There has always been something bold about a well-tailored Black body. From the sharp cut of each blazer to the arch of the shoulders and the punctuations of lapels, well-tailored pieces inspired by Black Dandyism are not plain fashion but, historically, have been statements and acts of defiance. As the 2025 Met Gala kicks off under the theme “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” it does more than flirt with the aesthetic; it also pays homage to a centuries-old legacy of Black Dandyism.

To understand Black Dandyism is to step into a lineage defined by subversion. From 18th-century colonial ports to Harlem ballrooms and contemporary red carpets, the Black dandy has had a history of using tailoring as a portal towards reclaiming autonomy in an environment that has consistently stifled it. Style, for the Black dandy, is not just self-expression but also self-determination.

Dandyism in the Western canon has often evoked images of white European aristocrats, including the Oscar Wilde and Beau Brummell types, who were frequently dressed in distinguished velvet and tailored collars. But the Black iteration was born of entirely different circumstances. In the antebellum South, for example, freedmen in fine coats and polished shoes unsettled the white gaze. They did not dress to fit in, but to send the message that “we are not who you say we are.”