Keeping with tradition, Hollywood stepped out once again on the first Monday in May for the 77th annual Met Gala (The Costume Institute Benefit). Co-hosted by Vogue and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the May 5th event unveiled the Costume Institute’s new exhibition, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.”
Drawing from the themes explored in guest curator Monica Miller’s 2009 book “Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity,” the exhibition “explores the importance of style to the formation of Black identities in the Atlantic diaspora, particularly in the United States and Europe,” as noted on the Museum’s website.
This year’s fundraiser was co-chaired by actor Coleman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, and Pharrell Williams, with honorary chair LeBron James, who had to withdraw last minute due to an ongoing injury sustained during last basketball season.
The evening’s “Tailored for You” dress code, inspired by the exhibit, called on designers and their celebrity muses to reimagine suiting and menswear. As attendees ascended the blue carpeted Met steps, iconic fashion houses like Louis Vuitton (the exhibit’s presenting sponsor), Saint Laurent, and Ferragamo shared the spotlight with emerging Black designers. Lewis Hamilton’s all-white ensemble was designed by Grace Wales Bonner, best known for her distinctive menswear aesthetic, while Teyana Taylor wore a bold burgundy suit created by two-time Oscar-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter.
Other featured designers included Christopher John Rogers, Adebayo Oke-Lawal, Ahluwalia, Bianca Saunders, Bishme Cromartie, Charles Harbison, Hanifa, Maxwell Osborne, Nicholas Daley, Ozwald Boateng, Paul Tazewell, Thebe Magugu, and Torishéju, who dressed Chappell Roan for her Met Gala debut.
One of the night’s most talked about moments came with the arrival of Rihanna, who stunned in a pinstriped Marc Jacobs ensemble that acentuated her baby bump, first teased earlier that day outside the Carlyle Hotel. Her longtime partner, A$AP Rocky, wore a look from his own label, AWGE.
Another unforgettable entrance was made by music icon Diana Ross, returning to the Met Gala for the first time in 22 years. Wearing a sequin gown with a dramatic feather-trimmed hat and an 18-foot white train designed by Eleven Sixteen by Ugo Mozie, Ross described the look as a “forever family gown” in a carpet interview with Vogue. Embroidered into the fabric were the names of her children and eight grandchildren, which she revealed while walking the carpet with her son, Evan.
The show-stopping outfit of the evening was Janelle Monáe’s deconstructed two-piece suit designed by Thom Browne with a working clock monacle engineered by Cameron Hughes.
Inside the museum, guests enjoyed live performances by Usher and Stevie Wonder, staged in front of the Temple of Dendur, along with a curated meal by Bronx-born Chef Kwame Onwuachi.
The evening raised a record-breaking $31 million for the Costume Institute, as announced earlier in the day by Max Hollein, Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Superfine: Tailoring Black Style exhibition is now open to the public with museum admission and will run through October 26, 2025. For more information, visit https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/superfine-tailoring-black-style
Explore the gallery below to see some of the most iconic looks unveiled at The Pierre Hotel, as designers and their celebrity muses departed for the Met Gala!
