Dear Gossips,
Ahead of the Met Gala yesterday, I opened the site with a mention of André Leon Talley and his legacy as a Black Dandy. Last night one of this year’s co-chairs, Colman Domingo, paid tribute to ALT in a blue armoured cape, similar to the one ALT wore himself to the Met Gala in 2011.
Colman had been turning it out all weekend but he saved the statement for the main event, repping Valentino as the house ambassador and repping ALT but also so much more.
During his interview with Teyana Taylor and Ego Nwodim, Colman talked about royal blue and the Moors, the first Black kings and queens who ruled Europe. The most famous Moor in classic literature of course is Othello, and when I think of Othello right now I think of the king of thespians, Denzel Washington – but also stage performance in general, and Black performers’ contribution to stage and screen, and Colman carries the legacy of all of that history.
Take the cape off though and it’s Harlem Renaissance through and through. He nailed it, not that there would be any doubt.
So did André 3000. Styled by Law Roach, seated with the Burberry team, his jumpsuit was a collaboration between the house and his own label, Benji Bixby, incorporating his own iconic looks from the Outkast reunion tour in 2014 with the signature Burberry trench; which perfectly illuminates what Professor Monica L Miller wrote in her book that inspired the Costume Institute’s exhibition this year – that the Black Dandy’s “performance styles have become grouped under the general rubric of signifyin’ - an intra and intercultural aesthetic that has come to define the culture of the African diaspora period. To “signify” is to repeat, revise, reverse, or transform what has come before, continually raising the stakes in a kind of expressive poker; signifying is thus a signature of all black expressive forms, whether music, dance, oral, and written narrative and even […] dress.”
With this look, André, Law, and Burberry are repeating, revising, reversing, and transforming and of course this is what André also does as a musician. The piano represents the new album he just dropped in time for the Met Gala, 7 piano sketches.
As for the garbage bag, at the time of this writing, it’s not yet clear what he meant by that accessory but there’s all kinds of interpretation that can be applied. Black artists upholding music, literally generating the so much of the sound upon which other sounds are made, but without the respect? That works. But also, it’s André 3000 and randomness kinda works too. The fact that he’s even there is noteworthy. André doesn’t just show up to anything. And when he does show up, he makes it count, Big Dandy Energy right there. Plus the significance of the evening for so many Black artists, which is why it was a disappointment that some people didn’t come correct in spirit.
I don’t mean in the styling because one of the worries going into the Met Gala was that there would be people who would step in it in with appropriation, or just not appropriate, period (we’ll get to Lisa later). For the most part – with the exception of Lisa, ffs – most of the looks worked. What was lacking was in the articulation.
Anna Wintour set the tone though. In her conversation with La La Anthony at the start of the night, Anna was precise in her choice of words about why, in this political environment, it was important to stand alongside the Black community and uplift Black creatives. And listen to Black creatives and what they have to say, in their art and their message.
But then, one after another, non-Black guests at the Met Gala seemed reluctant to even say the word “Black” in reference to the WHY of their presence at the event and the inspiration behind their looks and/or the importance of the exhibition, literally as they were all going inside to view the exhibit before dinner. It’s as simple as – we have come here to learn more about Black style and honour it. This is where I miss Sarah Jessica Parker. Because she would have done her homework and come prepared with a proper answer!
Our full Met Gala coverage will continue through the day. Please refresh often and hit us up with comments at The Squawk!
Yours in gossip,
Lainey
