This year’s Met Gala is just around the corner (set your alarms for Monday, May 5!) and the internet is already abuzz with guesses on who will attend, what viral moments are in store and most importantly, what our favourite celebs will wear on the red carpet.
For the uninitiated, the Met Gala 2025 theme is “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.” According to Vogue, it’s inspired by Monica L. Miller’s 2009 book, Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity, and the exhibit will explore the “style of Black men in the context of dandyism, from the 18th century through the present.”
What does that mean exactly? Well, dandy style or dandyism first became a term in the 18th and 18th centuries around the Regency and Victorian eras and is characterised by a meticulous attention to detail and sophisticated style, which often translated to crisp suits and on-point pattern-clashing. Think: slim-fitting suits in fine materials accessorised with delicate details like handkerchiefs and cufflinks paired in a way that showed off the wearer’s sartorial fluency and distinguished tastes. It was also a way to demonstrate someone’s individuality.
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An approach to dressing as opposed to a prescriptive set of rules, dandyism first came to describe men, but it is not limited to a gender. Take Coco Chanel, for example, who dared to defy the norms of female dressing in the ‘20s and adopted a more androgynous way of dressing. Marlene Dietrich, too, was the female dandy or “quaintrelle” of her time, whose choice of masculine shapes challenged societal norms of the ’30s.
When it comes to modern female dandies, Diane Keaton, Janelle Monae and Tilda Swinton come to mind, not only for their ability to carry a sharp suit, but also for how they use fashion to make a statement. These are women who dress for themselves.
Janelle has long made the suit and tux a part of her fashion character to pay homage to the uniforms worn by her working-class parents and to redefine the norms of female dressing. A long-time ambassador of Thom Browne, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the singer sport a grand piece from the designer’s latest collection. As for Doechii, the celebrated musician has proven herself to be a style star to watch this year, regaling audiences with multiple stand-out looks at Paris Fashion Week, one of which involved an excellent Schiaparelli suit, which could totally have made it onto the Met’s red carpet.
Given this year’s theme, we can expect to see a lot of literal translations in the form of exaggerated suiting and fine tailoring from the likes of Thom Browne, Ralph Lauren and Haider Ackermann’s debut collection for Tom Ford. It’s also an opportunity to celebrate young, black designers today like Grace Wales Bonner or Bianca Saunders.
But let’s be honest, we’d most love to see some of our favourite celebrities (we’re looking at you, Zendaya!) pull out an archival Jean Paul Gaultier like she did last year. Realistically, we know many Met Gala attendees will be wearing archival or custom pieces—likely not even on theme—but it certainly doesn’t stop us from indulging in a bit of wishful thinking.
From Robert Wun to Schiparelli, here are some Dandy-inspired pieces we’d love to see grace the steps of the Met.
