Met Gala 2025 theme sparks ‘appropriation’ backlash: ‘Pray no one shows up in black face’
Next spring’s Met Gala could be canceled.
Coiffed brows furrowed and tongues were wagging throughout fashiondom after Vogue revealed the selection of what some found to be a potentially problematic theme for 2025’s event.
“Superfine: Tailoring Black Style”, the magazine stated in an Instagram post, “will take the Black dandy as its subject, examining the importance of clothing and style to the formation of Black identities in the Atlantic diaspora.”
LeBron James will serve as honorary chair. Co-chairs will include Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams and Vogue’s Anna Wintour.
Armchair fashion critics were quick to file their reviews in the comment section — and elsewhere on the social media platform — on the stiletto heels of the unexpected announcement.
“Sounds like a recipe for appropriation disaster…Stylists, study up!” sighed one amateur scribbler.
“Am I the only nervous about this?” another shared. “A good theme but let’s hope no one will appropriate cultures.”
The vision for one of fashion’s biggest nights is said to have originated from Monica L. Miller, a professor and Chair of Africana Studies at Barnard College and Columbia University, who wrote the book, “Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity.”
In the weighty tome, she establishes Black dandyism as both an aesthetic and political construct, examining the figure of the Black dandy from its earliest depictions in 18th-century art to modern-day representations on runways and in films.
Miller described showcasing Black dandyism as a concept that what will “illustrate how Black people transformed from being enslaved and stylized as luxury items, acquired like any other signifier of wealth and status, to autonomous self-fashioning individuals who are global trendsetters.”
Vogue stated that the exhibit accompanying the event will include garments, paintings, photographs and video — all exploring the style of Black men.
Despite the apparent efforts to center Black fashion, many expressed fear the well-intentioned effort could go easily awry — as the biggest names in American pop culture potentially misinterpret the concept.
“Kudos…let’s just pray no one shows up in Black face,” commented a concerned fan.
“Plenty of time to do this theme right, I wonder how the other ethnicities will style this and not be culturally appropriating or disrespectful/stereotypical,” wondered another.
“It saddens me that there will be very few African American fashion houses able to display their art,” someone else mused.
Still, many said they couldn’t wait to see their favorite fashion plates serving couture looks.
“Zendaya finna eat this one up,” one joked, calling the “exciting” theme one “we deserve to see.”
“This is brilliant. This is classic. This is history,” another gushed.
“Black style through history has had an immeasurable influence on global fashion identity and commercialism. This Met Gala theme is wildly overdue,” applauded still another.
Next year will mark the first exclusive look at dude duds since 2003’s “Men in Skirts.”
The Met Gala will return to Manhattan on May 5, 2025, and the dress code will be announced in early 2025.
Museumgoers will have the opportunity to view the Superfine exhibit from May 6 through October 26, 2025.
