At the Met Gala, you hope for a moment when someone just takes over the stairs, makes it impossible for anyone else to do much else… even Zendaya! Who else but Diana Ross?
Of course it’s the dress, with that 18-foot train, and the feathered hat, and the sparkles, but also, it’s HER. Diana Ross is everyone’s legend but her status within the Black community, particularly among Black artists, is unparalleled. She is mother and queen and goddess and her look last night was appropriately extra on an evening to honour the legacy of Black style. Because, of course, she has influenced so much of it herself.
Here’s one example: remember Rihanna at the CFDAs in 2014? Of course you do, it’s one of her most iconic looks.
But before that, 44 years before that, there was Ms Ross.
And that’s just one example. So, of course, it was on to her to take over the steps at the Met wearing a creation that she, her son Evan, and designer Ugo Mozie collaborated on. And there’s no need here to explain the theme – please, Diana Ross IS the theme.
But was it planned that Zendaya would arrive right after her? That cameras would catch Zendaya appreciating Ms Ross’s spectacle at the entrance? And the layers of symbolism in the scene too considering that Z’s look was so reminiscent of Diana’s in Mahogany?
Check it out – this is Ms Ross as Tracy Chambers:
And here’s Zendaya:
@etalkctv Zendaya paid homage to Diana Ross’s look in the 1975 film ‘Mahogany’ at the 2025 Met Gala wearing an all-white Louis Vuitton silk suit and hat. Z’s suit looks as though it could be paying homage to actress and actress Bianca Jagger who wore an all-white suit to the Kenneth Jay Lane party in 1974. Watch Etalk’s Live Met Gala Recap tonight at 9:30pET on YT. #Zendaya #MetGala #MetGala2025 #DianaRoss #BiancaJagger
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Diana Ross’s wardrobe in Mahogany was an endless serve and it was the film that really showcased her acting abilities – seeing Ms Ross and Zendaya back to back on that carpet seemed like divine intervention. Even if it wasn’t deliberate, or the original inspiration (Bianca Jagger), this is the happy accident that resulted from a gathering of so much Black excellence on a night that was meant to honour it.
Zendaya was in custom Louis Vuitton by Pharrell Williams. She’s a brand ambassador, it was not a surprise to see her in the design. And it was not a surprise either that it was a twist on the zoot suit, considering the theme of the night. It was widely predicted ahead of the event that many people would show up in their respective interpretations of the zoot suit, and they did, and also in white, always a popular colour, but especially for an event where tailoring and dandyism was on display.
So there’s been some conversation, including at our Substack, The Squawk, about whether or not this was a bit of a letdown where Z is concerned, considering she’s almost always an original whenever she shows up, because there were several white suits and wide hats on that carpet.
I can’t imagine that Law and Zendaya would not have anticipated it, though. But also, my added take is that not only did they anticipate it, they sought it out. Law Roach is nothing if not researched, and he’d be one of the few who read Professor Monica Miller’s book that motivated the Costume Institute’s exhibit. When I saw Zendaya and then all the other white suits that started showing up, it called to mind this passage from Prof Miller’s work (please note that the book was written in 2009, before capitalising the “B” in the word “Black” when used to refer to Black people became mainstream standard):
“For example, two men, one black and one white, dressed in the same suit and hat, will almost never wear it in exactly the same way. The black body alone inside the material will alter the fabric; the interpretation continues with an added saunter, tilt of the hat, gestures in ways that make the clothing a comment on mainstream style rather than an impersonation of it. The next black man, in the same suit but with a different pocket square and a different walk, revises the pose of both of the first two men, creating two separate but intimately related conversations about image and identity.”
In essence, Black Dandyism is more about how personal style is applied to clothing, and how identity transforms clothing, so that the same piece of clothing becomes a different outfit altogether on another body and even more so when you add performance to the look to truly own it.
Zendaya, as we have seen, is not just a fashion icon because designers make nice things for her, she’s an icon because when those garments are on her, she knows how to bring them to life. It’s always a master class in posing:
To go back to Prof Miller’s analysis, then, about how “the black body alone inside the material will alter the fabric”, Lewis Hamilton wore his white suit like a king, carrying the “ancestral memory” of those who came before. As he shared during his interview with Teyana Taylor and Ego Nwodim, a lifetime of consideration was put into every detail working with Grace Wales Bonner. He wrote on Instagram of the “sacred power of adornment” – it’s the power that fuels confidence, the power to assert belonging and claim space: in a sport where he had no predecessors, born in a country where the Black Dandy originated, at a time when enslaved Black men were dressed by colonisers as playthings to flaunt their wealth, they subversively used and reimagined clothing to preserve their agency and individuality. When Lewis puts a white suit perfectly tailored to his measurements on his body, he imbues it with all that personal history and walks with the wind of that history urging him forward. How could it possibly be the same, then, even if it’s similar?
So on that note, if we’re talking about similarities, of course Anna Sawai and Zendaya, both in white suits, both with the hats. Anna is an ambassador for Dior, the suit was by creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri and reportedly the inspiration was Yoko Ono.
What I like about having this side-by-side is that not only does it illuminate Prof Miller’s point about how the wearer can change a suit and a hat but on a fundamental fashion level, it’s a testament to the importance of tailoring. Because Zendaya is a giant, she is tall AF, and Anna is 5 ft 1. Per Anna’s Met Gala interview with the NYT:
“This year’s dress code, “tailored for you,” was intended to inspire creative interpretations of classic tailoring techniques. The 5-foot-1 actress said her clothes always needed to be tailored: “I’m a tiny person. For me, clothes being tailored is what changes everything, any look, because most clothes are always a little too long or big for me.”
In a year where “classic tailoring techniques” were in the spotlight, the art is in finding the individualism in the craft.
And also, big ups to Anna because unlike Nicole Kidman and Miley Cyrus and so many other non-Black guests at the Met Gala, Anna had no issues with the purpose of the exhibit and the gala while also expressing her own enthusiasm about being a part of it (for the first time) as she told the NYT, “I’m really excited to pay respect to Black dandyism.” Now why was that so hard for so many people?!
Moving onto someone who always makes it look easy – Keke Palmer in Vera Wang. In our group chat Duana noted how beautifully constructed the top is, with the lapels becoming a halter, lying flat against her body and staying that way while she moved. It’s a tuxedo and a ballgown in one, versatile and also, on a close reading of Prof Miller’s reading of Black Dandyism, inclusive and fluid.
Plus, seeing as how she is the best who has ever hosted a Met Gala red carpet, she’s going to return the favour when she’s on the other side of the mic. Her answer to the question about inspiration and interpretation of theme is flawless but also FUN. Keke can interview… and she can be interviewed! A true Black Dandy never half asses!
Taraji P Henson also had a thoughtful response about her outfit and why she chose to wear white. Taraji’s look, to me, was chorus line to main character. Custom Monse x Post-Imperial, a top hat and a cane, tails over a short skirt, with the grill and the blonde, for me it’s one of the night’s best… but I really wish she went with a different shoe.
Back to her response though, obviously Taraji understands the theme:
Laura Harrier’s Met Gala look, designed by Zac Posen for Gap Studio, was all about family, the Black Dandies in her family, her father and uncle. It’s fitting too because when I saw her outfit, I thought about America’s Founding Fathers, or at least how they were presented in Hamilton. It’s the waistcoat and the billowing sleeves. But thoroughly modern on the bottom with those wide leg pants.
Zac Posen, by the way, did not fail on creativity or communication. Last week, ahead of the Met Gala, he paid tribute to André Leon Talley and what he meant to the fashion community, which speaks to his understanding of the purpose of the exhibit and the gala. I know I’ve been bitching about this all day but I’m having such a hard time understanding why this was such a high degree of difficulty for so many people.
But the white/ ivory/ pale yellow train isn’t stopping yet. Next up, Kerry Washington in Jonathan Simkhai. It’s morning after the wedding, bridal but untamed, with that exquisite open back and the sheer skirt that betrays its demure shape and length. I don’t know exactly what she means by “IYKYK” on Instagram but I can tell you that one of Prof Miller’s earliest references to the Black Dandy was a stage character who wore a white hat.
Madonna in a suit, black or white, is nothing new. It’s “Vogue”, it’s “Express Yourself”, it’s being the groom to two brides, Britney and Christina, at the VMAs. This white suit is Haider Ackermann for Tom Ford, and she went full boss with the cigar. This continues a tradition of Madonna basically paying tribute to herself at the Met Gala. Every year I feel like she wears various iterations from her own image catalogue. I don’t know that the execution was to her standard though, because this suit, seems… unpolished. It’s not as crispy as a white suit needs to be when you consider how the colour exposes any lack of finish. In comparison to the other white suits in this collection, it’s far from the best.
@indiewire #Madonna at the 2025 MetGala. #indiewire
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And the same applies to Mary J Blige in Stella McCartney. There doesn’t seem to be much flow between the coat and the vest and the pants. The strongest part of the look is the hat, which Stella can’t take credit for, so to me this is a Stella problem and not a Mary one. Or maybe it’s a case of chemistry. Some celebrity-designer pairings are instant winners. This one, to me, felt bumpy, especially that interview they did together with Teyana and Ego. I don’t know if she and Stella are so close that they’re talking to each other on camera like they do off camera or in the group chat or if Mary was just over it, because she’s always kinda over it, and Stella was trying too hard? The energy was weird and it transferred over to the look because I’m not convinced Mary believed in it. And when you don’t believe in your look, the dandy is nowhere to be found.
@girlcastclips111 #metgala #metgala2025 #vogue #maryjblige #stellamccartney
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