Long Overdue: The Met Gala Finally Honors Black Creators in Fashion

Joyce Bryant wearing Zelda Wynn Valdes 1953. Zelda Wynn Valdes was one of the first Black fashion designers to achieve national prominence, known for her curve-hugging designs that celebrated femininity. Her work with performers like Joyce Bryant, Eartha Kitt, and Ella Fitzgerald helped to cement her legacy as a designer who empowered Black women to embrace their beauty and identity.

“A strategy and a tool to rethink identity, to reimagine the self in a different context. To really push a boundary—especially during the time of enslavement, to really push a boundary on who and what counts as human, even.” Monica L. Miller, Author of Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the styling of black diasporic identity.

On October 9th 2024, the 2025 Met Gala theme; Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.” was announced. It felt like the fashion world was finally taking a long-overdue step forward. This is a moment that puts a spotlight on the artistry and resilience of Black designers and the African diaspora—a community that’s been the backbone of many of fashion’s iconic advancements and inventions throughout history. It’s a celebration of history, but also a gentle, or maybe not-so-gentle, reminder: Black innovation in fashion isn’t just an influence; it’s the foundation.

History has always been told by the winners, and since the birth of America

nearly 250 years ago, “white” has been the winning side, leaving many marginalized

communities out of the books. The fashion industry offers one of the clearest examples of this. Clothing is more than just fabric; it is an expression of identity, culture, and pride. But in a society that has used fashion to divide and diminish, Black creators have been the "out crowd", forced to fight for recognition. However, things are changing and have been since the enslavement of African people. 

In response to the Black Lives Matter movement of 2020, there has been a resurgence in black recognition across industries, including fashion. As Jonquil Lawrence writes in Bricks magazine UK, Black people have disproportionately shaped global fashion trends— from nail extensions, to monogram prints, hoop earrings, lettuce hems, and sneaker culture. These are just a few of the trends that were deemed “ghetto” or “trashy” when first debuted by black and brown creators but now under the new label of the “clean girl aesthetic” it is a classy and admirable look. 

Oni Chaytor calls out the routine hypocrisy mainstream Western culture perpetuates in its consistent hatred and discrediting of trends when it is created by or for a person of color in the article Tiktok and Cultural Appropriation: The Clean Girl Aesthetic and its Roots in Black and Brown Communities published in 2022. Chaytor calls out the habit Western culture has of taking without giving credit. It’s a cycle we’ve seen play out time and time again, one that the 2025 Met Gala theme seeks to challenge. 

This has been happening for a long time, an unfortunate example of this was Anne Lowe, the first Black designer to break into elite circles of American fashion, however when she designed the wedding gown of Jaqueline Bouvier, wife of John F. Kennedy and first lady of the United States, she was not allowed to receive any public credit for her creation and her name was buried due to her race.

This is what the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s costume exhibit hopes to right, the

lack of visibility and recognition the black community has faced and has continued to face in regard to fashion. The theme “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” based on Monica L. Miller’s book directly calls on both Met Gala attendees and viewers of the Costume Institute's exhibit to confront the often-overlooked history of fashion, and the nuanced role of race and culture in its advancement. This will be the second Met Gala theme in its 77 years of existence, to focus exclusively on menswear— this will however be the first exhibition to focus on race.

While the first flurries of responses to this theme have been filled with excitement, many Instagram users also expressed apprehension that the theme may fall short of its intent. Instagram user @missgolden_lady commented, “This could be one of the greatest moments we’ve seen in a very long time if done justly and correctly.  Please, please, please do your research or ask the appropriate folks...This could be one of the greatest moments we’ve seen in a very long time if done justly and correctly...”

Others, like author and fashion researcher Cora Harrington, are focusing on the potential for this exhibit to highlight Black designers and their enduring impact. Speaking with TIME, Harrington emphasized the importance of the exhibit’s curators, Jonathan Michael Square and Monica L. Miller, who bring years of scholarship to this global stage.

“Every way you look at it, the Black Dandy is not only a performance of identity, but also a challenge,” Harrington said. “To execute this theme successfully, one must undergo an interrogation of self and the institutions that define us.”

André Doxey, Head of Design at LEGO and former Creative Director at Adidas, also highlighted the systemic barriers Black designers face.

“Let's be honest, … there's a number of fashion ideas, inspiration that came from the black culture… if you then don't invite the creatives who are creating that momentum and that inertia into the same community to help shape it then shame on you…Are you enabling them to study in the same programs? Are you providing the same funding? Are you providing the same mentorship? How are you cultivating and enabling this, this community, this underserved community?"

In recent years however, there has been an increase of respect to this relationship, most notably with Virgil Abloh, as the first black creative director at Louis Vuitton, and the first African-American to lead a French luxury house. This partnership was a significant step in the right direction and with Pharrell Williams taking over after Abloh’s untimely passing in 2021, the luxury glass ceiling was shattered.

The 2025 Met Gala is a step in the right direction, but true equity requires sustained investment in Black creatives. It’s not enough to celebrate Black culture for one night; the industry must systematically invest in the black creatives who will continue to shape it.

In America's 250th year of countryhood, it is very powerful that the descendants of those who built this country under slavery are finally being honored for their contributions to fashion—a space that has always been a site of empowerment and resistance.

So to Dapper Dan, Esther Jones, Erykah Badu, Beyonce, Cab Calloway, Elizabeth Keckley, Andre Leon Talley, Virgil Abloh, Ruby Bailey, Andre Doxey, Anne Lowe, Telfar Clemens, Zelda Wynn Valdes, Stephen Burrows, Jay Jackson, and to all of the names that were not recorded, and the faces historians of the past have tried to erase; thank you. Fashion would not be what it is today without your work, your vision, and your resilience. The world is finally paying attention, and it’s long overdue. 

As Sam Cooke once said “It’s been a long, a long time comin’, but I know a change gone’ come. ”