The Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute’s spring exhibit, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” comes at an interesting point in our cultural climate. It is the first Costume Institute exhibit to focus on Black designers exclusively, plus the first in over two decades spotlighting menswear (after “Bravehearts: Men in Skirts” in 2003). And yet, outside the Met walls, Americans face an extreme far-right government, dedicated to erasing Black history and attacking diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

So was this exhibit a response to the ongoing culture war? While the timing couldn’t have been more perfect, this presentation was years in the making. 

“While the theme certainly resonates with the current political landscape, it was originally conceived by the renewed interest in men’s fashion,” Andrew Bolton, head curator at the Met’s Costume Institute, said at the exhibition’s press preview on Monday morning. The catalyst for the show? André Leon Talley’s passing in January 2022, Bolton revealed. 

The curator read the many obituaries written by the press, celebrating Talley’s dapper sense of style. But it was The Guardian‘s obituary that described Talley as “a true Dandy” that prompted Bolton to think about the racial elements of dandyism, he told the crowd. “It was this train of thought that led me to Monica [Miller] and her extraordinary book ‘Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity.'”

And just like that, this year’s theme was born. 

“Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” uses Dr. Miller’s book as the framework to visualize the origins and extensive interpretations of Black dandyism across the Atlantic diaspora. This takes shape in a multi-media context, spotlighting various pieces of fashion, film, photography and fine art. Interspersed among the many garments are paintings, historical photographs, old videos, books and runaway slave advertisements, all related to how Black people utilized dress as a form of both resistance and personal identity.

“For me, Black dandyism is a strategy and a tool of self-definition,” Dr. Miller told Fashionista post-preview. “It is not only about using fashion and style as a mode of expression, but also self-possession. I’m really interested in Black dandyism as a strategy and tool that makes people feel most themselves, or, as we’re defining in this exhibition, superfine.”

The exhibit is organized in 12 sections: ownership, distinction, respectability, jook, heritage, cool, presence, disguise, freedom, champion, beauty and cosmopolitanism. Each section addresses its own subtheme: “Ownership,” for example, explores Dandyism’s relationship to currency and conspicuous consumption. Meanwhile, “champion” acknowledges athletes’ roles as fashion tastemakers, and “heritage” showcases the hybridizing of African dress with Western tailoring traditions.

It’s a fascinating illustration of Black dandyism’s many interpretations based on time periods, regions, occupations, social stature, economic status and more.

“A lot of people think about dandyism related to elite forms of dress, like tuxedos, fine line suits, tailoring in suits, that kind of thing,” Dr. Miller said. “As we’re thinking about dandyism here, we’re actually thinking about the suit suit. That could mean everything from the tailored suit to a zoot suit to a tracksuit to a denim suit, so we’re really wanting to focus on dandyism as it defines and redefines the suit and tailoring.”

Another glaring element of the exhibit is its inclusion of both established designers (Balmain’s Olivier Rousteing, Grace Wales Bonner, Willy Chavarria, Off White’s Ib Kamara, Bianca Saunders) and younger up-and-comers (Kwasi Paul’s Sam Boakye, Jacques Agbobly, Jawara Alleyne, L’enchanteur’s Dynasty and Soull Ogun). 

Ultimately, Dr. Miller hopes that visitors experience the bridge between Black history and fashion and take that knowledge with them to help carry the culture forward. 

“Sometimes people don’t think about fashion as art in the same way some people don’t think about fashion and history,” she said. “I’m really excited for people to come in and see some of the historical garments that we’re able to have in the show, and really understand this relationship between fashion, power and race is a very long relationship that will have other chapters in the future.”

“Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” will be open to the public at The Met Fifth Avenue from May 10 through October 26, 2025. See more images below.

Title Wall. Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Ownership.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Ownership.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Ownership.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Ownership.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Presence.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Presence.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Distinction.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Distinction.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Distinction.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Distinction.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Disguise.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Disguise.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Disguise.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Freedom.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Freedom.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Freedom.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Champion.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Champion.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Champion.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Respectability.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Respectability.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Jook.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Jook.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Jook.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Heritage.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Heritage.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Beauty.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Beauty.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Cool.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Cool.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Cosmopolitanism.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Cosmopolitanism.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

“The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, Written by Himself by Olaudah Equiano, Daniel Orme (British, 1766–1837), after a composition by William Denton (British, act. 1792–95), 1793.” Photo: Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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