This year’s Met Gala was an opulent and exuberant exploration of Black style, and more specifically, Black Dandyism.
To those who are unfamiliar with its concept, a Black Dandy is “someone who encapsulates a sort of matrix of identity: race, gender, class, sexuality, and sometimes nation,” Met Gala guest curator Monica L. Miller, author of “Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity,” said during Vogue’s livestream on Monday.
This year’s gala was stewarded by an unabashedly diverse, fashion-forward conglomerate of Black co-chairs consisting of Pharrell Williams, men’s creative director for Louis Vuitton; Colman Domingo, activist, and Academy Award-nominated actor; A$AP Rocky, Ray-Ban’s first ever creative director; and Formula 1 superstar Lewis Hamilton.
And, of course, the spirit of André Leon Talley, the legendary Vogue editor-at-large, author, fashion director, and style icon who epitomized Black Dandyism in its most chic form, could be felt throughout every inch of the event.
Black folks have relied on fashion as a source of refuge for centuries. They’ve endured every manner of respectability politics imaginable and worn suit jackets and gowns as literal armor against the brutality of oppressors. So there were natural concerns that the tools of their triumph could be colonized and relegated to costumes.
“I think it’s about self-respect, joy and confidence and liberation,” Anna Wintour, Met Gala chairperson and Vogue editor-in-chief, said during the publication’s livestream. “And at this moment in our political history, I think it’s very very important to stand next to the Black community.”
Some attendees, such as Diana Ross and Dapper Dan embraced the theme with homages to cultural and familial ties.
Others — and particularly some celebrities on the red carpet such as Anne Hathaway or Shah Rukh Khan — sought to thread a careful needle of allyship and support while veering away from cultural appropriation or spotlight stealing.
Still, others, such as those who donned fashion by Coco Chanel, whose relationship with a Nazi officer during World War II raised serious questions about her wartime activities, seemed to ignore the inherent contradiction in the Black Dandyism assignment altogether.
Historically, Black Dandyism has served dual roles as both a conduit for Black liberation and a mechanism for survival, spearheaded by the Raúl Grigeras and 18th century Julius Soubises of yesteryear to brands like Black Menswear and the Dapper Dans of today. It’s as defiant as it is political, equal parts protest and performance in its innate ability to masterfully merge debonair with dissent.
It’s just as much a Cab Calloway zoot suit as it is a pair of Billy Porter’s spandex leggings. It’s an audacious Janelle Monáe jookin’ down “tightropes” in “The Palace of The Dogs.” It’s Elizabeth Keckley asserting her dominion as a free Black woman in Abraham Lincoln’s White House. It’s Andre 3000 asking, “Can one rest in peace & violence?” during Outkast’s 2014 reunion set at Coachella.
But most importantly, it’s a manifestation of a uniquely Black experience. Black Dandyism doesn’t exist without the barbarous conditions responsible for its creation. Nor should it — especially in a predominantly White environment rife with individuals who routinely benefit from Black plight.
If these are questions commonly asked when White people are tasked with curating the lived experiences of our Black brothers and sisters in other spaces, then we are entirely justified in questioning the validity of predominantly White Met Gala attendees parading around as Black Dandies. We should also question whether this sterilized “celebration” of Black style inherently desensitizes the perils of respectability politics.
There are consequences to wearing culture as a costume. Perhaps the intentions of all parties involved are sound — specifically as it relates to the involvement of its Black co-chairs and guest curator.
However, Black Dandyism is much more than merely attire. It’s an act of resistance that far too many Met Gala participants were adorned in, but undoubtedly failed to relate to.
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