You hear that low, soulful rumbling? Yeah, that’s the ancestors rejoicing. And that tune is called Before I Let Go. Last week, The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Exhibit and Vogue magazine announced the theme of their highly anticipated Spring exhibition and I couldn’t be more (optimistically) excited! The theme is Superfine: Tailoring Black Style and inspired by Professor Monica L. Miller’s Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity. All I needed to see was Black and I was immediately seated, just as Rosa Parks intended.
When I first moved to NYC, I used to go to The Met every weekend with my roommates. The security guard even started to recognize me, not for my Ocean’s 8 inspired heist, stealing but for always complimenting his anime tattoos. If you’re a New York resident, The Met is Pay-What-You-Wish. If you’re a broke post grad paying New York rent, those are your favorite words to hear. I got a library card to prove that I lived there, paid my $1, and got access to an entire new world. I was 1000 miles from home, often in close proximity to rats, but for a few hours each Sunday, I was somewhere else. I could plan a cute outfit, take the hour long train ride to the Upper East Side, buy an overpriced sausage from outside ($16, you learn that lesson once) and roam those halls for a few hours to be surrounding by beautiful thing and feel closer to where I wanted to be, just for a little bit. To have stepped where Rihanna possibly could have even sneezed before during The Met Gala, was enough to get me through the week.
The Met and The Met Gala are pinnacles of elegance, class and culture. The Met Ball is exclusive to only the most prominent and glamorous beacons of society, declared so by the iconic bob with sunglasses known as Anna Wintour. This guest list is composed of tastemakers, trend forecasters and the markers of what is culturally impactful right now. This is not me saying that they are the ultimate authority on that, but whatever they “deem” significant will without a doubt receive much more credit and attention from the exposure. It’s also exclusive to those who can fit the bill, last year’s Met Gala tickets cost a cool $75,000 a seat.
Historically, The Met Gala theme coincides with the coinciding Costume Institute Exhibit that have been themed after designers, fashion movements and even aesthetic concepts. Previous themes have been direct like with 2023’s Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, inspirationally abstract such as 2015’s controversial China: Through the Looking Glass and straight up unclear (see this year’s Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion).
I wasn’t entirely familiar Dandyism or how formative it had been as a movement for black men. So I ran to Wikipedia and learned the following!
A dandy is man who prioritizes aesthetics and appearance. He is well groomed, well read and lives a life of leisure in the late 18th century and early 19th century. This obviously does not sound like a position that most black people were in at that time (see: slavery). At that time, it would have been farcical for someone of lower status to dress fashionably and appear to live the soft life.
This modern movement was centered around whiteness and black dandyism only emerged as a purposeful challenge to popular stereotypes. The tailored and fanciful look was diametrically opposed to baggy and oversized look of most black portrayals in pop culture.
It’s using fashion to show that blackness is not a monolithic experience by rejecting black stereotypes, showing that certain aesthetic aren’t exclusive to whiteness by making white trends their own.
Not only is this is the first time that the event has highlighted Dandyism but also the first time really acknowledging impact of black men’s fashion. A Costume Institute exhibit hasn’t focused on men’s fashion entirely since 2003’s subtly named Bravehearts: Men In Skirts.
The list of co-chairs for the event is also INCREDIBLE! Pharrell Williams, Lebron James, Lewis Hamilton, ASAP Rocky and my close personal friend (that I’ve met once) Colman Domingo. These men are each titans of their respective industries and fashion icons in their own right. I’m so excited for them to have their moment in the sun. I’m most excited that we missed a Diddy appearance on the board: His sentencing is scheduled for the same day, May 5th, where his theme will without a doubt be Orange is The New Black. On a more positive note, an ASAP appearance means a guaranteed RSVP from The Bad Gal herself!
The recent In America galas gave American designers a spotlight and many rose to the occasion to address uniquely American social or political issues. I hope that this event can be an opportunity for black men designers such as Christopher John Rogers, Telfar Clemens, Olivier Rousteing of Balmain to be given the floor to tell their stories, as well as work inspired by the late Virgil Abloh. More than anything, this theme wouldn’t be complete without the late great Andre Leon Talley finally and loudly being given his flowers.
All this said, it just feels incredible to have representation in these spaces that historically have been the opposite. Even though black stars like Rihanna and Zendaya have become some of the most highly anticipated celebrities at the event, it’s just different to have it be actually inspired by US and validating blackness’s rightful place in fashion history. So much of the Black experience in the United States is assimilation and codeswitching, even with fashion. In a Eurocentric world, SO much of black expression is still viewed as unserious or unprofessional (see CROWN Act), until it’s coopted by cultural appropriation.
Speaking of cultural appropriation, let’s close with a prayer, I need all of my prayer warriors to repeat after me:
*Amen by Beyoncé begins to play*
Lord,
At the Gala, we shall act accordingly, which mean dressing appropriately.
No grills, dashiki or durags, for the non-black.
Unless, of course, they are expecting a smack.
No protective styles on a Kardashian,
or any European.
This a night to celebrate black artistry, and OUR history
Amen. A (Black) Men
Our Carrie Bradshaw for real <3 Educational, entertaining and personal all in one
A[black]men 🙏🏾