By Rami Mansi
“They done f***** up and made the Met Ball Black!”, said by “Image Architect” and modern-day fashion legend Law Roach, perfectly encapsulates the impact of this year’s Met Gala theme. Welcome to Rami’s Reviews, a place where all things pop culture are not only discussed, but analyzed by me, Rami Mansi, Managing Editor of The Vanguard. This piece will delve into the powerful display of African-American culture in this year’s Met Gala, as we will analyze the gala’s proudest and most shameful moments.
Considered one of the most exclusive events in the world, the Met Gala is an invite-only charity event to fundraise for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. With a new theme that defines the category on the paparazzi-filled red carpet, the 77th Met Gala’s theme was “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.”
This theme encapsulates the style and aesthetic of African-American fashions; more specifically, the era of Black Dandyism. This era of style was born at the cusp of the 20th century, with origins dating back to the late 18th century, with strong developments in the style throughout the 19th century. The fashions are defined by constructed suits with black and white reigning as the dominant colors, fashion-forward masculine suits, canes, and top hats as strong indicators of Black Dandyism, and finally, an encompassing aura of vintage elegance.
Co-chairs of this gala were actor Colman Domingo, professional racer Lewis Hamilton, rapper and wife to Rihanna, A$AP Rocky, singer producer Pharrell Williams and Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour.
Celebrities from all over the globe traveled to this gala wearing a variety of fashion houses and designers, such as Burberry, Louis Vuitton (LV), Marc Jacobs, to name a few.
Starting the gala as one of the first celebrities to arrive, singer-songwriter and actress Teyana Taylor wowed fashion-lovers and viewers alike with her striking grey suit with heavy red accents. With a form-fitting crimson red vest matched with a cape that extends her silhouette with avant-garde shoulder pads, Taylor was immediately considered one of the best-dressed of the night.
In a night dedicated to celebrating masculine fashions, a celebrity many were excited for was co-chair Coleman Domingo. With a shining fashion sense and a breath of fresh air to masculine fashion, Domingo at first shone out with a blue cape with grey sequins on the shoulder and top-of-the-chest area. The reveal was a grey suit with a grid-patterned jacket, and social media users were disappointed; they expected more from the actor with a daring fashion sense.
In another trend of disappointing actors, Sydney Sweeney delivered an homage to Old-Hollywood Actress Kim Novak wearing custom Miu-Miu. However, for a theme dedicated to Black Dandyism, why choose to honor a white actress? This act was received as wildly-tone deaf, and although Sweeney looked stunning, social media users spared her no disparagement.
In an act of someone who did her homework, actress and R&B singer Coco Jones made her mark with a glorious Met Gala debut in Manish Malhotra. Cream white meets pearl beadwork meets intricate floral details on her coat and trousers, all met collectively with an outpouring of approval and praise; Not only for her outfit, but her hair and makeup that was complemented by her XXL braid.
Sadly, not all celebrities met the mark as stunning as Jones. Many attendees were met with backlash for their poor stylistic choices as well as their disconnect from the theme: Maya Hawke in her Florence-and-the-Machine-esque salmon pink dress; Lisa, the K-pop starlet turned popstar with her Louis Vuitton black ensemble with legendary civil rights activist Rosa Parks stitched onto her underwear (needless to say, this was seen as not only tone-deaf, but disrespectful at its core); Pharell Willams, a co-chair for this event and the men’s creative director for Louis Vuitton, was panned for designing his own simplistic outfit and for creating outfits that lacked a strong distinction to the theme, such as Sabrina Carpenter’s brown leotard.
However, all was not lost, as the gala still had a handful of lovely surprises for its red carpet. Pop legend and queen of the disco dancefloor, Diana Ross, made her first Met Gala appearance since 2003, wearing Ugo Mozie. Her look consisted of a silver dress with a stellar white coat with an 18-foot train, with the names of various family members embroidered on the train.
Louis Vuitton designed a three-piece white suit for actress Zendaya that put other suits to shame.
Following Zendaya, rap starlet and breakout star of 2024, Doechii, came out in Louis Vuitton: a white logo-ed long-sleeve colored shirt and short pants, matched with a burgundy neck tie and extended socks. Although her outfit delivered a performance through poses, her cigar, and stunning hair and makeup, this was all overshadowed by a video of Doechii speaking firmly to her team in an effort to hide her outfit from paparazzi until the actual gala.
Various celebrities had their outfits match the theme perfectly: Multi-hyphenate Keke Palmer in Saint Laurent wearing a deconstructed tuxedo white gown, rapper Shaboozey in Robert Wun with turquoise beads matching his turquoise grills, actress and model Laura Harrier wore Gap and turned her outfit into a couture classic with a cinched waist and flowing beige sleeves and pants.
Chappell Roan made her Gala debut wearing a wild pink suit with flared bottoms designed by Paul Tazwell, with makeup designed by makeup artist supreme, Pat McGrath.
After appearing in a box from the neck down, artist, tasteful actress, and singer Janelle Monae came out in a Thom Browne and Paul Tazewell collaboration. The ensemble consisted of a black and red suit, with each color only being represented on one side of the suit: Black on the right, red on the left, and the tie meshing the two. The look was complemented by an excellent monocle, a stunning black hat, and bag.
After four nights of sold-out concerts, Charli xcx still found the energy to bring back feathers and stun in an all-black ensemble designed by Stefano Gallici, to a crowd-pleasing result.
Towards the end of the night, a mysterious person in a bedazzled racing helmet and white tracksuit came out to everyone’s surprise. With a rip and a tear, a handsome red suit appeared, and the mystery racer turned out to be actor Damson Idris, star of the upcoming “F1” movie. Talk about movie promo!
Closing out the red carpet, fashion icon and billionaire herself, Rihanna, appeared in a Marc Jacobs black suit with a complementary hat, and a new baby bump presented as the centerpiece of this look.
The 2025 Met Gala was classified by its attendees as honoring the history that came before: monochromatic black and whites with ravishing reds, and accessories galore. Is this year’s gala one of the best in its history? Does this gala cower in the light of the other galas held in the 2020s, such as the Gilded Age gala of 2021? How will next year’s gala honor the past in its casual fashion-forward spark?
Until next year, this is Rami’s Reviews signing off!