Tailoring Black Style: A New Era of Sartorial Storytelling at the MET

Tailoring Black Style: A New Era of Sartorial Storytelling at the MET

Ndey Buri

The 2025 Costume Institute Spring Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, opened with an air of reverence and celebration on May 10.

Sponsored in part by Africa Fashion International (AFI), this groundbreaking exhibition explores the enduring influence of Black sartorial expression across centuries, continents, and cultures.

As the first Costume Institute exhibition dedicated to menswear in over two decades, Superfine boldly centers Black identity, legacy, and innovation—an alignment deeply resonant with AFI’s mission of amplifying African excellence in fashion on the global stage.

The press preview began with opening remarks by co-chair and actor Colman Domingo, guest curator and scholar Monica L. Miller, Costume Institute head curator Andrew Bolton, and MET Museum director Max Hollein.

Hollein announced a record-breaking $31 million raised for the Gala—marking the highest in the institution’s history and underscoring the cultural urgency and resonance of this year’s theme.

Andrew Bolton credited the late André Leon Talley as a catalyst for this year’s curatorial direction, citing Talley’s commitment to dandyism as a lens through which he moved through the world of fashion.

Bolton shared how Monica Miller’s seminal book Slaves to Fashion inspired the concept for the exhibition, serving as both academic framework and poetic tribute to generations of style innovators.

Miller, in her remarks, described the exhibition as one that is “widely about the suit,” referencing everything from topcoats to tracksuits and denim ensembles, revealing tailoring not merely as construction, but as declaration.

Superfine is more than an homage to the past; it is a living conversation between artistry, history, and identity. With 12 curatorial themes such as Ownership, Cool, Jook, and Disguise, the show traces Black style across the African diaspora—from Congolese sapeurs to Harlem dandyism and contemporary designers like Grace Wales Bonner and Olivier Rousteing.

The inclusion of African artists and visionaries, including bronze-inspired mannequin designs by Tanda Francis and the revolutionary legacy of André Grenard Matswa, grounds the exhibition in distinctly African roots.

As a proud sponsor of the 2025 Met Gala and exhibition, AFI continues to champion African narratives within global fashion institutions.

Founded by Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe, AFI’s support of this landmark moment reaffirms the organization’s commitment to positioning African creatives at the heart of cultural discourse.

In doing so, AFI not only uplifts the work of trailblazers from the continent, but also bridges fashion's historical past with its aspirational future.

At a time when fashion is often defined by spectacle, Superfine is a reminder that style, particularly Black style, is substance. It is protest. It is power. And it is, always, profoundly personal.

Ndey Buri is an Advertising & Marketing Communications graduate from the Fashion Institute of Technology.  

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