Tyla and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Join Met Gala 2025 Committee
AFI Insider
The 2025 Met Gala, themed Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, will spotlight Black fashion and culture, with Tyla and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie leading the charge as host committee members.
When Tyla made her debut at the 2024 Met Gala in a sand-inspired Balmain gown by Olivier Rousteing, she didn’t just turn heads—she cemented her status as a fashion force to be reckoned with. Her appearance landed her on multiple Best Dressed lists and etched her as a bonafide star.
Now, the Grammy-winning star is set to return to the Met Gala in an even more significant role: as a member of the 2025 host committee. She will be joined by literary luminary Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, marking a powerful union of fashion and intellect at one of the most anticipated events of the year.
Celebrating The Black Dandy
The announcement of Superfine: Tailoring Black Style as the theme for the 2025 Costume Institute exhibition was met with both excitement and cautious optimism. As the first Met exhibition dedicated entirely to Black fashion, it carries the weight of representing a rich and often overlooked cultural legacy.
Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, is more than just a celebration of fashion—it’s a reclamation of narrative. For centuries, Black style has been both appropriated and marginalised, while its origins and innovations have often been erased from mainstream fashion discourse. This exhibition seeks to correct that imbalance, offering a platform to explore the sartorial ingenuity of the Black diaspora.
Guest curator Monica L. Miller, whose groundbreaking 2009 book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity serves as the source material for the exhibition, brings both academic rigour and cultural insight to the project. She will work together with the Costume Institute's head curator Andrew Bolton.
Her previous work on exhibitions like Fresh, Fly, and Fabulous: Fifty Years of Hip Hop Style (2023) at The Museum at FIT and the groundbreaking Africa Fashion (2022) at the V&A Museum, has demonstrated her ability to weave together history, politics, and fashion in ways that resonate deeply with audiences.
As Miller noted in an interview with Barnard College: "Slaves to Fashion was one of the first academic monographs to analyse how Black people have used fashion, dress, and style as a way to imagine their political and cultural possibilities over time in the African diaspora. Since this is one of the first shows at the Met Costume Institute (CI) centering Black fashion and style, wearers and designers, my book on dandyism was a good fit as a cultural history that could be imagined on the scale of a CI show."
A Star-Studded Co-Chair Lineup
The selection of co-chairs for the 2025 Met Gala further underscores the exhibition’s commitment to authenticity and excellence. Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams, and Colman Domingo—each a modern-day embodiment of Black dandyism—bring their unique perspectives and impeccable style to the event.
Lewis Hamilton, the Formula 1 legend known for his boundary-pushing fashion choices, continues to champion diversity within luxury fashion.
A$AP Rocky, a rapper and style icon, has long been at the forefront of redefining menswear.
Pharrell Williams, a visionary musician and menswear designer at Louis Vuitton, is celebrated for his innovative collaborations and trend-setting approach.
Colman Domingo, an Academy Award nominee and Emmy-winning actor and director with a keen eye for storytelling through clothing, brings a sophisticated elegance to the committee.
NBA star, Lebron James will be the honorary chair of the Met Gala, while several stars, including Janelle Monae, Edward Enninful, Andre 3000, Regina King, Dapper Dan, and more have also joined the host committee.
The Dress Code: Tailored for You
The lucky fashion enthusiasts attending the Met Gala will have to follow the dress code announced by Vogue as Tailored for You.
The dress code is a nod to the exhibition’s focus on menswear and its celebration of the Black Dandy and is “purposefully designed to provide guidance and invite creative interpretation.”
It encourages attendees to embrace the craftsmanship, sharp silhouettes, and bespoke detailing that have defined Black style for generations.
The choice of Tyla and Adichie as host committee members reflects a deliberate effort to centre global African voices at the exhibition.
Now the big question- which designers will they turn to? Will it be Kente Gentlemen, Orange Culture, Thebe Magugu or AFI Privé? Time will tell!