NEW YORK (AP) — Let the year's biggest fashion party begin! A rainy Met Gala got underway Monday with a tuxedoed choir and a trend true to the menswear theme: Emma Chamberlain, Zendaya, Teyana Taylor and many other women in pinstripes and other traditional men's detailing.
Chamberlain and Zuri Hall were among those who wore sleek, sexy gowns that play on men’s suiting in pinstripes as they walked up the grand steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Zendaya, a co-host last year, wore a perfectly tailored white trouser suit with a matching wide-brim hat.
The menswear vibe for women was frequent and expected, "women wanting to maintain a traditionally feminine dress silhouette while still respecting the theme,” said William Dingle, director of style for blackmenswear.com, a cultural impact agency that focuses on uplifting Black men.
The suggested dress code, “Tailored for You,” is inspired by Black dandyism. Taylor went for a stunning Zoot Suit look with a red, feather-adorned top hat and a huge matching cape dripping with flowers and bling. She collaborated with famed costumer designer Ruth E. Carter.
The Zoot was popularized in Harlem in the 1940s.
Colman Domingo, one of the evening's hosts, wore a pleated, gold adorned cape over a gray and black suit, his jacket a pearled windowpane design with a huge dotted black flower. His look, including his cape and a dotted black scarf at his neck, evoked the late André Leon Talley, the fashion icon who made history as a rare Black editor at Vogue.
Domingo, in Valentino, arrived with Vogue’s Anna Wintour, dressed in a baby blue coat over a shimmery white gown by Louis Vuitton, a gala sponsor. Fellow co-chair Lewis Hamilton donned a jaunty ivory tuxedo with a cropped jacket and matching beret.
Colman has epitomized contemporary dandyism in a variety of looks over the years.
Pharrell Williams, another co-host, was demure in a double-breasted, beaded evening jacket and dark trousers. He kept his dark shades on while posing for the cameras. Williams walked with his wife, Helen Lasichanh, in a black bodysuit and matching jacket.
Williams, the Louis Vuitton menswear creative director, said his 15,000 pearls were arranged in a pinstripe design and the jacket took 400 hours to construct.
Diana Ross, meanwhile, swallowed the carpet in a huge white coat over a gold dress.
Walton Goggins, a guest this year with others from “The White Lotus,” wore a deconstructed suit look with seams out and a pleated skirt he twirled for the cameras.
LeBron James, the NBA superstar, was named honorary chair of the evening but bowed out at the last minute due to a knee injury.
Other Met Gala looks that stood out
Monica L. Miller, whose book inspired the evening, wore a bejeweled cropped cape over a dress adorned with cowrie shells by Grace Wales Bonner. It's a direct connection to a piece in the gala's companion Metropolitan Museum of Art spring exhibit that Miller guest curated.
What other women killed the menswear game? Coco Jones in an ivory tuxedo coat with a train over matching trousers, both covered in chunky embellishment.
“Coco Jones absolutely leaned in,” Dingle said. “I love the pearl and gem embellishments here, as well as the long coat, and even the necklace. Because she’s taller, the long coat even further elongates her legs. This is a fantastic look.”
Her look was by Indian designer Manish Malhotra. She said she wanted to honor Black excellence by going all out.
Sarah Snook of “Succession” fame and fresh off a Tony nomination for “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” was successfully on theme as well.
“She's in a two-button, double-breasted jacket fashioned into a tailcoat-like train in satin fabric for luster, plus crimson lining for a pop of color,” Dingle said. “I like the multiple brooches on the wide lapel.”
Gigi Hadid, on the other hand, went all woman. She pulled up the spirit of Josephine Baker in a shimmery gold halter gown by Miu Miu that hugged her hips.
How to watch the 2025 Met Gala
Vogue will livestream the gala starting at 6 p.m. Eastern on Vogue.com, its YouTube channel and across its other digital platforms. Teyana Taylor, La La Anthony and Ego Nwodim will host the stream. Emma Chamberlain will also do interviews on the carpet.
The Associated Press is livestreaming celebrity departures from the Mark Hotel and will stream the gala carpet on delay beginning at 6:30 p.m. The feeds will be available on YouTube and APNews.com.
E! will begin live coverage at 6 p.m. on TV. The livestream will be available on Peacock, E! Online and YouTube, along with the network's other social media feeds.
This year's Met Gala dress code is...
This year the dress code is about tailoring and suiting as interpreted through the history and meaning of Black dandyism across the Atlantic diaspora. The theme is inspired by the annual spring exhibition, which this year is based in large part on Miller's book, “Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity."
“Historical manifestations of dandyism range from absolute precision in dress and tailoring to flamboyance and fabulousness in dress and style,” Miller wrote in the exhibit catalog. “Whether a dandy is subtle or spectacular, we recognize and respect the deliberateness of the dress, the self-conscious display, the reach for tailored perfection, and the sometimes subversive self-expression.”
The exhibit, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” draws on other sources beyond Miller's book. It's organized into 12 sections. Each symbolizes a characteristic of dandy style as defined by Zora Neale Hurston in her 1934 essay, “Characteristics of Negro Expression.”
Among them: ownership, presence, distinction, disguise, freedom, respectability and heritage. Presumably, for gala guests who do deep-dive research (or have stylists to do it), some of these factors will play out on the museum steps that serve as the event's red carpet.
How much money does the Met Gala raise?
The gala had already raised a record $31 million, Metropolitan Museum of Art CEO Max Hollein said Monday — the first time the fundraiser for the Met’s Costume Institute has crossed the $30 million mark and eclipsing last year’s haul of more than $26 million.
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Associated Press writers Beatrice Dupuy and Jocelyn Noveck in New York contributed to this story.
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For full coverage of the Met Gala, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/met-gala
Leanne Italie, The Associated Press
