Tyler Mitchell’s Met Gala 2025 Photo Essay, ‘Superfine: Tailoring Black Style’

Tyler Mitchell’s latest photo essay for the 2025 Met Gala theme, Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, captures the legacy and continuous evolution of Black Dandyism. Instead of static mannequins, Mitchell presents living portraits of style, featuring models and self-styled men in well-tailored suits, vintage pieces, and exhibition garments. His accompanying essay highlights black fashion as an act of self-definition, rooted in history and cultural pride. Inspired by Monica L. Miller’s book Slaves to Fashion, the project explores how Black individuals have reinterpreted European tailoring into something distinctly their own over time. Superfine: Tailoring Black Style opens at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 10, 2025, with the 372-page catalogue available for pre-order now online.