This year's Met Gala, at New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art, will celebrate the opening of the Met's Costume Institute exhibition, "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style."

New York

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is hosting an exhibition titled "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" as part of this year's Met Gala. The exhibition, overseen by co-curator Monica Miller, focuses on black culture, specifically exploring the concept of dandyism in relation to the black male form. A dandy is defined as someone who prioritizes dressing elegantly and fashionably. This exhibition marks the first time the Met's Costume Institute has centered an exhibit on black culture.

The inspiration for the exhibition partly stemmed from the passing of fashion icon Andre Leontali in January 2022. Leontali, known for his time at Vogue magazine, is often described as a dandy. The exhibition challenges traditional perceptions of dandyism, which is typically associated with white Europeans, and explores its dynamic and multicultural nature. The exhibit features over 200 objects spanning 300 years, including pieces from historical figures like Frederick Douglass and modern influencers such as Pharrell.

Nigerian artist Aike Ude serves as a special consultant for the exhibition, providing insight into the complex identities and artistic expressions of dandyism. The exhibit is expected to offer visitors a rich cultural experience, showcasing significant moments and figures in black history. With influential figures like LeBron James, Simone Biles, and Usher involved, the Met Gala seeks to celebrate and highlight black culture in a unique and impactful way. The exhibition offers a platform for recognizing and appreciating black history through fashion.



At the Met: The culture of the Black dandy

There is no invitation more coveted in New York City than this one. A star-studded red carpet ascent into the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the first Monday of every May. But the cause driving the Met Gala since 1948 has been this. Ah, I love these pieces. The museum's esteemed Costume Institute and its annual fashion exhibit. You're still putting things together. I mean, right until the very, very end. Making sure that each piece is presented in its absolute best light. Co-curator Monica Miller oversaw final preps on our visit for Superfine, tailoring black style. This section is called Cosmopolitanism. The first time the Institute has centered on black culture, in this instance, the male form and in particular, the dandy. So what is the definition of a dandy? Someone who studies above all else to dress elegantly and fashionably. Who studies above all else. Yes. Black people in particular bring to dandyism an understanding, right, of how they have been represented, a desire to self-represent. The point of fashion forming identity begins with Julius Sebese, an 18th century formerly enslaved man who enjoyed a close relationship with the Duchess of Queensbury. He could himself negotiate his own status in terms of how he was perceived, but also how he was presenting himself. In America, dressing above station while perilous also accessed freedom. William and Ellen Craft, an enslaved couple who, you know, were planning their escape. They understood that if they were able to dress differently, they would be taken very differently. The catalyst for the exhibition was really the passing of Andre Leontali in January of 2022. And, you know, Andre was a remarkable fashion icon and so loved in the fashion community. Andrew Bolton is the curator in charge of the Met's Costume Institute. He remembers Leontali, who for nearly 30 years helped guide Vogue magazine as both its creative director and editor at large. A lot of his obituaries would describe him as a dandy. And I was very familiar with the history of dandyism in England, but I was less familiar with what happens when the dandy is racialized. Dandyism, as Bolton sees it, dances around boundaries of all kinds. He has this sort of amorphous character. He exists between male and female, straight and gay. Then he also challenges the space between white and black. For centuries, dandyism has been associated with white Europeans, men like Beau Brummell, Lord Byron, and Oscar Wilde. They didn't just produce art and literature, they produced themselves. Would you consider yourself a dandy? I don't consider myself anything, necessarily. It's part of my discipline, I would say. Nigerian artist Aike Ude serves as special consultant for the exhibit. And not just for his style expertise, though that didn't hurt. So when you get up in the morning, how do you get dressed? Certain clothes would beckon you to wear them, and some might not. So what beckons you to wear velvet today, with checkers? For simplicity and for silhouette. The photographer has poignantly captured those who many might consider to be the dandies of our day, Oscar nominee Coleman Domingo, for one, on the cover of Vogue. Would someone not want to be called in this day and age a dandy? You could call somebody a dandy, but a dandy doesn't call himself a dandy. And why is that? Because it's needless to say. It's like, it is what it is. Indeed, yes. A complicated concept for sure, but one Ude believes anyone can appreciate. This exhibition is going to have this kind of osmosis, you just drink and soak in all these beautiful moments and passages. Dandies have always had a beauty instinct. It's there. The beauty is in more than 200 objects in the show, dating back over 300 years. Everything from Frederick Douglass's tailcoat to a suit designed by another modern day dandy, Pharrell, the men's creative director of Louis Vuitton. Even a shirt worn by Prince. With sports icon LeBron James as honorary chair of the gala and superstar hosts like gold medalist Simone Biles and Grammy winner Usher, tomorrow's Met Gala is leaning all the way in. A moment in time where for a lot of African Americans, there seems to be an attack on their culture. What will this moment at the Met mean? I don't know what it will mean for everyone, but what I can tell you that I'm really excited to be presenting black history, perhaps in a way that people hadn't been used to addressing it and recognize those moments, right, either in their own lives or in the lives of people that they care about. Even if it's only a moment between you and your mirror, everybody understands what it's like to put on something that makes you feel beautiful.

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