"The Met Gala is always one of my favorite nights of the year. I love seeing how fashion’s biggest names interpret each year’s theme and watching looks that will go down in history walk up the steps in real time. Some looks live rent-free in my mind years later (Gigi Hadid’s stained-glass inspired gown from 2018 and Blake Lively’s Statue of Liberty dress in 2022 come to mind). For the most part, Met Gala Mondays have been all fun and games for me. I cuddle up on the couch in my decidedly not-couture sweats, grab some snacks and a glass of wine, and proceed to ruthlessly judge the celebs as they walk the Met Gala carpet.
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This year’s theme, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” warranted a more critical eye. While the dress code, “Tailored for You,” meant that celebrities and designers had room for interpretation, with a theme explicitly centered on Black history, I had high expectations. The theme was specifically a celebration of Black Dandyism, a movement rooted in reclaiming the 18th-century practice of slave owners dressing up their slaves to demonstrate their wealth. During the Harlem Renaissance, Black men reclaimed Dandyism as an act of resistance. They donned expertly tailored suits in a variety of fabrics and colors, structured hats, and accessories like canes and brooches, and played with silhouettes. All of this resulted in an expression of individuality and power that flipped the 18th-century roots of Dandyism.
With a theme this crucial in spotlighting Black history and culture at a time when DEI initiatives are being rolled back en masse, it was important for celebrities and designers to get it right—and most of them did. From Zendaya’s expertly tailored all-white suit to Janelle Monáe’s red, black, and white pinstripe reveal, these are the looks that cemented this year’s Met Gala as the most memorable in recent history.
Janelle Monáe in Thom Browne
Janelle Monáe wore an actual suit to the Met Gala (a sartorial choice she’s no stranger to), but first, she arrived in an overcoat that included an optical illusion of a suit printed on it—briefcase and all. The two-piece Thom Browne look included a top hat with a built-in monacle that also complimented the real suit she stripped down to halfway through her time on the steps.
Zendaya in Louis Vuitton
Zendaya has a reputation for leading the Met Gala’s best-dressed lists, and it felt like the collective internet was waiting with bated breath to see how her and her longtime stylist Law Roach would interpret this year’s theme. She arrived to the steps in a custom Louis Vuitton zoot suit designed by Pharrell Williams that also included a floppy, wide-brim hat. The sleek, all-white suit hit the ‘Tailored to You’ dress code on the nose, and her red manicure and Charlotte Tilbury glam pulled it all together to deliver a look that solidified her as one of the reigning queens of the Met.
Lupita Nyong’o in Chanel
Lupita Nyong’o infused some color into the sea of largely neutral looks on the Met steps in a head-to-toe aquamarine Chanel suit—cape included. Nyong’o told Harper’s Bazaar that her outfit was inspired by Little Richard. Her glam included bedazzled eyebrows that served as one of the most talked-about beauty moments of the night, as well as a matching aquamarine manicure.
Laura Harrier in Gap Studio by Zac Posen
Actress Laura Harrier’s custom Gap Studio ensemble designed by Zac Posen featured a tailored waistcoat and voluminous trousers that named her one of the night’s best dressed. According to a recently posted Instagram photo, Posen took inspiration for the look from Harrier’s family photos. “Dandyism was both a form of rebellion and a uniform of entry,” Posen said in the post. “I wanted to honor that dichotomy by applying a sculptural technique to tailoring—treating a pant look with the reverence I typically reserve for a gown.”
Doechii in Louis Vuitton
Doechii’s Met Gala debut was highly anticipated, and it’s safe to say that the Rap Album of the Year winner cemented her title as a fashion icon—a label began swirling after she nearly broke the internet at Paris Fashion Week—in Louis Vuitton. The monogrammed set included a blazer, shorts, and burgundy bow that matched her knee-high socks and loafers. A zoom in reveals that her deep, berry blush also included a Louis Vuitton logo embossed onto her cheek.
Garri Chaverst, Senior Managing Editor
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Madeline Galassi, Senior Fashion & Beauty Editor
Madeline Galassi is the Senior Fashion & Beauty Editor at The Everygirl, where she leads the site’s fashion and beauty coverage, including trend reports, shopping roundups, and celebrity style. A trend expert with an eye for the latest must-have products and up-and-coming brands, Madeline is always on the pulse of what’s next and making sure readers stay in the know.
Feature graphic images credited to: Getty Images | John Shearer | Getty Images | Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images | Michael Loccisano/GA | Getty Images | Michael Loccisano/GA | Getty Images | Dimitrios Kambouris