Each year, the fashion community waits with baited breath for the theme of the Met Gala to be revealed. Now, we finally know what to expect from the 2025 iteration of this celebrated event — and it might just be the most historically significant yet. Below, we're decoding the theme of fashion's upcoming night of nights.
What is the 2025 Met Gala theme?
Next year's Met Gala theme will honour a Costume Institute exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art titled “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.” The show finds inspiration in Monica L Miller’s 2009 book, Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity, which examines the figure of the Black dandy, from the 18th century until now.
As for what to expect from the exhibit, according to Vogue, it will feature "garments, paintings, photographs, and more—all exploring the indelible style of Black men in the context of dandyism," and will "illustrate how Black people transformed from being enslaved and stylised as luxury items, acquired like any other signifier of wealth and status, to autonomous self-fashioning individuals who are global trendsetters.”
What is the significance of the 2025 Met Gala theme?
As head curator Andrew Bolton explained to Vogue, the 2025 Met Gala theme "marks an important in our commitment to diversifying our exhibitions and collections, as well as redressing some of the historical biases within our curatorial practice. It’s very much about making fashion at The Met more of a gateway to access and inclusivity.”
It's also rare for the Costume Institute to land on an exhibition dedicated solely to menswear. In fact, the last time that happened was in 2003, with the exhibition "Bravehearts: Men In Skirts" which, according to the Met, celebrated "designers and individuals who have appropriated the skirt as a means of injecting novelty into male fashion, as a means of transgressing moral and social codes, and as a means of redefining ideal masculinities." We predict the 2025 Costume Institute exhibition — and the Met Gala itself — will have a similar rebellious spirit. Expect a sharp departure from the whimsical florals and dramatic ballgowns of last year's event, and look forward to boundary-pushing fashion.
Who is hosting the Met Gala 2025?
Each year, Anna Wintour assembles a cast of celebrities to serve as co-chairs for the Met Gala. In 2025, these are exclusively men. Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams and LeBron James have all been tapped for the honour.
What is the 2025 Met Gala dress code?
Guests of the Met Gala will be able to start planning their looks from early next year, when the official dress code — which corresponds with the theme — will be announced.
When is the 2025 Met Gala?
As always, the 2025 Met Gala will take place on the first Monday in May. Next year, that will be May 5.
