Jodie Turner-Smith: Met Gala 2025 Best Dressed (Lainey)

I said in an earlier post today that the fashion last night at the Met Gala was overall the best we’ve seen in years. Certainly better than the clump of trees that happened last year. And mostly because those who understood the assignment were model students of Professor Monica L Miller, communicating and educating through their outfits. This is why Jodie Turner-Smith gets 100/100 on her homework, it’s A+ by every measure. 

Like, even without the historical reference, the look is badass. The Burberry tailoring and signature house style elements, the colour – which could have ended up in Duana’s oxblood post but deserves a standalone – and the functionality. This outfit could be the Burberry logo, a horse and rider, the equestrian knight, because while of course the high quality craft here is undeniable, it also looks wearable and durable beyond a red carpet. 

Based on the design elements alone, we’ve met the “Tailored For You” theme, while staying true to the roots of the brand. But Jodie and the team, assisted by Law Roach, weren’t content to keep it there. They loaded up on the legacy, the lineage – as Burberry confirmed in a press release, the look “pays homage to a portrait of Selika Lazevski, a Black Equestrian who lived during the Belle Époch in Paris and was photographed by Paul Nader in 1891. The coat’s cinched waist and bustle reference the Victorian silhouette captured in Lazevski’s portrait, switching traditional tailoring fabrics for leather embossed with an ornate floral design.”

Come on! Pairing a legacy fashion house with an equestrian logo with a Black female rider who lived almost 150 years ago is a thoroughly deep read of Prof Miller’s text and amplifies the purpose of the Costume Institute’s exhibit – to encourage curiosity about the history of Black style. Like so many others (hopefully), I immediately went looking for more information about Selika Lazevski.

Here’s historian Rosie Harte who actually predicted that we might see a tribute to Selika just hours before the Met Gala started. Well done, Rosie! This video is just over a minute long, well worth your time. 

 

Here’s another video about Selika and the significance of her portraits. 

@history_with_amy

Learn about Selika Lazevski, a famous horsewoman from 19th-century Paris! #selikalazevski #womenshistory #19thcentury #horsewoman #hauteecole #belleepoque #paris #blackhistory #historyfact #historyfacts #historywithamy #amyboyington #learnontiktok

♬ original sound - Dr Amy Boyington

Selika was a fashion icon in her time, performing in a sport where, quite probably, she was the only. And she was so good at it that she was photographed. She may have been too good at it because, of course, not that much is known about her despite these striking images – and we are now all too familiar with who gets to preserve history and whose histories are preserved. 

Well, they tried. And they keep trying. But Black style is anchored in resilience. Which is why now, a century and a half later, on fashion’s biggest night, Selika has returned in the form of Jodie Turner-Smith. Not only was she not forgotten, she has been revered for the way she presented herself, the way she held her body, looked confidently into the camera, as if she was promising herself and those who would lay eyes on her image that she would be remembered. 

This is the theme of both the Costume Institute and the Met Gala – to spotlight the endurance and ingenuity of Black style and those who, through style, fashioned identities for themselves in their present and for a generation they would never meet in the future. That is the exhilarating achievement Jodie Turner-Smith pulled off last night. It’s one for the ages.