The dress code for the 2025 Met Gala has been revealed, with menswear taking centre stage this year.
In line with the upcoming exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, titled Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, the dress code for the annual event will focus on the theme “Tailored for You.”
This theme invites attendees and designers to explore the influence of tailored fashion, particularly within the context of Black menswear.
The 2025 #MetGala dress code has been announced! Here’s everything you need to know: https://t.co/CyRmXA19PW pic.twitter.com/ox2ruzNjKg
— Vogue Magazine (@voguemagazine) February 4, 2025
The Met Gala, along with the exhibit it celebrates, serves as a fundraising event for the museum’s Costume Institute.
The exhibition itself will offer a cultural and historical exploration of the Black dandy, a figure that emerged in 18th-century Europe and has evolved into a global symbol of style and identity.
According to the Met, the exhibition will highlight how the Black dandy’s image has shifted over time, drawing inspiration from Monica L. Miller’s Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity.
The exhibit aims to redefine the idea of the “dandy”—once a term used to describe a man overly devoted to style—as it applies to Black men, particularly in the context of their role as stylish, well-dressed servants during the Enlightenment era.
Over time, the dandy has come to symbolize the ever-evolving, influential, and frequently appropriated nature of Black style.
As the Met release explains, “Dandyism offered Black people an opportunity to use clothing, gesture, irony, and wit to transform their given identities and imagine new ways of embodying political and social possibilities.”
The Met Gala, a star-studded fundraising event hosted annually at the museum, will take place on May 5.
The event is known for its elaborate red carpet fashion, with celebrities pulling out all the stops in some of the most extravagant outfits.
This year’s dress code, “Tailored for You,” will align with the Superfine exhibition, which will be open to the public from May 6 to October 26.
Vogue notes that the dress code has been thoughtfully designed to offer both guidance and room for creative interpretation. Some designers may choose to stick closely to the theme, while others might use it as a more loose inspiration for their creations.
The fashion world has long been shaped by Black designers, models, and writers, pushing for a more diverse and inclusive industry.
This year, LeBron James will serve as an honorary co-chair, joined by Pharrell Williams, Colman Domingo, A$AP Rocky, and Lewis Hamilton as co-chairs of the event. Anna Wintour, who has chaired the Met Gala since 1995, will also return as co-chair.
Though the celebrity guest list has not yet been revealed, Vogue has announced the host committee, which includes figures such as André 3000, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Grace Wales Bonner, Simone Biles and her husband Jonathan Owens, Jordan Casteel, Dapper Dan, Doechii, Ayo Edebiri, Edward Enninful, Jeremy O. Harris, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Rashid Johnson, Regina King, Spike Lee, Tonya Lewis Lee, Audra McDonald, Janelle Monáe, Jeremy Pope, Angel Reese, Sha’Carri Richardson, Olivier Rousteing, Tyla, Usher, and Kara Walker.
This diverse and influential group of artists, musicians, and cultural leaders is a testament to the Met’s growing commitment to showcasing Black identity, especially after facing criticism for past exhibits.
The 2024 Met Gala, with its theme Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion, focused on fashion’s evolution, and this year’s event will continue the trend of highlighting rich, culturally significant themes.
The 2024 Met Gala’s co-chairs included Wintour, Latin music icon Bad Bunny, multi-talented Jennifer Lopez, Euphoria star Zendaya, and Thor actor Chris Hemsworth.
The theme for last year’s event, The Garden of Time, was inspired by J.G. Ballard’s 1962 short story and brought a whimsical garden aesthetic to the red carpet.
