‘Let Them Eat Cake’: Notes on The Met Gala 2025
Excess, Inclusivity and Elitism in Fashion
Met Monday.
Every 1st Monday of May where A-listers flock to New York City for fashion’s biggest night. The night where everyone morphs into Joan Rivers on Fashion Police critiquing looks as we sit in our naturally unglamorous PJ’s.
But if we examine the current political and economic state of the world (subtle Jaden Smith reference), questions of the need for such extravagant and opulent events such as this, begin to fly.
Looking at the state of New York, there is a massive juxtaposition between this display of extreme wealth and fact that people are living in poverty just a stone’s throw away from the event.
New York has one of the greatest wealth disparities in the U.S. According to The Community Service Society of New York (CSS), the latest census about the poverty rate in the city states that 1.5 million New Yorkers lived at or below the official federal poverty level back in 2023; which is likely to have grown by now due to the imminent recession. Further afield things are looking bleak globally: there are devastating wars ongoing, deepening humanitarian crises globally, climate change is rapidly accelerating; just to name a few. With singular tickets costing an astounding $75,000, excessive displays of opulence such as The Met Gala feel slightly dystopian in the current political and economic climate.
To contrast, this year’s theme and coinciding exhibition "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” feels like an acknowledgment of the current cultural and political climate.
Based on the book "Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity” by Monica L. Miller, "Superfine” explores ideas of Black style in relation to dandyism. Dandyism refers to ‘a flamboyantly dressed male figure who is concerned not only with looking good but with making a statement about his identity and individuality’. When it comes to Black dandyism, it’s more than just fancy suits. It’s an act of protest. A celebration of one's Blackness.
This is the first Met theme that directly references race in relation to gender, class and sexuality as well as being the second dedicated to menswear.
Scholar of critical race theory Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term intersectionality as a way to understand how socio-political identities overlap to create interdependent forms of discrimination or on the other hand privilege. This year’s Met theme highlights the importance of intersectionality in the Black community and how much of the Black experience is shaped by these intersections.
The origins of high fashion were born out of non-inclusivity. Beginning in Paris during the 19th century, haute couture was only afforded to the elite. Things like race, gender, class and sexuality were all determining factors as to whether people were invited into these spaces; reinforcing the hierarchical nature of fashion based on socio-political identities. Although things have progressed since the 19th century, in many ways elitist mindsets still rein true today.
Just look at who is afforded more opportunities in fashion, who has access to buy high fashion even access to learn or be in the fashion space.
Black dandyism was back in the 19th Century and still is today, a direct responds to these barriers of inclusion.
If we look at Met committee member Dapper Dan and his influence on Black culture & fashion, especially in New York, he created a space that caters to Black people to combat these barriers at a time when Black people were not welcomed into the high fashion space. Worn by people such as LL Cool J and Mary J. Blige, Dapper Dan managed to take iconic logos (like Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Fendi) and transform it into something new; creating the Logomania craze of the 90s.
Fashion is inherently a political statement and dandyism is a direct example of that. People have been calling for more inclusivity across the industry not only in terms of race also across gender, class, sexuality, body types, disabilities and age. By telling the stories of an underrepresented group, "Superfine” mirrors societies cries for inclusivity and diversity. Behind all the glitz & glamour, The Met, Anna Wintour and Vogue are displaying that they are somewhat in tune with what is going on societally.
Only time will tell whether the industry is actually making progress, however, ongoing conversations about change clearly are having an impact.
Really great to see the Met Gala embracing inclusion and diversity. Looking forward to what will changes may happen in the future