures like Frederick Douglass and Duke Ellington wielded fashion as a weapon — dressing with deliberate sophistication to assert power and dignity. Today’s torchbearers continue that legacy, merging heritage with modernity. Atlanta stylist El Lewis put it best:
“We are the walking versions that they imagined.”
As NFL fashion editor Kyle Smith noted, Black influence in fashion has always been present — just too often ignored. With the Met Gala’s global reach, dandyism now steps out from the margins and into the mainstream. For many, it’s not just a fashion moment — it’s a cultural reclamation.
