A 2025 Met Gala Primer

Everything you need to know before the first Monday in May.

Dapper Dan, fashion designer and Black dandy par excellence.

Hello!

As we cruise towards the Met Gala red carpet next week (which I will be livestreaming on YouTube and Substack), I was thinking that it might be helpful for all of us to talk through the theme of this year’s event so we can understand and critique these celebrity costumes a little more acutely.

So, here’s what we know about the 2025 Met Gala, or as Jack Schlossberg called it, a “PATHETIC EVENT FOR CORPORATE SLUTS”:

When Is It Happening?

The Met Gala always takes place on the first Monday in May, which this year is May 5. The red carpet will open at 6pm EST and the plan is to have it all wrapped up by 8:30 pm sharp although that rarely ever happens, especially when Rihanna is involved.

Who’s Hosting This Year’s Gala?

This year’s co-chairs are Pharrell Williams, Lewis Hamilton, Colman Domingo, and A$AP Rocky (hence the Rihanna speculation). LeBron James is also serving as an honorary chair.

For the first time, the Gala has a host committee comprised of big names who are all expected to walk the red carpet. This committee includes Simone Biles, Angel Reese, Sha’Carri Richardson, Ayo Edebiri, Audra McDonald, Jeremy Pope, Doechii, Usher, Tyla, Janelle Monáe, André 3000, Grace Wales Bonner, Edward Enninful, Olivier Rousteing, Dapper Dan, Spike Lee, Tonya Lewis Lee, Regina King, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Jordan Casteel, Rashid Johnson, Kara Walker, Jeremy O. Harris, and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins.

Zendaya and Law Roach have confirmed their attendance, and I’m also expecting to see a tribute to Virgil Abloh at some point in the evening.

What Is the Theme?

The theme of the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition is “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” based on Monica L. Miller’s 2009 book, Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity (need to read!!). This is the first time in over 20 years that the Costume Institute has had an exhibit focused entirely on menswear.

Something people might not realize is that there’s the theme of the exhibit and then there’s a completely different, vaguely related theme that dictates the Gala’s dress code. Yes, it is as confusing and unnecessary as it sounds. But I also get it because I feel like every year celebrities prove they are completely incapable of successfully interpreting a theme. So it is probably wise to just make it as generic and catch-all as possible. Great gowns, beautiful gowns.

In this case, “Superfine” has been broadened to “Tailored for You,” which Vogue said is “purposefully designed to provide guidance and incite creative interpretation.” Ok. Leah Faye Cooper, Vogue’s digital style director, wrote that she expects to see “versions of the zoot silhouette popularized by jazz musicians in the 1940s to the bold, colorful styles worn by Congolese sapeurs” and other menswear staples like “hats, ties, canes, brooches, and pocket squares.”

I’m excited to see some out of the box menswear and for the pressure to be on the gentlemen to really think outside their black tie comfort zone for once. Although there is one key element of the night’s theme that I am very concerned about given Hollywood’s recent track record, but we’ll get more into that below.

What’s in the Exhibit?