On October 9th, the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced the theme of its major spring exhibition: “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.” The exhibition will showcase the history of the “Black dandy,” a term that refers to the stylish, occasionally flamboyant fashion trends among Black men. It will run from May 10, 2025 to October 26, 2025.
The “Superfine” theme will also inspire the star-studded Met Gala on May 5, 2025, hosted by co-chairs rapper ASAP Rocky, actor Colman Domingo, race car driver Lewis Hamilton, musician Pharrell Williams, and Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. Lebron James has also been named an honorary chair member.
“Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” marks the first time the Met will present a fashion exhibition solely featuring designers of color. “I wanted to stage a show on race that could use our collection to tell a story that had been absent from the conversation both within the museum and outside,” Andrew Bolton, the Costume Institute’s curator in charge, told the New York Times. Bolton took inspiration from Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity by Monica Miller, professor and chair of Africana studies at Columbia University’s Barnard College. The author will serve as a guest curator for the show.
Chicago-born artist Torkwase Dyson will design the main gallery space, while sculptor Tanda Francis will provide bespoke mannequin heads for the exhibition. The show will be divided into 12 themes, such as “cosmopolitanism,” “caricature,” and “ownership,” exploring several iterations of the Black dandy in the U.K. and the U.S.
The exhibition will feature fashion designs from the 18th century onward. The historical designs and ephemera will be juxtaposed with work by contemporaries, including Grace Wales Bonner, Virgil Abloh, Olivier Rousteing, and duo Lisi Herrebrugh and Rushemy Botter. Several pieces were revealed at the press preview, including a velvet livery worn by an enslaved servant in Maryland, a 1940s navy zoot suit, and a Louis Vuitton checkered suit designed by Williams.
Photographer Tyler Mitchell will shoot the Vogue cover. Mitchell will also photograph a catalog of the exhibition, which will be released alongside the exhibition.
Last year, the Costume Institute presented “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” which closed on September 2nd. The exhibition showcased more than 250 fashion items that focused on the tactile and sensory elements of historical garments.
