The first Monday in May is coming up … who even gives a f—?
In this economy, why do we even care what the richest people are wearing to one of the world’s most exclusive parties? The Met Gala is an annual exhibition event held on the first Monday of May by the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York City.
In collaboration with Vogue magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, Anna Wintour, the Met invites some of the world’s most A-list celebrities, artists, athletes, designers and more to walk the famous carpet and attend the infamously mysterious dinner. The key to this event is the wardrobe, chosen in a strategic process months in advance, which must fit to the year’s theme and dress code.
On May 5, the Met Gala will showcase 2025’s theme of “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” with a dress code of “Tailored for You.” Playing on the key components of menswear and suits, this aesthetic “explores the importance of sartorial style to the formation of Black identities”.
The “Superfine” theme will be rooted in the exploration of dandyism, “dandy” meaning “a man unduly devoted to style, neatness, and fashion in dress and appearance”. Although originally associated with men, to be “a dandy” intersects boundaries, emphasizing elegance and sophistication over all else, regardless of socioeconomic status. Dandyism, described by Pharell Williams — a co-chair of this year’s Met — to Vogue as “a frequency,” encapsulates what it means to be high fashion: to take our every day simple action of dressing and exercise it to the most ravishing degree.
Starring amongst Wintour and Williams, this year’s co-chairs include Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton and A$AP Rocky. While a co-chair is involved in helping select the theme, guest list, etc., an honorary chair is recognized for their contributions to fashion and the arts. The honorary chair this year is LeBron James. This choice could signify something new for the Met, a possible shift in audience.
While previous honorary chairs have ranged from designers to diplomats, this is the first year an athlete has had such a prominent role. The annual discourse surrounding the Met is usually a judgment of the multi-thousand dollar outfits, and the people paying attention tend to be the hyperonline “girls, gays and theys.” This year’s masculine shift in theme may reflect in audience engagement as this year’s committee members include artists André 3000 and Doechii, as well as additional athletes Simone Biles, Jonathan Owens, Angel Reese and Sha’Carri Richardson, all of whom have prominent male audiences.
The Met Gala is aware of its online significance and has not been afraid to lean into internet culture. One of last year’s honorary chairs was Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of TikTok, while the company itself sponsored the event. Now it seems that TikTok trends have chosen the honorary chair this year as Los Angeles Laker, Lebron James, whose face and name has increasingly infiltrated the app in meta-ironic, brainrot songs and videos the past couple of years.
There will be new reactions from spectators who have never paid attention to the Met prior to this year because their favorite artist or athlete is now making an appearance. Kendrick Lamar, who has recently taken over the internet with his bell-bottom jeans at the SuperBowl, also recently announced his partnership with Chanel. Both of these events signify an almost guaranteed appearance from Lamar. Does Anna Wintour have the capability of choosing messy by inviting rapper Drake, who Lamar has publicly been feuding with, to the Met Gala as well? Could this be a new influx of straight, cis-men participating in the online conversation the days/weeks following Monday? And what will this mean for the fashion industry as a whole?
Since male celebrities can tend to be ridiculed online for consistently wearing plain, regular, tuxedos and suits to red carpets, this Met Gala could lower this expectation, allowing anyone to get by with just a good, expensive, nicely tailored suit and differentiating this theme from former, more extravagant themes like 2015’s “China: Through the Looking Glass” or 2019’s “Camp: Notes on Fashion.” This Met Gala could help answer the question of how many ways a suit can even exist, proving its ultimate timelessness.
https://www.metmuseum.org/press-releases/ci-2025-exhibition-gala-details
https://www.vogue.com/tag/event/met-gala
