This year’s Met Gala could have been a mess. Instead, it was an inspiration.

The celebration of Black dandyism was a (mostly) cringe-free triumph that sent a powerful message

Untitled (Christian in Wales Bonner).Photo © Tyler Mitchell 2025, Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Monday’s Met Gala was full of surprises.

There was the last-minute appearance by Kamala Harris, who skipped the blue carpet arrivals but turned up at the glitzy fundraiser in a striking black and white gown by Off-White.

There was Rihanna, who kept social media in suspense for hours and finally graced the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art around 10:00, sporting not only a fabulous suit by Marc Jacobs—but also a prominent baby belly. (Now expecting her third child with A$AP Rocky, Riri is now the undisputed queen of the high-profile pregnancy reveal.)

But the most unexpected part of the entire event, which raised a record $31 million for the Met’s Costume Institute? Just how few celebrities embarrassed themselves at fashion’s biggest night.

The theme of this year’s exhibition, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” was inspired by Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity, a cultural history written by Monica Miller. It is the first show in the history of the institute dedicated to Black designers and style trailblazers, like the late Vogue editor Andre Leon Talley and Dapper Dan, the Harlem designer whose looks defined ‘80s hip hop.

Given the theme—and the dress code, “tailored for you”—the potential for awkward or downright offensive cultural appropriation was sky-high. As former Vogue editor-at-large Gabriella Karefa-Johnson nervously told the New York Times ahead of the gala this week, “I just really don’t want to see any floor-length durags or pimp canes.” (It’s not like it hasn’t happened before: In 2015, Sarah Jessica Parker, was criticized for wearing a Chinese headdress to the gala.)

Then, there’s the fact that the event’s mastermind, Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, has not always been a great champion of diversity—at her magazine or within the fashion industry writ large. The glitzy fundraiser, tickets to which cost $75,000 a pop, could easily have fallen flat—or come across as tone-deaf amid economic uncertainty.

Instead, the event was full of joy, whimsy, and pride. It featured some of the sharpest, most unforgettable looks seen at the Met Gala—or anywhere—in recent memory, starting with Janelle Monae’s trompe l’oeil overcoat, designed by Paul Tazewell for Thom Browne, which looked less like an “outfit” than a piece of surrealist art.

There were other standout looks: Shaboozey in turquoise beads and matching grill; co-chair Lewis Hamilton in a pristine cream ensemble by Wales Bonner; fellow co-chair Colman Domingo in an embellished blue robe over a boldly patterned black and white suit (all by Valentino).

While it was a night for the men to shine, the ladies certainly had their fun. Both Madonna and Doechii chomped on cigars while wearing natty suits. And then there was Diana Ross—Diana Freaking Ross, people!—returning to the Met Gala after a 22-year absence in a sparkly gown and 18-foot train embellished with the names of her kids and grandkids.

Even the carpet, deep blue with pale yellow flowers, was eye-catching.

Each year, the gala is organized around a theme tied to an exhibition at the Costume Institute. Celebrities—and, let’s face it, their stylists—often struggle to interpret the dress code set out by Wintour and her annual co-chairs. Fearing social media condemnation or (worse) Wintour’s disapproval, stars often go for painfully literal interpretations, or choose to ignore the theme altogether and wear something safe and forgettable.

Unlike 2019, when the theme “Camp: Notes on Fashion” required a working knowledge of Susan Sontag and seemed to baffle most celebrities, this year’s theme was accessible and primed to personalize: bold patterns, impeccable tailoring, eye-catching accessories work on any body.

André Leon Talley 5th Avenue, Arthur Elgort (American, born 1940), 1986; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Irene Lewisohn Costume Reference Library

Inevitably, there were a few misfires. Lisa, star of the K-pop group Blackpink—and the recently concluded third season of The White Lotus—skipped wearing pants and instead sported a pair of lacy Louis Vuitton underwear that appeared to be decorated with Rosa Parks’ face. Amelia Gray, model and daughter of former Real Housewives star Lisa Rinna, wore…whatever this is.

But the most common crime, committed by Heidi Klum and Hailey Beiber, among others, was being boring, as it always is.

All in all, the event was a triumph, which is almost certainly why the bad-take generator that is The Daily Mail ran a story with the headline“A-listers shun the Met Gala.” (As evidence, the article cited the absence of Taylor Swift, who hasn’t attended the event in nearly a decade.)

The success of “Superfine” is all the more impressive when you consider the fraught timing of the event.

Though it has been in the works for years, the exhibition arrives at a perilous moment for anything celebrating Black achievements. The Trump administration is waging war on DEI initiatives in all corners of society, seizing control of major cultural institutions like the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian, and even attempting to erase the contributions of Black Americans from the historical record.

In a hostile climate, the event—and its record fundraising haul—sent an urgent message that Black art is valuable in every sense of the word.

It also showed that fashion, meanwhile, can be more than just a fun form of self-expression. It can also be “an act of defiance,” as Domingo said in an interview with E! from the Met stairs.

“It’s radical to fashion yourselves in the way you want the world to see you, and not the opposite,” he said. “We don't get many opportunities to say, ‘You matter. The way you put that shit on matters. The way you represent and show up matters.’ …I think it's an extraordinary moment for all of us. I want to make sure we all are standing in this space together so we can stand up even a little taller, especially in our climate right now.”

Meredith Blake is the Culture columnist for The Contrarian