Reflections on the Met Gala | Black Dandy (Our Complete Musings)
This past week, we had the wonderful opportunity - thanks to writer Yasmin Jeffery - to contribute our thoughts and musings on ABC Australia's coverage of the Met Gala 2025! Please find the article here!
We have a few key quotes included but thought we'd share our full musings and thoughts below. Looking forward to your thoughts and keeping the conversation about the possibilities of sartorial activism going ~
This is the first Met Gala which I can say felt close to home. With this theme focusing on the Black Dandy and the contributions of formally enslaved Africans reclaiming self after loss of identity, country, language and sovereignty into bold, self affirming, regal style within the background of an ultra right wing American government feels both defiant and affirming. It is elegant, it is diasporic, it is queer, it is inclusive. While situated within the ultra exclusive and wealthy context of the Met Gala, it poses possibilities for platforming how currently displaced communities and peoples can still dream of fashion being a gateway to even dream of defiant self reclamation, resolve, and personal sovereignty. These were some of the highlights for us in the realm of reimagining new futures for Black bodies, diasporic bodies, displaced bodies that are definitely creative and rooted in community reclamation and self determination.
Tyler Mitchell is renowned for his use of diasporic storytelling in his image making of the black body, so I was waiting for this look — and it didn’t disappoint. Mitchell’s outfit, by iconic Black English designer Grace Wales Bonner, is the embodiment of Black dandyism and multidimensionally expressed Black masculinity. It features precision tailoring, provocative excess from grill to layer, and was complemented by precise hair and makeup. I wish more Met Gala guests would have used the theme to platform black designers like Mitchell, given we are in a time of diversity, equity and inclusion reversal, international art tariffs, and mono-nationalistic insularity. But, the fact not all did turns daring outfits like this one into a glimmer of hope.
Doechii, forever the icon and the moment, a black Queer femme artist who has danced in the realm of dandyism, sartorial explorations of Black Masculinity, and an intentionally curated style, similar to Tyler, made a moment of the details. Working directly with Louis Vuitton creative director and Met Gala co-chair Pharell Williams, she curated a look that reinterpreted the LV logo, oft a sign of status within Black American diasporic communities, through the customisation of her suit and the integration of the logo even into her makeup, alongside her featuring an aesthetic point of difference through her celebration of black Afro hair (in grand company with Ms Lauren Hill and Cardi B) and the sartorial point of difference in shorts. Lastly, the elements of using the logo further honoured one of our most prominent figures of contemporary Black Dandyism, Andre Leon Talley. It was as if she carried Andre's spirit with her to the Met Gala in his absence and passing. While it would have been interesting to have been even furthermore subversive by collaborating with a Black-founded independent design house, nonetheless it was a moment in fashion history.
Other favourites for inspiring the reimagining of Black Diaspora bodies were Zuri Hall who integrated garment reimagining and potential upcycling inspo and even a potential nod to sustainability aesthetics with her custom backless suit gown by upcoming Black designer Bishme Cromartie. Another dreamer I would love to highlight is Ego Nwodim wearing a beautifully cut peplum three piece suit with customised rainbow buttons on suit and nail by another iconic and contemporary history breaking Black American designer Christopher John Rogers, featuring a neutral glam and monochromatic black look to beautifully highlight the subtle rainbow visible to the discerning eye.