Intro for May 5, 2025

Dear Gossips, 

It’s the first Monday in May which, on the pop culture calendar, means one thing: Met Gala tonight. The Met Gala is the annual fashion parade that supports the Costume Institute’s annual exhibit. This year, the Costume Institute “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” honours Black style, inspired by Professor Monica L Miller’s academic text Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity. 

Ayo Edebiri was asked by Vogue how those who are not Black might engage with the event and her answer is not about exclusion but invitation. It’s an invitation to learn. 

It IS a gift to discover the expression behind how Black artists dress themselves, the history of “stylin’ out” in the Black community, and how Black people, over the last three hundred years, have used clothing as expression, as celebration, as resistance. The exhibition, then, is meant to both entertain and educate – which so many Black artists have been doing throughout their careers. 

On that note, Vogue has been dedicating a lot of editorial energy into profiling those who have “kept [Black] Dandyism alive for decades” – the tailors who know better than most what it means to be “superfine”. 

This weekend Vogue revealed the first look at the Superfine exhibit, a gallery of beautiful and in some cases recognisable garments and accessories showcased on Black mannequins. Note the final slide in the carousel below, how black and white formal attire has been paired with athleisure which, of course, represents how Black trendsetters have over the last few decades reimagined what it means to dress up, with swagger, and bring fashion from the streets and the clubs and the courts to the runway. 

Note also, of course, that André Leon Talley has been included – his monogrammed trunks are on display in the museum (fourth slide): 

Ahead of her debut at the Met Gala, another moment to add to her breakout year, Doechii recreated one of ALT’s most memorable photos. Swipe to the second slide to see the comparison: 

“There is a famine of beauty!” ALT once declared. “A famine of beauty, honey! My eyes are starving for beauty!” God he was divinely c-nty, and he will be missed tonight but he will also be present, because if there ever was a Black dandy, it was André Leon Talley. And wherever he’s watching from, with all the Black excellence that will be present, it will be far from a famine when, no doubt, ALT is honoured on those steps in the form of one outfit or another (click this for the reel below).

If you are interested, I wrote an essay last week after reading Professor Monica Miller’s book that was published at our Substack, The Squawk, about the theme of the Met Gala this year and some of the learnings I’ve taken away to inform our coverage of the event. You can read that here. 

Vogue’s Met Gala livestream during the arrivals begins at 6pm ET, hosted by La La Anthony, Ego Nwodim, and Teyana Taylor. The link is here. 

We are live-chatting the Met Gala arrivals at The Squawk also starting at 6pm ET, we hope you can join us here. 

And ETALK will be live on YouTube at 930pm ET once arrivals have wrapped up for a recap of the looks and moments and the significance we saw on the steps. The link is here.

Here at LaineyGossip, we’re working overnight on Met Gala posts starting very early in the morning for wall-to-wall coverage. Counting down to the biggest night in fashion!

Yours in gossip, 

Lainey