Met Gala guests, suit up!
That was the order from on high as the Metropolitan Museum of Art revealed the dress code for its annual lavish celebration of fashion in May: “Tailored for You,” a nod to the accompanying exhibit’s focus on suiting and menswear.
It’s a suitable concept — meant to be liberally interpreted, of course — for the first Met Gala exhibit in more than 20 years to focus exclusively on menswear, specifically Black style in menswear over the centuries.
The Met’s Costume Institute also announced on Tuesday that it will be reviving what it called a longstanding tradition of a “host committee” — basically a new slate of high-profile celebrities on top of the previously announced gala hosts: Pharrell Williams, Lewis Hamilton, Colman Domingo, A$AP Rocky and LeBron James. (Vogue editor Anna Wintour, who oversees the gala each year, rounds out the list.)
The new committee includes a slew of luminaries from various fields: athletes Simone Biles and husband Jonathan Owens, Angel Reese and Sha’Carri Richardson; filmmakers Spike Lee, Tonya Lewis Lee and Regina King; actors Ayo Edebiri, Audra McDonald and Jeremy Pope; musicians Doechii, Usher, Tyla, Janelle Monáe and André 3000; author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie; artists Jordan Casteel, Rashid Johnson and Kara Walker; playwrights Jeremy O. Harris and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins; and fashion figures Grace Wales Bonner, Edward Enninful, Dapper Dan and Olivier Rousteing.
Celebrity chef Kwame Onwuachi will create the menu for the gala. A huge fundraiser for the Costume Institute, the annual event — which last year brought in a record sum of more than $26 million — also launches the spring exhibit. This year’s exhibit, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” will run longer than previous shows at six months, and is inspired by Monica L. Miller’s book, “Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity.”
“The theme this year is not only timely,” said Usher, “but also speaks to our rich culture that should always be widely celebrated.”
Added Richardson: “Our style isn’t just what we wear — it’s how we move, how we own our space, how we tell our story without saying a word.” Both host committee members spoke in a statement provided by the Met.
The Met says the show “presents a cultural and historical examination of Black style from the 18th century to today through the lens of dandyism.” Miller, a Barnard professor and guest curator of the show, along with the Met’s star curator Andrew Bolton, noted at a museum event last year that back in the 1780s, “dandies” were often defined as “men who paid distinct and sometimes excessive attention to dress.”
“Historical definitions of dandyism range from absolute precision in dress and tailoring to flamboyance and fabulousness,” Miller said. The show will focus specifically on Black dandyism; more broadly, it will chronicle the ways in which Black people have used dress and fashion over the centuries to transform their identities, the museum said.
Among the artists contributing to the exhibit design is Torkwase Dyson, who will use her signature “hypershapes” to create standalone monumental sculptures, or “architectural zones.” Artist Iké Udé, a consultant for the show, will curate a section that highlights Julius Soubise, one of the first Black dandies who challenged societal norms in 18th-century London.
The show will be divided into 12 sections, each representing a characteristic that defines “dandy” style: ownership, presence, distinction, disguise, freedom, champion, respectability, jook, heritage, beauty, cool, and cosmopolitanism.
The Met Gala will take place May 5. “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” will be open to the public from May 10 to Oct. 26.
