It will be a grand celebration of Blackness!
The Met Gala—fashion’s most exclusive night—has long been a stage where the worlds of art, fashion, and celebrity collide. But in 2025, this iconic event will be reshaped in a major way, the newest theme celebrating the legacy and influence of the Black dandy, Rolling Stone reports. “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” is the theme of next year’s prestigious Met Gala and the first Met fashion exhibit to celebrate menswear in more than 20 years. The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced the new theme along with some notable co-chairs of the Gala, A$AP Rocky, LeBron James, and Pharrell Williams.
Ushering in a new era of creativity, representation, and cultural influence at one of the most prestigious events in the world, Williams, Rocky, and James are far more than household names. They represent the evolving landscape of Black excellence in entertainment, art, fashion, and sports. Their work has consistently pushed boundaries, challenged expectations, and shifted culture. Alongside the Big 3, actor Colman Domingo and F1 trailblazer Lewis Hamilton will also serve as co-chairs with Vogue editor Anna Wintour. Together, the group will take the reins for the Met Gala, ensuring the influence of the Black dandy is on full display.
This year’s theme was inspired by guest curator Monica L. Miller’s 2009 book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Balck Diasporic Identity. A style imposed on Black men during 18th century Europe, the fashion evolved throughout the years, emerging as a part of the foundation for Black identity, creative expression, and a staple in the cultural zeitgeist.
“We are the survivors of what is perhaps the most intense hardships, trials and tribulations to ever bedevil a group of human beings, and not only did we survive, we carried the music, the culture, the beauty and the universal language across an ocean…We gave it all back to the world and we continue to and that is what the Met Gala will celebrate – us, our gift, our history, our food, our resilience, our beauty, our style and our strength, our authorship,” Williams said during the announcement of this Gala’s theme.
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As co-chairs, each person brings something different to the Met Gala, whether it’s Williams’ work with streetwear through his Billionaire Boys Club brand or his current perch at the heights of fashion as the men’s creative director for Louis Vuitton. Similarly, Rocky has also had a genre-defying run in hip-hop. His style has been as integral to his career as his music. Rocky’s continued to push boundaries and champion Black style in a way that challenges traditional norms, working with prominent designers like Gucci and Bottega.
And then there’s James, who brings not just star power as a co-chair but a commitment to redefining Black excellence as a global icon. While celebrities like Domingo and Hamilton are blueprints for Black dandyism, speaking openly about how fashion has helped them redefine their personal and professional brands time and time again.
“[As] the only Black kid on the racing track. I started to express myself more creatively and, more specifically, through fashion. Finding my identity in how I dressed. This was a huge positive change,” explained Hamilton.
In addition to their work with the gala, the chairs will also support the Costume Institute at the Met Museum launch of the “Superfine” exhibit, slated to run May 10 through Oct. 26, 2025. This year’s choice of co-chairs symbolizes a pivotal shift in how Black culture and talent are integrated into fashion’s biggest stages. It’s progress that Black fashion pioneers like André Leon Talley would be proud of.
This year’s Met Gala will take place May 5th, 2025, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. As fashion prepares for one of its biggest nights, the Met Gala is rewriting the rules and showing the world why it’s always good to bet on Black!
Cover photo: A$AP Rocky, LeBron James & Pharrell Named Co-Chairs of 2025 Met Gala/Photo credit: @ASAPRocky/Instagram/@KingJames/Instagram/Getty Images/Vanity Fair/Getty Images/Women’s Wear Daily