This Met Gala's Throwback Tailoring Is Stitched With History

Fashion historian Shelby Ivey Christie wasn't merely excited when the 2025 Met Gala theme, "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style," was announced last fall. "When I first heard the theme, I literally screamed," she tells Marie Claire via email. "As a costume historian focused on Black fashion contributions, this theme is the MOMENT we've been waiting for."

The all-caps are warranted. The May 5 event, which raises funds for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, marks a historic first for the most important red carpet of the year. Building upon the work of Barnard professor Monica L. Miller's 2009 book, Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity, the 2025 Met Gala is the very first to revolve entirely around menswear, and one of the few in the museum's history to center Black designers. Considering the decades of influence Black men have had on today's understanding of tailoring, it's an exhibit rich with meaningful ways to honor overlooked corners of fashion history. "From the enslaved craftsmen who were forced to create refined garments while denied the right to wear them, to the Harlem Renaissance figures who weaponized immaculate tailoring as visual resistance—this theme has LAYERS," Christie says.

That leaves the question: What exactly is everyone going to wear?

Guests headed for the best-dressed list will likely start by looking back. The year's theme and accompanying dress code, "Tailored for You," align perfectly with Hollywood's ongoing vintage and archival fashion obsession. Wearing a vintage piece lost to time on the red carpet instead of commissioning a custom design isn’t just a style statement—it’s a way to honor the exhibit’s history.

"I feel like both custom and vintage tell a story, but, from what I've seen, stylists are reaching for vintage because the look carries wisdom with it," says Alexis Novak. At her store, Tab Vintage, she and her team have sourced archival pieces worn by the likes of Cardi B, Sabrina Carpenter, and Keke Palmer. And she adds, there's a secondary message. "As we all become more aware of how wasteful the fashion industry is to the planet, wearing vintage to such an important event is also leading the charge of the circular clothing economy and a more sustainable choice."

But if styling teams thought they could source a vintage suit without doing their homework, they needed to reconsider. "You can't just throw on any tailored garment and call it a day. The 'Superfine' element refers to both the quality of craftsmanship and that extra special 'something' that Black style has always brought to tailoring—that intentional swagger, that purposeful elegance that transformed clothing from mere fabric into powerful statements of personhood," Ivey Christie explains.

Many vintage references encompassed in "Tailored for You" set trends in their time that echo in present-day fashion. But before considering specific eras—like the fitted jackets and high-rise trousers of the 1940s Zoot suit, or the refined walking sticks, pocket watches, and high crown hats of the Harlem Renaissance—teams have to think about the overall package.

Whether it's vintage or custom, "A look that doesn't understand the historical context it's drawing from is just costume, not tribute," Ivey Christie says. Everything from the precision of a suit's cut to the angle of a hat and the exact fabric chosen speaks to the ingenuity of Black tailoring traditions. As the historian points out, the immaculate fit of a suit isn't just a tailor doing their job; it challenges stereotypes about Black craftsmanship. Ditto for unusual fabrics or a carefully deployed luxury logo: when executed correctly, these elements can nod toward innovators like Dapper Dan (whose famous shop in the '80s and '90s subverted familiar designer brands) and lesser-known designers who nevertheless experimented with proportions and materials to advance the suiting form.

All those considerations pave the way for a Met Gala that can not only tip its red carpet hats to historic figures like blues singer Gladys Bentley (a Harlem Renaissance pioneer in drag) and legendary editor André Leon Talley (who broke boundaries with his sweeping caftans and capes), but also grants Black designers from throughout fashion history a much overdue Met Gala spotlight.

Lauren Lepire, founder of Timeless Vixen, name-checks two women designers in her conversation with Marie Claire. First, Zelda Wynn Valdes: a seamstress during the peak of Jim Crow segregation who rose from back-of-shop alterations at a boutique in White Plains, NY, to running her own designer label. It was one of the most respected labels in 1940s New York City and the first owned by a Black woman in the city. Her clientele famously included Ella Fitzgerald, Josephine Baker, and even Hugh Hefner—to create the famed Playboy Bunny pin-up costumes, that is. Zendaya referenced her work at the 2025 Golden Globes while wearing a sculpted Louis Vuitton corset dress; more are imminent.

Her second hope-to-see, echoed by both Novak and Ivey Christie, is Ann Lowe. Skilled at crafting evening dresses, the designer reached her greatest heights creating Jacqueline Bouvier's wedding dress. (Think of the potential re-interpretations!)

The racks of vintage boutiques and long-lost personal archives can also resurface names that shaped fashion on a global scale. Stephen Burrows, a reference Novak hopes to see, was one of the few New York designers invited to appear at the 1973 "Battle of Versailles." His presence alone wasn't the only factor in shaping the style lexicon; he is also credited with inventing the wavy, ruffled edge finish known as a "lettuce hem."

"He uses an iconic red thread for stitching and refers to that design feature, which is distinctly his, as the 'bloodline' throughout all of his designs," Novak says, "which I love." Another highly anticipated name is Patrick Kelly, a 1980s designer Beyoncé fans will recognize from the gold mini dress she sourced earlier this year. His legacy involves more than the playful buttons, bows, and hearts that could turn up at the 2025 Met Gala. "As the first American and first Black designer inducted into the Chambre Syndicale du Prêt-à-Porter, Kelly used his platform to challenge stereotypes and celebrate Black identity through both his work and personal style," Novak explains.

The list of potential designers continues with: Willi Smith's WilliWear, Jay Jaxon of Jean-Louis Scherrer, Karl Kani—names that may not be frequently mentioned in fashion circles today, but who were instrumental in the late twentieth century. Ivey Christie also highlights the innovators in Black and queer communities whose influence is visible in, but not always acknowledged by, mainstream fashion. For example, take Pepper LaBeija and Dorian Corey, legends of the New York City ballroom scene who expanded the possibilities of tailoring and gender expression in their presentations.

If guests (and stylists) make these experts' dreams a reality, they'll do more than create a picture-perfect moment on the Met steps. "The beauty of seeing these designers' work on the carpet would be witnessing how they managed to create innovations in tailoring despite often being excluded from fashion's formal institutions," Ivey Christie says. And as red carpet fans know, there's no bigger fashion institution than the Met Gala.