The theme for this year’s Met Gala is Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, and the dress code is “Tailored for You,” which is a reference to the exhibition’s focus on menswear and tailored suits. It will feature 12 sections that represent a characteristic that defines this style, including Ownership, Presence, Distinction, Disguise, Freedom, Champion, Respectability, Jook, Heritage, Beauty, Cool and Cosmopolitanism. Per the official press release, "these characteristics demonstrate how the figure is defined and self-fashions and how their style raises notions of assimilation, distinction, and resistance—all while telling a story about self and society inflected by race, gender, class, and sexuality."
The theme is inspired by Guest Curator Monica L. Miller's book, Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity. She said, "The exhibition title refers to ‘superfine’ not only as the quality of a particular fabric—'superfine wool’—but also as a particular attitude related to feeling especially good in one’s own body, in clothes that express the self. Wearing superfine and being superfine are, in many ways, the subject of this exhibition. And the separateness, distinction, and movement between these two states of ‘being’ in the African diaspora from the 1780s to today animates the show."
Host Committee member Usher also commented: “I’m honored to be part of such a long-standing tradition with The Met. The theme this year is not only timely but also speaks to our rich culture that should always be widely celebrated.”
I can't wait to see what this year's red carpet brings.
