The aesthetic of this year’s Met Gala in three words? Pure Black excellence.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s annual fashion extravaganza is back, and this time, the event is paying homage to the debonair flair of Black menswear and its evolution over the centuries.
Celebrity attendees and their high-fashion ateliers will be tasked with reimagining the Black “dandy” for their gala attire. Defined as a “man unduly devoted to style,” the term became associated with Black men in 18th-century Europe as a trend of smartly dressed servant staff emerged.
“Dandyism offered Black people an opportunity to use clothing, gesture, irony, and wit to transform their given identities and imagine new ways of embodying political and social possibilities,” a previous release from the Met stated.
Here’s the sartorial 411 on fashion’s biggest night.
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When is the Met Gala 2025?
Held on the first Monday of May, the 2025 Met Gala will take place May 5.
Who is hosting Met Gala 2025?
The co-chairs for the 2025 Met Gala are singer-songwriter and fashion designer Pharrell Williams, Oscar-nominated actor Colman Domingo, Grammy-nominated rapper A$AP Rocky and British racecar driver Lewis Hamilton.
Meanwhile, NBA superstar LeBron James will serve as an honorary co-chair, and Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour will reprise her presiding co-chair role.
In addition to the co-chairs, a host committee has also been announced.
The star-studded group includes the likes of Usher, Regina King, Spike Lee, Simone Biles and husband Jonathan Owens, Janelle Monáe, Doechii, Ayo Edebiri and many more.
What is the Met Gala?
The Costume Institute Benefit, commonly known as Met Gala, is a fundraiser for the museum’s Costume Institute, which hosts a collection of over 33,000 fashion artifacts. The 2024 Met Gala raised approximately $26 million, according to The New York Times and The Associated Press.
What is the Met Gala 2025 theme?
The theme coincides with the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute’s spring exhibit, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” which the institute describes as a “cultural and historical examination of Black style over three hundred years through the concept of dandyism.”
Inspired by Monica L. Miller’s 2009 book, “Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity,” the exhibit theme explores how the multicultural blend of African and European styles informed Black identity during the Atlantic diaspora — the mass uprooting of African communities as a result of the slave trade between the 16th and 19th centuries.
“Dandyism can seem frivolous, but it often poses a challenge to or a transcendence of social and cultural hierarchies,” said Miller in a Feb. 4 statement, per Vogue. “It asks questions about identity, representation, and mobility in relation to race, class, gender, sexuality, and power.”
What is the dress code for Met Gala 2025?
In conjunction with the Costume Institute’s “Superfine” exhibit, the dress code for the night is “Tailored for You,” which challenges attendees to put their bespoke spin on the spiffiness of dandyism.
According to Vogue, the code pays tribute to the exhibit’s menswear focus and is “purposefully designed to provide guidance and invite creative interpretation.”
Where to watch Met Gala 2025 red carpet
For those wanting to check out the fierce fashion in real time, the official Met Gala livestream will be broadcast across Vogue’s digital platforms, including the magazine’s official YouTube channel.
TV network and pop culture hub E! will also be airing a three-and-a-half hour red-carpet special, kicking off at 6 p.m. ET/PT, which will be co-hosted by Zanna Roberts Rassi, Maria Taylor, Elaine Welteroth, Yvonne Orji and fashion designer Christian Siriano.
A separate livestream special, airing from 6:30-8 p.m. ET, will be available across E!’s social media platforms, E! Online and streaming service Peacock.
What is 2025 Met’s Costume Institute exhibit?
The exhibit will be open to the public from May 10 to Oct. 26, per the Met’s official website.
The fashion expo, sponsored by Louis Vuitton, will interpret the style ethos of dandyism through a curated collection of garments and accessories, paintings, photographs and decorative arts from the 18th century to today.
Moreover, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” is organized into 12 sections representing the characteristics embodying the dandy aesthetic, such as “Champion, Respectability, Heritage, Beauty and Cosmopolitanism.”
Contributing: Anna Kaufman and Naledi Ushe, USA TODAY
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