The most famous faces in the world gathered last night at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York for the annual Met Gala – which is widely regarded as the crown jewel of the fashion calendar.
This year, the spring show and Met Gala theme is titled Superfine: Tailoring Black Style. The exhibition examines black style over three centuries through the subject of the black dandy.
‘In the 18th-century Atlantic world, a new culture of consumption, fuelled by the slave trade, colonialism, and imperialism, enabled access to clothing and goods that indicated wealth, distinction, and taste,’ The Metropolitan Museum of Art explained, ‘Black dandyism sprung from the intersection of African and European style traditions.’
This was the first Met Gala in over 20 years to have a theme centred around menswear, and was inspired by Monica L. Miller’s 2009 book, Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity.
This very special, and rare moment, in which Black style is recognised as pioneering and trailblazing on the most important night in fashion, did not disappoint. Alongside Anna Wintour, four leading Black men – Lewis Hamilton, Colman Domingo, A$AP Rocky and Pharrell Williams – took on the roles of co-chairs – and fittingly so, as each of them have individually made worthy contributions to fashion and society.
Image credit: John Shearer
Lewis Hamilton
Fresh from the Miami Grand Prix, Hamilton was one of the first celebrities to hit the famous steps as one of the four co-chairs of the event. He teamed up with British designer of Jamaican heritage Grace Wales Bonner – with whom he has a long-standing relationship – and stylist Eric McNeal to wow onlookers with a look loaded with symbolism. He opted for an ivory suit featuring a white bow tie, coattails, and a tuxedo stripe. The sash was adorned with cowrie shells, recognised as a protective talisman in Africa. His ear cuffs, cuff links and brooches contained garnets, which is a reference to his January birthday. The cuff links were also interestingly shaped like a Whirligig African Daisy. He rounded out the look with a beret by Stephen Jones Millinery.
Image credit: David Fisher
Colman Domingo
Domingo joined Hamilton and Anna Wintour on the carpet early in the evening, donning a custom Valentino look fit for royalty – a dramatic blue robe which was topped off with an ornate gold and white linen bolero with silver cane and feathered embellishments. The outfit paid homage to the late Andre Leon Talley, former Vogue editor-at-large. Famed for his dramatic capes, kaftans and robes, Talley was a huge fashion icon and Anna Wintour referred to him as ‘a dandy among dandies.’ Halfway up the stairs Domingo stripped off into a tweed jacket layered over a striped shirt and a pair of grey slacks, playing into the tailoring theme.
Image credit: Michael Buckner
A$AP Rocky
It was a big night for co-chair A$AP Rocky who announced his third child with Rihanna. For the occasion he wore a custom look from this own creative agency – AWGE – inspired by his youth in Harlem. He completed his look with accessories such as diamond-encrusted Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses, a Bulgari pink gold brooch, yellow and white gold serpent ring, diamond earrings and a platinum necklace with a ruby pendant. More notably, he carried an umbrella with a handle shaped like a revolver covered in 90 carats worth of diamonds – perhaps a nod to his recent court appearances.
Image credit: Dia Dipasupil
Pharrell Williams
The creative director of Louis Vuitton Menswear was always set to impress – and that he did. From a distance his ensemble was nothing out of the ordinary – a white, double-breasted blazer and shirt paired with a black tie, trousers and shoes. But upon closer inspection, you will find the blazer – which took over 980 hours to create – is covered in individually stitched pearls – 100,000 of them to be exact. Pearls are of significance to the musician and designer as he explained that for him, style is a form of self-expression and freedom, pearls being a part of this. Pharrell stated that his fashion inspirations are ‘the Black men of the working class…they do the hard work. When it’s time to get fresh, they get super fine.’
Image credit: Jamie McCarthy
Cynthia Erivo
Erivo absolutely stunned on her arrival at the gala – after all her custom Givenchy look by Sarah Burton took over 2,250 hours to create. The ensemble featured a sliced jacket and corset embroidered with an astounding 43,400 Swarovski crystals, with a black tulle layered skirt. The sharp and precise tailoring alongside the elaborate detailing offered a differing take on the theme, paying homage to the Rococo period. Her stylist, Jason Bolden commented, ‘We really wanted to go back in time a bit to the start of dandyism, where, for people of colour, the act of tailoring and dressing was seen as an act of resistance and defiance to oppression.’
Image credit: Dia Dipasupil
FKA Twigs
For her Met Gala debut FKA Twigs, like Hamilton, opted to wear a look by longtime friend and designer Grace Wales Bonner. Drawing inspiration from Josephine Baker, she wore a very flapper-esque cocktail dress – completed with a feather trim and Swarovski detailing – whilst rounding out the ensemble with a pair of custom Manolo Blahniks. Describing the process of creating the dress, Bonner commented, ‘The clothing was inspired by different notions of black spirituality, going on to state, ‘There is a purity and simplicity to the clothing, which is all made in ivory raw silks and embellished with Swarovski crystals and cowry shells.’
Image credit: Dimitrios Kambouris
Jodie Turner Smith
Every year there are a handful of guests that entirely encapsulate the theme – this year Turner Smith was one of them. She teamed up with Burberry for the second time, and the British fashion house didn’t disappoint. She wore a burgundy, leather look which took the form of a traditional Victorian silhouette, complete with a coordinating top-hat.
Image credit: Matt Crosick
Rege-Jean Page
In a sea of monochromatic looks, Rege-Jean Page stole the show in a vibrant red suit by Brioni. He paired the double-breasted suit jacket with a floor length coat, bringing both sophistication and elegance to the look, which was loosely inspired by Marvin Gaye and Jimmy Hendrix.
Image credit: GETTY
Stormzy
The British rapper went for an undone black tie look by Tom Ford. A white ruffled shirt over a white vest, neatly tucked in to a black cummerbund culminated in a refined, effortless style. This offered an interesting take on the tailoring theme, whilst accessorising with a simple silver watch. This was the musician’s second Met Gala appearance and he clearly favours a crisp, fresh silhouette, having previously worn a white cloak to the 2022 red carpet.
