The Black Dandy
Highly anticipated and beloved by fashion enthusiasts worldwide, the Met Gala takes place annually on the first Monday of May, raising funds for the Costume Institute’s charity. According to The New York Times, a single seat at the dinner cost $75,000 in 2024. This prestigious event’s 2025 theme is particularly striking. It hasn’t centered exclusively on menswear since 2003’s Men in Skirts. Titled Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, the 2025 theme will explore the layered history of the Black Dandy through fashion. This concept celebrates an eccentric Black male figure known for elegant, flamboyant tailoring, whose legacy is crucial to understanding the foundation of Black fashion today.
The exhibition draws inspiration from co-curator Monica L. Miller's book, Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity, which invites us to consider the complex history of dressing the Black body and its fraught relationship with agency in America. Miller reminds us that when enslaved Africans arrived in America, they were stripped of their clothing. Forced to wear coarse, plain garments, they lost the freedom to dress themselves—a crucial aspect of personal identity. Today, Black male tailoring remains a powerful statement, challenging racist media portrayals that depict Black men as menacing thugs.
Celebrated as a self-educated man who liberated himself and became a powerful advocate for justice, Frederick Douglass was the most photographed man of the nineteenth century, offering an aspirational image for Black people striving for equality. After gaining his freedom, his greatest desire was a blue serge suit—a symbol, to him, of his newfound status as a free man.
Photo of Frederick Douglas in a suit and bow-tie from Getty Images, available in Teen Vogue article, July 2018.
The term ‘dandy’ often evokes images of white Victorian gentlemen who were obsessed with style and known for their quick wit. Beau Brummell, one of the earliest examples in nineteenth-century England, embodied this with his switch from breeches to pantaloons and his fondness for cravats. He rejected anything overly flashy, opting for a muted color palette. But that’s a far cry from the Black dandy. Contrary to what you might expect, Black dandyism didn’t emerge after abolition. Just as tea, chocolate, and coffee were once markers of luxury, aristocratic households would display enslaved Africans who didn’t labor, dressing them in extravagant, lavish outfits. The sight of an enslaved person in finery was almost satirical—a strange mix of grandeur and mockery.
One of the earliest Black dandies was Julius Soubise, who was technically enslaved by the Duchess of Queensberry. However, she freed him and treated him more like a pet, surrounding him with an excess of luxury. Impeccably dressed, he was trained in fencing and even attended Eton. Soubise quickly became a socialite, indulging in lavish parties and being chauffeured around in carriages driven by a white groom. Monica L. Miller notes that he wore “diamond-buckled, red-heeled shoes as he moved through the social scenes of eighteenth-century London.” There’s no doubt we’ll see nods to him stitched into next year’s Met Gala.
A satirical print of Julius Soubise with a contemporary nickname. ‘Mungo’ described a black person of wealth and ‘macaroni’ was another word for a dandy. Artist Unknown, 1772. Available via The British Museum (Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires)
Bearing in mind the irony behind his flamboyant fashion, the Black dandy’s history meant that, even after abolition, Black people continued to wear dandy-style clothing as a form of critique. Though the Black population was free, white working-class audiences still flocked to racist minstrel shows that mocked Black ambition. These performances portrayed the sight of a well-dressed, educated, or wealthy Black person with a family as a joke. That’s why the Black dandy remains a powerful and significant fashion statement today—an act of reclamation.
Modern Black dandyism is a blend of European menswear with a bold burst of African patterns and colors, turning a fashion trend into a form of performative dress steeped in sartorial critique. Inspired by the stylish men in her own family, Shantrelle P. Lewis wrote Dandy Lion, a book that showcases modern Black dandies in their vibrant, patterned suits. “The Black dandy is an African diasporic man who skillfully reworks and reclaims Western menswear,” she explains. “He mixes vibrant colors, patterns, Dutch wax cloth, and African Ankara fabric.” Lewis describes this mix-and-match style as “hip-hop” and “socio-political,” emphasizing that it's not about mimicking the white dandyism of Beau Brummell, but rather drawing inspiration from African ancestors and leaders like Patrice Lumumba, Steve Biko, and Kwame Nkrumah.
Another essential political fashion nod bound to have a strong thread in next year’s creations is the Sapeur movement. Members of La Sape, ‘Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes’ (Society of Ambiance-Makers and Elegant People), reside in Brazzaville, DRC, and Kinshasa in the Republic of Congo. They mostly work in normal professions such as gardeners or taxi drivers, but they are local celebrities, sparking joy in their communities for their eye-catching designer suits. Papa Wemba, a Congolese singer who popularized Sape, famously said, “White people invented the clothes, but we make an art of it.” Maxime Pivot Mabanza told Vogue Scandinavia that being a sapeur, to him, means “telling the world that no matter what my environmental condition is, I am still human, and I still have dreams and aspirations… it’s about asserting yourself boldly in the world.”
Sartorial Anarchy #5, 2013. Iké Udé in an ecclectic, dandified ensemble. Accessible via Leila Heller Gallery.
Modern artist and Special Consultant to the exhibition, Iké Udé, created a series of self-portraits named Sartorial Anarchy, where he presented an anachronistic blend of dandified clothing across various geographical and chronological contexts. For example, he pairs an eighteenth-century Macaroni wig with a mix of various vintage garments. He was included in Vanity Fair’s Best Dressed list in 2009 and 2012, spearheading a fashion movement transcending fabric. Similarly, fashion designer Yinka Shonibare addresses Black dandyism in his work using typically African materials, such as Dutch wax fabric, to create exquisitely tailored eighteenth-century aristocratic gowns. Dutch wax became popular in Africa after being produced by Dutch imperialists in Indonesia, and local Indonesians hadn’t liked the Dutch version, so they sent it all to Africa. The fabric itself is political, making a statement in Shonibare’s work. He emphasizes that every time we see eighteenth-century clothing in the V&A, we should remind ourselves there was a laboring African behind it.
A popular culture example of modern-day Black dandyism (and one to watch for next year’s gala) is Lil Nas X and his various designer suits combined with his flamboyant approach to style.
Lil Nas X at the LACMA Art+Film Gala wearing a Gucci designer golden yellow suit with a feather trim and brown loafers. Photographed by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin. Available via Elle, rights with Getty Images.
A 58-year-old bricklayer, Yamea Bansimba Jean Claude, in Brazzaville, 2017. Photographed by Tariq Zaidi. Accessible via Vogue Scandinavia.
Contemporary designers for the Met Gala include Grace Wales Bonner, Pharrell Williams, and the late Virgil Abloh. Pharrell is co-chairing the event, alongside Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, Colman Domingo, Anna Wintour, and honorary co-chair LeBron James.
The chosen theme is a powerful and sociological statement - the Black dandy redefines what it means to be Black, masculine, and fashionable.
A 45-year-old taxi owner and sapeur, Elie Fontaine Nsassoni, in Brazzaville, 2017. Photographrad by Tariq Zaidi. Available via Vogue Scandinavia.
