The 2025 Met Gala
These four celebrities were Louis Vuitton ambassadors at this year's Met Gala Red Carpet (Photo: Heude).
The Met Gala is an annual fundraising event for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York City. It occurs on the first Monday of May every year, and marks the opening of the Institute’s annual fashion exhibit. It is considered to be one of the most prestigious fashion events in the world that many high-profile celebrities attend by invitation only. For the red carpet, there is a new theme every year that these celebrities dress in according to, some of the most notable themes being “Camp: Notes on Fashion”, “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination”, and “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion”. There have been so many iconic themes and fashion statements over the years, and this year’s Met Gala did not disappoint.
The Met Gala theme this year was “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style”, which celebrated the history and influence of Black Dandyism in fashion and emphasizes how fashion can act as a statement to enact change. The Costume Institute exhibition, which will run from May 10 - October 26, 2025, also explores the cultural significance of Black style and its impact on culture everywhere.
Many celebrities wore clothes created by Black fashion designers or bought from Black owned companies to show their support for the theme. Dandyism is a term that describes a style of dress and behavior emphasizing refined self-presentation, often with a focus on elegance and sophistication. Its key fashion elements include sharp tailored suits, well-polished shoes, well-groomed hair, and are usually paired with refined manner and language. Dandyism has a rich history with the Black community in the 20th century, where it was used as a form of self-expression and subtle rebellion against racism and marginalization. The red carpet guests took their own twist on Dandyism fashion, by re-imagining classic pinstripes, suits, and menswear.
The host committee was the first to arrive at the red carpet on Monday night, co-chaired by Anna Wintour, Pharrell Williams, A$AP Rocky, Lewis Hamilton, and Colman Domingo. As the Louis Vuitton menswear creative director, Pharrell Williams wore a custom beaded suit that combined traditional tailoring with avant-garde elements like intricate embroidery and a more modern-day silhouette.
Celebrities like Sabrina Carpenter, Doechii, Callum Turner, Future, Jeremy Allen White, and Zendaya were also ambassadors of Louis Vuitton and wore dandy-inspired outfits from this designer brand as well. Sabrina Carpenter wore a pantless maroon bodysuit with a long train and white details. Doechii styled a baggy suit adorned with classic Louis Vuitton symbols and checker-board patterns with a large red bow tie. She matched this look with a cigar and perfectly groomed afro. Zendaya wore a sleek white suit and matching fedora-like hat, a modern adaptation of the classic 1980’s power suit.
Apart from the designer ambassadors, power couple A$AP Rocky and Rihanna wore coordinating ensembles while simultaneously announcing Rihanna’s third pregnancy, turning heads everywhere. Rocky wore a tuxedo in the style of 1940’s African American jazz musicians, and Rihanna complimented him with a three-piece gown with a large maroon bow tie and even bigger hat. Lorde wore a backless silver striped dress, with a matching suit jacket. In an interview with Emma Chamberlain with Vogue, she explained that this outfit signifies where she is in relation to her own views with gender, as she explores her gender identity.
Janelle Monae’s outfit spoke boldly on both gender fluidity and Black identity, as she wore a half red, half black cartoon like tuxedo, adorned further with hat, eyeglass and plenty of pinstripes. Jenna Ortega had one of the more creative outfits on the red carpet, wearing a dress made completely out of metal rulers, taking “tailoring black style” to a literal level. Teyana Taylor looked stunning in a flowy white suit with ballooning mesh sleeves and wide leg silk pants. Though less extravagant, but more elegant, Kendall Jenner and Hailey Beiber both wore oversized suit jackets designed by black female designers.
Other celebrities stunned on the red carpet as well, styling similar looks of tailored suits, elegant silhouettes, and modern day twists on traditional dandyism, but these were the most talked-about looks of the night. As always, the Met Gala has captured the attention of the entire fashion world and set a high standard for fashion events everywhere.