The Metropolitan Museum of Art recently announced a new exhibit dedicated to exploring style through Black history.
Inspired by the book “Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity,” the exhibit, scheduled to run from May 10 to Oct. 26 this year, will focus on the specific fashion style and its formation within Black identities in the Atlantic area.
Titled “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” the exhibit will focus on dandyism’s beginnings in Europe during the Englishmen age in the 18th century. The focus of the exhibit will stretch until the 21st century when the style emerged in cities such as London, New York and Paris.
The latest exhibit will be accompanied by this year’s Met Gala, which will mark its opening by adopting the same theme. Actor Colman Domingo, F1 driver Lewis Hamilton as well as musicians A$AP Rocky and Pharrell Williams will serve as co-chairs alongside honorary chair LeBron James.
“Superfine” will be curated by Monica L. Miller, author of the book the exhibit is inspired by, and Andrew Bolton from the Costume Institute.
“This exhibition will explore concepts that define Black dandyism specifically and uncover elements of productive tension that appear when considering the figure—such as ownership, authority and self-possession, ease, exaggeration, freedom, transgression, dissonance, and spectacularity,” said Miller per a statement. “It will also highlight the aesthetic playfulness that the dandy engenders and the ways in which sartorial experimentation gestures at both assimilation and distinction—all while telling a story about self and society.”
Initially forced upon Black men in the 18th century amid the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the fashion style transformed into a way to rebel by giving them the opportunity to retransform their identities based on clothing and sense of style.
Amongst the biggest icons in dandyism is Julius Soubise.
Known for his life of luxury, Soubise’s admired sense of fashion included luxurious hats, ruffles, canes, large powdered wigs and silk fabrics. According to some recounts, he would often wear diamond-buckled shoes with red heels as well.
“Over the last few years, menswear has undergone somewhat of a Renaissance. At the vanguard of this revitalization is a group of extremely talented Black designers who are constantly challenging normative categories of identity,” said curator Bolton. “While their styles are both singular and distinctive, what unites them is a reliance on various tropes that are rooted in the tradition of dandyism, and specifically Black dandyism.”
