From decoding the exhibit’s theme, to unveiling this year’s co-chairs, here’s everything you should know.

It’s that special time of year again. The theme of the next Met Gala has just been unveiled, and the fashion industry has let out the collective breath we’ve been holding since last May.

Now knowing what the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art will be in 2025, we’re getting clued in to what the 2025 Met Gala might look like—and it’s set to be one of the most historically and culturally significant galas yet.

From understanding the theme, to what we can expect of the dress code, to who is set to host, here’s everything you need to know about the 2025 Met Gala, so far.

What is the 2025 Met Gala theme?
The theme of the 2025 Met Gala, in line with the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition, is titled Superfine: Tailoring Black Style. The exhibition will look at Black dandyism as its primary subject, exploring the importance of fashion to the formation of Black identities during the Atlantic diaspora in America through a series of garments, paintings, photographs and more, all exploring the Black dandy’s evolution.

It’s the first time since 2003, with the Men in Skirts exhibit, that the Costume Institute has put on a show purely dedicated to menswear. Drawing inspiration from Monica Miller’s 2009 book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity, Curator in Charge Andrew Bolton will host the exhibit in collaboration with the famed author and professor, looking at the Black dandy figure from its earliest depictions in the 18th century to now.

Black dandyism, for those not yet familiar, is a style of dress that focuses on elegant and exuberant, highly tailored ensembles that borrow from classic European fashion but is instead interpreted through an African diasporan aesthetic and lens. Both a sartorial and political statement, Miller describes the style as “a strategy and a tool to rethink identity, to reimagine the self in a different context. To really push a boundary especially during the time of enslavement, to really push a boundary on who and what counts as human, even.” The exhibitions main purpose is to “illustrate how Black people transformed from being enslaved and stylised as luxury items, acquired like any other signifier of wealth and status, to autonomous self-fashioning individuals who are global trendsetter,” Miller explained.

“I feel that the show itself marks a really important step in our commitment to diversifying our exhibitions and collections, as well as redressing some of the historical biases within our curatorial practice,” Bolton added of the significance of the show, particularly following the Black Lives Matter movement in recent years, which saw the institute commit to acquiring over 150 pieces by BIPOC designers throughout history since 2020. “It’s very much about making fashion at The Met more of a gateway to access and inclusivity.”

What is the 2025 Met Gala dress code?
Contrary to popular belief, the Costume Institute exhibit’s theme is not the same as the Met Gala red carpet dress code. But, the two are certainly related. Take the 2024 Met Gala earlier this year, where the exhibit theme was Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion and the corresponding dress code was entitled ‘The Garden of Time’, inspired by J.G. Ballard’s classic short story of the same title. Though distinct, both concepts explored the idea of the cyclical nature of creation and destruction, fleeting beauty, and hinted heavily at all things sartorially archival.

So while the 2025 Met Gala dress code has yet to be announced, we can expect the exhibit’s theme Superfine: Tailoring Black Style to give way to a red carpet full of, unsurprisingly, fine tailoring, references to Black dandyism and a plethora of both archival and contemporary menswear-informed looks.

Who is hosting the 2025 Met Gala?
Alongside Met Gala host, Vogue’s Anna Wintour, the co-chairs for the 2025 Met Gala is a group exclusively of men, in line with what is set to be a red carpet event no doubt overrun with menswear and menswear-inspired looks. In 2025, the Met Gala hosts are Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams and Colman Domingo, with LeBron James acting as honorary co-chair.

When is the 2025 Met Gala?
Every year, the Met Gala is hosted at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on the first Monday of May. In 2025, this will be May 5.

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