--- title: Josephine Baker Was All Over the Met Gala Red Carpet description: Several stars honored Josephine Baker at the 2025 Met Gala canonical: https://time.com/7283031/josephine-baker-met-gala-references/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-05-06T02:15:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2025-05-06T03:35:07.000Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Josephine Baker Was All Over the Met Gala Red Carpet og:description: Several stars honored Josephine Baker at the 2025 Met Gala og:url: https://time.com/7283031/josephine-baker-met-gala-references/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt77ed07f0b17c40eb/6998c66a7323af07a92bc7ec/josephine-baker-met-gala.png?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: josephine baker met gala og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Josephine Baker Was All Over the Met Gala Red Carpet twitter:description: Several stars honored Josephine Baker at the 2025 Met Gala twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt77ed07f0b17c40eb/6998c66a7323af07a92bc7ec/josephine-baker-met-gala.png?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Josephine Baker Was All Over the Met Gala Red Carpet ## Video: The Best and Most Outrageous Fashion Moments of the 2025 Met Gala [Watch (HLS stream): The Best and Most Outrageous Fashion Moments of the 2025 Met Gala](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/61xPpHR2.m3u8) (2:48)  _Published 2025-05-06. The Best and Most Outrageous Fashion Moments of the 2025 Met Gala._  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Updated: May 6, 2025 3:35 AM UTCPublished: May 6, 2025 2:15 AM UTC  Jamie McCarthy—Getty Images; Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images; Lexie Moreland—WWD/Getty Images; AFP/Getty Images  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Updated: May 6, 2025 3:35 AM UTCPublished: May 6, 2025 2:15 AM UTC While the 2025 [Met Gala](https://time.com/7282574/met-gala-red-carpet-2025/) is celebrating the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s new costume exhibit on Black Dandyism—spotlighting men’s fashion—several stars on the red carpet honored a female Black fashion icon, [Josephine Baker](https://time.com/4342285/josephine-baker-birthday-anniversary-photos/), a dancer and civil rights activist who was the first Black woman to star in a major motion picture. Just like [Black dandies](https://time.com/7281626/met-gala-2025-theme-black-dandy-history/), Baker experimented with fashion and was not afraid to go bold. A [postcard](https://onlineexhibits.library.yale.edu/s/gatheroutofstardust/item/12245#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-101%2C-125%2C1686%2C2482) of Baker in a tuxedo and top hat is at Yale University’s Beinecke Library.  Josephine Baker adoc-photos/Corbis via Getty Images _Abbott Elementary_ creator [Quinta Brunson ](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2022/6177794/quinta-brunson/)told Vogue that Baker inspired her to don a suit for the red carpet.  Quinta Brunson Mike Coppola/MG25/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue Brunson also paid homage to one of Baker’s signature hairstyles, a short cut with a single curl prominently on her forehead. Other stars boasted variations on that look at the Met Gala, including Met Gala co-chair A$AP Rocky, [Dua Lipa](https://time.com/6964703/dua-lipa-time100-2024/), and tennis great [Venus Williams](https://time.com/5318227/time-with-venus-williams/). “Josephine Baker was known as the Black Venus,” Williams said on the red carpet, explaining that she was trying to channel the dancer’s “elegance.” Pop star [Megan Thee Stallion](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888165/megan-thee-stallion-pioneer/) specifically channelled Baker at the Met Gala, styling her hair in the long cone-shaped pony tail that the dancer sported in Havana, Cuba.  Megan Thee Stallion Theo Wargo—FilmMagic/Getty Images  Josephine Baker in 1951. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Gigi Hadid’s gold custom MiuMiu gown bore a striking resemblance to a Balmain dress that Baker once wore for a photoshoot for the Balmain fashion house in 1951\.  Gigi Hadid Cindy Ord—MG25/Vogue/Getty Images for The Met Museum  Josephine Baker in 1951 ullstein bild/Getty Images The fact that Baker, who had relationships with both men and women, according to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, was able to move seamlessly in fashion between menswear and womenswear is part of what has made her a queer style icon. Baker's timeless influence was felt all over the 2025 Met Gala. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7283031/josephine-baker-met-gala-references/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7283031/josephine-baker-met-gala-references/"},"headline":"Josephine Baker Was All Over the Met Gala Red Carpet","datePublished":"2025-05-06T02:15:44.000Z","dateModified":"2025-05-06T03:35:07.000Z","description":"Several stars honored Josephine Baker at the 2025 Met Gala","url":"https://time.com/7283031/josephine-baker-met-gala-references/","keywords":["Met Gala","culturepod"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt77ed07f0b17c40eb/6998c66a7323af07a92bc7ec/josephine-baker-met-gala.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. 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