--- title: The History Behind the 2025 Met Gala Theme description: The 2025 Met Gala theme honors Black Dandyism. Here's what to know about the history behind the style canonical: https://time.com/7281626/met-gala-2025-theme-black-dandy-history/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-04-30T17:56:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-11T00:22:49.862Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: The History Behind the 2025 Met Gala Theme og:description: The 2025 Met Gala theme honors Black Dandyism. Here's what to know about the history behind the style og:url: https://time.com/7281626/met-gala-2025-theme-black-dandy-history/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2995875b92ee41fc/6998c633d32e935f9ecd6f58/GettyImages-2202767481.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Celebrity Sightings In New York - March 04, 2025 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The History Behind the 2025 Met Gala Theme twitter:description: The 2025 Met Gala theme honors Black Dandyism. Here's what to know about the history behind the style twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2995875b92ee41fc/6998c633d32e935f9ecd6f58/GettyImages-2202767481.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The History Behind the 2025 Met Gala Theme  by [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Apr 30, 2025 5:56 PM CUT  A$AP Rocky, a co-chair for the 2025 Met Gala, is seen during a photoshoot for Vogue in Harlem, Manhattan on March 4, 2025 A$AP Rocky, a co-chair for the 2025 Met Gala, is seen during a photoshoot for Vogue in Harlem, Manhattan on March 4, 2025Courtesy of Getty Images  by [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Apr 30, 2025 5:56 PM CUT The red carpet styles at the [2025 Met Gala](https://time.com/7279685/met-gala-2025-what-to-know/ "undefined") on Monday are always works of art in and of themselves. This year, the stars walking the red carpet will pay homage to an [exhibit](https://time.com/6972918/met-gala-history/ "undefined") theme with a deep history. “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” is a cultural and historical examination of [Black style](https://time.com/5134486/how-to-slay-black-fashion-influence/ "undefined") over 300 years through the concept of Dandyism, telling a story through garments, accessories, paintings, photographs, and decorative arts. Just as Black Dandyism is about bright, bold, showy designs, expect the same kinds of designs on the [red carpet](https://time.com/6970055/met-gala-red-carpet-2024/ "undefined"). Here’s what to know about Black Dandyism, the theme for the 2025 Met Gala. **Read more:** [**The 2025 Met Gala Theme Honors Black Dandyism. We’re Already Missing the Point**](https://time.com/7096829/2025-met-gala-black-dandy-history-essay/ "undefined") ## **What is Black Dandyism?** A Black Dandy sees fashion as a way of life. The culture of Dandyism can be traced to the the 1700s, when during the Atlantic slave trade, there was “a trend of fashionably dressed or dandyfied servants,” Superfine’s co-curator Monica L. Miller, author of _Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity_, says on the museum’s website. Black Dandyism came out of an effort to gain basic respect in a racist and prejudiced society through fashion and self-expression. says Peter K. Andersson, author of _The Dandy: A People’s History of Sartorial Splendour,_ via email. “White Dandies have been ostracized and derided as well in various ways, but for Black Dandies, the Dandyism has almost always been accompanied by the added dimension of cruel racism, special treatment and discrimination,” he says. Andersson cites scholar Zine Magubane, who described the loud outfits of Black Dandyism in the 19th century as a refusal of “the posture of silence" demanded of Black people by white supremacists. ## **Black Dandyism in culture** Zoot suits—long suit jackets with shoulder pads worn over baggy dress pants—became popular among Black men, [jazz](https://time.com/7273135/preserving-jazz-america-essay/ "undefined") musicians, and activists and grew into a symbol of resistance. Originating in Harlem, N.Y. in the 1930s, “it is considered the first uniquely American suit,” Clarissa Esguerra, a curator of costume and textiles at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, [told](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2023-06-13/zoot-suit-how-the-bold-look-made-history-and-continues-to-influence-fashion "undefined") the Los Angeles _Times_. Other minority groups started sporting zoot suits, and the bold designs made Chicanos a target of racial violence in 1940s Los Angeles, when fabric was being rationed during World War II. Black Dandyism is not just an American phenomenon. Around the same time the style of zoot suits grew in popularity, groups of young South African men known as tsotsis became known in Apartheid-era Johannesburg for sporting narrow bottomed trousers and imitating the styles of American movie stars. South African Black Dandies known as swenkas faced off in fashion competitions. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Black Dandies known as Sapeurs strut their stuff in parades, dating back to the 1970s when the children of Congolese families went to study in Paris and brought back the latest fashions, scholar Daouda Coulibaly [writes](https://theconversation.com/meet-paris-black-dandies-the-sapeurs-229927 "undefined") on _The Conversation._ **Read more:** [**Everything You Need to Know About the 2025 Met Gala**](https://time.com/7279685/met-gala-2025-what-to-know/ "undefined")  Colman Domingo attends the 2024 Met Gala Celebrating "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 06, 2024, in New York City. Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic—Getty Images ## **Black Dandyism today** As _Vogue_ [noted](https://www.vogue.com/article/what-is-black-dandyism#:~:text=If%20the%20early%20days%20of,%2C%20innovative%2C%20and%20deeply%20personal. "undefined"), Black Dandies in the 19th century and early 20th century sported bespoke tailoring as a way to show that they fit in, asserting their dignity. Black Dandies in the 21st century sport bold colors and prints to show that they are not only surviving, but also thriving. [_Essence_](https://www.essence.com/fashion/andre-3000-style-evolution/ "undefined")cites André 3000’s green button down shirt with white suspenders in the 2003 “Hey Ya!” music video as “the accouterments of an outstandingly dressed Black man, a Dandy, to be sure." According to the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) modern-day Dandy “icons” in entertainment include this year’s Met Gala [co-chairs](https://www.metmuseum.org/press-releases/ci-2025-exhibition-gala-details "undefined") [A$AP Rocky](https://time.com/4100171/asap-rocky-lsd/ "undefined"), [Pharrell](https://time.com/collection/the-new-american-revolution/ "undefined"), [Colman Domingo](https://time.com/7210621/actor-colman-domingo-radical-love/ "undefined"), and committee member [André 3000](https://time.com/3429669/andre-benjamins-next-act/ "undefined"). For A$AP Rocky, Dandyism means enjoying [pearls, kilts, barrettes, furs, and Saint Laurent suits](https://www.vogue.com/article/asap-rocky-may-2025-cover-interview "undefined"). Pharrell stands out for the way he blends street wear with luxury fashion, so much so that Louis Vuitton named him a [creative director.](https://us.louisvuitton.com/eng-us/magazine/articles/pharrell-williams "undefined") And with Oscar nominee [Colman Domingo](https://time.com/6964710/colman-domingo-2/ "undefined")’s 2024 Met Gala look—boasting a long white cape and flowy black dress pants—the actor “redefined Hollywood’s approach to menswear,” according to the CFDA. On Monday, as celebrities arrive on the 2025 Met Gala red carpet, we’ll see just how they interpret that redefinition. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7281626/met-gala-2025-theme-black-dandy-history/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7281626/met-gala-2025-theme-black-dandy-history/"},"headline":"The History Behind the 2025 Met Gala Theme","datePublished":"2025-04-30T17:56:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-11T00:22:49.862Z","description":"The 2025 Met Gala theme honors Black Dandyism. 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