DISGUISE, Gallery view of “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y. (May 10-Oct. 26, 2025). Shown, From left, OFF-WHITE, Ib Kamara, Jackets with white thread embroidery of anatomical male and female chest and torso motifs (Spring/Summer 2023). | Photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
A VELVET LIVERY JACKET from the 1840s. A late 19th century monogrammed shirt worn by Frederick Douglass (1818-1895). Bespoke garments commissioned by André Leon Talley (1948-2022). Suits conceived by barrier-breaking designers Virgil Abloh (1980-2021) and Grace Wales Bonner. All and much more were represented in the groundbreaking exhibition “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.”
For the first time in its history, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York showcased Black fashion and style. “Superfine” explored Black dandyism, an idea, aesthetic, and potent strategy with a complex history and profound legacy of influence on contemporary fashion.
A dandy is one who dresses elegantly and impeccably with particular attention paid to tailoring and individual style. The likes of Douglass, W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963), and Duke Ellington (1899-1974) come to mind. More contemporary examples include, Dapper Dan, Prince (1958-2016), Andre 3000, Jeremy O. Harris, and Colman Domingo. The concept has roots in enslavement and servitude that over generations has transformed into a statement of power, pride, liberation, and creativity.
“Superfine” considered Black dandyism from the 18th century to the present. More than 230 garments were featured in the exhibition with many examples drawn from the collection of the Costume Institute. The objects on display included historic and contemporary garments and accessories; paintings, drawings, photographs, film, and decorative arts; and archival materials. An array of Black designers was among the clothiers represented, including Jeffrey Banks, Ozwald Boateng, Wales Bonner, Off-White, 3.Paradis, Denim Tears, LaQuan Smith, Pyer Moss, Agbobly, Saul Nash, Fear of God, Telfar, Bianca Saunders, and Who Decides War.
“Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity,” a scholarly volume published by Monica L. Miller in 2009 inspired the exhibition. A professor and chair of Africana studies at Barnard College at Columbia University, Miller was guest curator of “Superfine.”
“The exhibition shows how fashion, style, and dress have been powerful tools used by Black people in the Atlantic diaspora for both resistance and self-expression. 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,” Miller said in the exhibition video below.
“The exhibition explores dandyism over time as a dynamic interplay, shifting between being dandified and adopting dandyism as a mode of self-fashioning, connected to significant moments in historical Black life.”
“The exhibition shows how fashion, style, and dress have been powerful tools used by Black people in the Atlantic diaspora for both resistance and self-expression.” — Guest Curator Monica L. Miller
OWNERSHIP, Gallery View. Left: Livery coat and waistcoat, American, circa 1840. | Maryland Center for History and Culture, Baltimore, Gift of Miss Constance Petre. Right: Livery coat, Brooks Brothers (American, Founded 1818), 1856−64. | Historic New Orleans Collection, La. | Photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
ARTIST TORKWASE DYSON envisioned the conceptual design for the exhibition. The use of architectural shapes and forms to stage the displays created handsome framing, in the same vein as a camera aperture, and incredible sight lines throughout the exhibition, which featured black walls, platforms, and installations. The choice was dramatic and read as a symbolic nod to Blackness.
Shown side-by-side, two livery garments opened the exhibition. A striking, purple velvet livery coat and waistcoat trimmed with gold lace was sourced from The Maryland Center for History and Culture in Baltimore. The circa 1840s garment was worn by an enslaved Maryland man. Enslavers outfitted “luxury servants” in garments called livery by design.
“Livery was intentionally designed to be highly visible, ensuring that enslaved individuals wearing it were immediately recognized as the property of a wealthy family. The style of livery was often deliberately antiquated to create a clear distinction between those serving and those being served,” Jonathan Michael Square wrote in the exhibition catalog.
Also displayed, a khaki-colored, wool livery coat (1856-1864) from The Historic New Orleans Collection was worn by an enslaved man in Louisiana. Made by Brooks Brothers, the garment features metal buttons stamped with the emblem of the owner of Laurel Hill Plantation.
Founded in 1818, the American clothier Brooks Brothers has a direct connection to slavery, with enslavers among its earliest customers. “Brooks Brothers provided fine coats not only to wealthy patrons but also to their domestics, some of whom were enslaved,” Square wrote.
From the outset, the exhibition centered fashion in tandem with the unvarnished history from which Black dandy style has emerged.
“In the 18th century Atlantic world, a culture of consumption, fueled by slavery, colonialism, and imperialism, used fashion to signal wealth and status,” Miller said.
“Black dandyism originates in the intersection of African and European modes of dress and adornment. Enslaved Africans were sometimes dandified as luxury servants, their ornate dress marking objectification. Dandyism became a way for Black people to subvert this by claiming and visualizing their own self-worth.”
From the outset, the exhibition centered fashion in tandem with the unvarnished history from which Black dandy style has emerged.
OWNERSHIP, Gallery View. Left: “Aime” ensemble, Grace Wales Bonner (British, b. 1990) for Wales Bonner (British, Founded 2014), Fall/Winter 2015–16. | Courtesy Wales Bonner. Center: “L’E Goldwill” bullion, Soull and Dynasty Ogun (American, b. 1984) for L’ENCHANTEUR (American, founded 2017), 2023. | Courtesy L’ENCHANTEUR. Right: “Name Spell Name Plate” necklace, Soull and Dynasty Ogun (American, b. 1984) for L’ENCHANTEUR (American, Founded 2017), 2024. | Courtesy L’ENCHANTEUR. Photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
THE CONCEPT OF THE BLACK DANDY and its rich narrative history and fashion evolution unfolded throughout “Superfine” across 12 sections: Ownership, Presence, Distinction, Disguise, Freedom, Champion, Respectability, Jook, Heritage, Beauty, Cool, and Cosmopolitanism.
Art and fashion were certainly the focus of the presentation, but it was grounded in Black history and cultural and sociopolitical currency.
Introducing the Ownership section, the historic livery garments were countered by a contemporary look from the Autumn/Winter 2015-16 collection of the British label Wales Bonner. Designed by Grace Wales Bonner, who was named men’s artistic director of Hermés last week, the mauve “Aime” ensemble features a silk, crushed-velvet jacket trimmed with silver lace, embroidered cowrie shells, crystals, and glass pearls; silk, crushed-velvet trousers; and a gold-plated brass headpiece with dangling Swarovski crystals and cowrie shells. The exhibition label provided context and noted the significance of the ensemble:
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The intricate embroidery on Grace Wales Bonner’s “Aime” ensemble recalls the decorative trim applied to the fashionable men’s dress iin eighteenth-century Europe. The ensemble belongs to a collection titled “Ebonics,” which explored and celebrated the visual language of Blackness in dress. “It was meant to be excessive and abundant; I wanted it to feel very rich,” Wales Bonner said of the collection, which was also informed by her study of exoticized representations of Black figures in European portraiture. The cowrie shell was used as currency in Africa, East Asia, and the West Indies for centuries, and represents a form of wealth and a mode of extravagance unique to those regions.
RESPECTABILITY, Gallery View. Personal items worn by Frederick Douglass, including late 19th century tailcoat, Philip T. Hall monogrammed shirt, vest, and top hat (Department of the Interior, National Park Service). | Photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
IN THE RESPECTABILITY SECTION, Douglass’s tailcoat, vest, Philip T. Hall monogrammed shirt, top hat, sunglasses, cane, comb, and pocket watch were on display. “Tailored suits show how dress and grooming function as tools of power, distinction, and dignity. Abolitionists and early ‘Race Men’ like Frederick Douglass, the most photographed man in the 19th century, wore well-tailored suits designed to express their status as free and self-determining,” Miller said.
She added that the pocket watch was Douglass’s first watch and it was of profound importance to him, “because it was a symbol of the fact that as a free man, he was able to control his own time. Given the ways that Black people were being depicted in the 19th century, Frederick Douglass’s elegant appearance was as important as his righteous rhetoric.”
Du Bois took great pride in his dress too, recognizing the power of self presentation. Some of the featured ephemera documented the care and upkeep his fine clothing required. The archival materials included Du Bois’s 1911 receipt from Newman and Sons Tailor, listing a morning coat and vest, lounge jacket suit, and “fancy” worsted wool trousers, among other items; a Spelman Laundry List for shirts and drawers dated 1933; and a 1925 letter from Du Bois to Brooks Brothers on Madison Avenue in New York City with a request about two suits he ordered.
Du Bois’s correspondence with Brook Brothers came about six decades after the company was doing business with the New Orleans enslaver who ordered a livery coat for their well-dressed, enslaved servant.
W.E.B. Du Bois’s correspondence with Brook Brothers, regarding two suits he ordered, came about six decades after the company was doing business with the New Orleans enslaver who ordered a livery coat for their well-dressed, enslaved servant.
RESPECTABILITY | FRANCES BENJAMIN JOHNSTON (American, 1864–1952), Tailor boys at work, 1899–1900 (Platinum print. 7 1/2 × 9 7/16 inches / 19.1 × 24 cm). | The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Gift of Lincoln Kirstein (859.1965.86)
RESPECTABILITY, Gallery View. Shown, From left, (Elevated) Ensembles by MAINS, Skepta, Synthetic leather jacket, sweat pants, shirt, tie, MAINS logo cap (Spring/Summer 2025); POLO BY RALPH LAUREN, “Morehouse College” Collection, Featuring Maroon wool knit sweater with monogram “M” (2019); POLO BY RALPH LAUREN, “Morehouse College” Collection, Jacket, vest, trousers, and cap of brown wool tweed (2019); LOUIS VUITTON, Pharrell Williams, Jacket and trousers with pixel grid camouflage motif; LOUIS VUITTON, Virgil Abloh, Jacket, vest, and trousers (Autumn/Winter 2020-21); (On platform) JEFFREY BANKS suit and top coat (circa 1980); MARTY SILLS suit (1986) commissioned by André Leon Talley; ANDREW M. RAMROOP, OBE CMTT, In-process jacket (2024), Courtesy Maurice Sedwell. | Photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Alongside Douglass and Du Bois, tailoring traditions and collegiate style at HBCUs were also explored in the Respectability section. In one vignette, an ensemble topped by a burgundy letterman sweater emblazoned with an “M” was designed by James Jeter, a Morehouse College graduate and creative director of Men’s Polo by Ralph Lauren. In 2019, Jeter designed a capsule collection for Ralph Lauren inspired by the sportswear worn on HBCU campuses from the 1920s to 50s.
Nearby, a wool-silk jacquard suit designed by Pharrell Williams for Louis Vuitton (Autumn/Winter 2025) featured a pixellated pattern the designer has coined “Damouflage,” blending the brand’s signature Damier chessboard-style motif with camouflage. (Louis Vuitton was a lead funder of the exhibition.)
Also displayed, “Tailor boys at work” (1899-1900) is a black-and-white image by Frances Benjamin Johnston (1864-1952), a Black female photographer. The photograph captures male students in a skilled trade course learning tailoring techniques at what was then Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute (now Hampton University) in Virginia.
A watercolor portrait of “A Student at Howard” (1847) by artist Lois Mailou Jones (1905-1998) depicts a dapper young man wearing a leather bomber jacket. “A College Lad” (1924) is an earlier portrait, when student attire was more formal. The drawing by Winold Reiss portrays Harold Jackman in a suit, complete with vest, tie, and pocket square. Jackman was a recent graduate of New York University, who went on to earn a master’s degree from Columbia University.
RESPECTABILITY, From left, LOIS MAILOU JONES, Detail of “A Student at Howard,” 1946 (watercolor over graphite on off-white wove paper, 20 x 14 inches / 50.8 x 35.6 cm). | Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, Maine. Gift of Eliot O’Hara (1962.79). Photo by Victoria L. Valentine; WEINOLD REISS, Installation view of “A College Lad,” 1924 (pastel and conte crayon on paper, 30 x 21 3/4 inches / 76.2 x 55.2 cm). | The Wolfsonian-Florida International University, Miami Beach, Fla., The Mitchell Wolfson Jr. Collection. Photo by Victoria L. Valentine
COSMOPOLITANISM, Gallery View. Shown, Foreground from left, LABRUM London. Foday Dumbuya, “Maya Angelou Passport” ensemble (Autumn/Winter 2023-24), Courtesy Labrum London; TELFAR. Wilson’s Leather. Telfar Clemens, Telfar x Wilson’s Leather carry bag, 2024. Courtesy Telfar; LOUIS VUITTON, Suite of luggage owned by André Leon Talley, circa 1990 and 2004, Quin Lewis Collection. | Photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
THE EXHIBITION WAS EXPANSIVE, exploring dandyism from enslavement to freedom, the Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Movement, and Black Power era, through hip hop, and the current period where Black designers are finding acclaim as entrepreneurs and with key roles at longstanding American and European brands.
Everything from track suits, denim, and trench coats to military-inspired garments, European-style suits, tuxedos, and period ensembles were on view, alongside accessories, such as Telfar bags, and Talley’s Louis Vuitton trunks emblazoned with his monogram: “ALT.”
A larger-than-life dandy who rose to the pinnacle of the fashion world at Vogue magazine, Talley’s style transitioned over the years from bespoke, tailored suits to roomy, flowing, one-of-a kind caftans.
Ensembles commissioned by Talley included a windowpane-pattern wool suit by New York tailor Morty Sills (1986) and a printed cotton caftan by Nigerian designer Patience Torlowei featuring micro pleats and brown silk velvet trim (circa 2020). Talley met Torlowei at Arise Fashion Week in Lagos, where he spoke in 2019.
Of course, a clotheshorse requires a place to store his garments. In addition to the many fashion designers featured in the exhibition, the show spotlighted Thomas Day (1801-1861), a pioneering furniture maker. Day’s circa 1840-45 chest of drawers with a swivel mirror, black Egyptian marble top, and mahogany veneer over yellow pine, poplar, rosewood, and maple wood was displayed. The exhibition label outlined Day’s craftsmanship and his unique position in society:
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Thomas Day was among the most prolific and sought after craftsmen of the pre-Civil War South, celebrated for his bold, distinctive furniture and woodwork. By 1850, he boasted the largest furniture business in North Carolina—an exceptional feat for any artisan, but particularly for a Black man. Day was born free in Virginia in 1801 to free parents, an uncommon privilege shared by roughly one percent of the 1,002,037 Black Americans counted in the 1800 census. His relationship to freedom was complex, as he privately maintained connections to Northern abolition networks yet owned Black enslaved workers who fabricated furniture alongside white laborers in his Milton shop.
FREEDOM, Gallery View. Left: THOMAS DAY (American, 1801–1861), Chest of drawers, 1840–45. | North Carolina Museum of History, Raleigh; Right: Ensemble, Daniel Gayle (British, b. 1983) and James Bosley (British, b. 1983) for denzilpatrick (British, founded 2021). Fall/Winter 2024–25; Courtesy denzilpatrick. Photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
TRADITIONALLY, THE TERM DANDY refers to men, but women have been known to embrace the dandy aesthetic, too. While masculine suiting and tailoring is fundamental to dandy style, decidedly feminine flourishes are also characteristic.
Women and dandyism, female masculinity and sexuality were among the many nuances explored in exhibition. Prominent women have located their style within this mix, including one of the most well-known in entertainment history: Josephine Baker (1906-1975).
Photographs of Baker and blues singer and pianist Gladys Bentley (1907-1960), dated circa 1932 and 1946-49, respectively, were included in the Jook section of the exhibition. Each is portrayed wearing tuxedo tails and a top hat. Kai Toussaint Marcel wrote about Suits, Syncopation, and Subversion in the exhibition catalog:
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The early twentieth-century explosion of Black-led entertainment produced queer supernovas like Josephine Baker and Gladys Bentley. Their audacious yet elegant style and radical expressions of individuality helped define Harlem Renaissance modernism and expand collective conceptions of performance and identity. Their visibility defied easy categorization, eliciting anxiety but, more presciently, engendering new possibilities for negotiating hegemonic constructs about race, class, gender, and sexuality that reverberate even a century later. In their wake are artist-androgynes such as Grace Jones, Prince, and Janelle Monae, in whose work Baker’s and Bentley’s genderful spirit of seductive disruption lives on.
Women and dandyism, female masculinity and sexuality were among the many nuances explored in exhibition. Prominent women have located their style within this mix, including one of the most well-known in entertainment history: Josephine Baker.
DISGUISE, Gallery View. William Craft purchased “a high-quality (if secondhand) dandyish white beaver top hat—similar to the one here,” according to the exhibition label. The hat nearly jeopardized the couple’s escape because some white observers viewed it to be too high-quality. Shown, From left, SAMUEL O. ABORN (American, 1817–1899), Hat, circa 1840 (cream beaver fur with band of cream silk grosgrain). | The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Mrs. James F. Lawrence, 1965 (C.I.65.2.2a)| Photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The experiences of Ralph Kerwineo were highlighted in the Disguise section. Kerwineo was born Cora Anderson in Wisconsin to Black parents whose ancestry may have also included Cherokee and Neshnabé. After a name change, Kerwineo lived for 13 years as a married cisgender man and passed as a white South American in segregated and predominantly white Milwaukee. When Kerwineo’s identity was revealed, it garnered newspaper coverage. Titled “Thirteen Years a Girl-Husband,” the full-page feature was published on June 13, 1914, in Utah’s The Ogden Standard.
“‘I became a man,’ declared Cora Anderson, ‘because I needed to work and because my chum, Marie White, and myself were constantly being subjected to annoying attentions from men,'” the article reported. “‘I decided to become a man would be the best way to protect myself and Miss White. Accordingly I bought a suit of men’s clothes. I became a man. I remained a man until the Judge commanded I should be a woman.'”
The compelling narrative of William and Ellen Craft was also featured in the Disguise section. The enslaved married couple exploited assumptions about race, gender, and dress in their quest for freedom.
The Crafts plotted their escape by employing Ellen’s seamstress skills and a clever approach to how they outfitted themselves. A fair skinned Black woman, Ellen wore a fine-quality suit and top hat posing as an upper-class white man. William also wore well-made clothing, under the guise of being her well-appointed, enslaved Black male servant. In 1848, they fled from Macon, Ga. Traveling by train and steamboat they made it to Philadelphia before settling in Boston. Miller described the successful journey as an “elaborate sartorial masquerade.”
William and Ellen Craft, an enslaved married couple, exploited assumptions about race, gender, and dress in their quest for freedom.
DISTINCTION, Gallery View. From left (rear view), FEAR OF GOD, Jerry Lorenzo (American, b. 1977), Coat of black calfskin leather, jacket of black cotton denim, with wool turtleneck and wool satin trousers (Autumn/Winter, 2025–26); Salvatore Ferragamo SALVATORE FERRAGAMO, Maximilian Davis (English, b. 1995), Vest and trousers of black lamb leather (Spring/Summer 2023). | Photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
DISTINCTION, Gallery View. Antonio’s Manufacturing (American, founded 1971), Afro rake, 1970s (injection-molded plastic and silver metal). | Private collection; American Beret, circa 1970 (brown wool felt edged with black vinyl and embroidered in gold with Black Power fist motif and text). | Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, D.C.; EMORY DOUGLAS (American, b. 1943) and YOLANDA LÓPEZ (American, 1942–2021), Volume 3, Issue 20, The Black Panther, September 6, 1969 (two-color ink on newsprint). | The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Irene Lewisohn Costume Reference Library. | Photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
IN THE DISTINCTION SECTION, an installation dedicated to the Black Panther Party explored the group’s political and sartorial sensibilities. The Black Panther’s standard uniform inspired the display of a black leather jacket by Jerry Lorenzo of Fear of God (Autumn/Winter 2025-26) and a long, black leather vest and trousers by Maxmilian Davis of Salvatore Ferragamo (Spring/Summer 2023). The presentation also featured a circa 1970 wool beret embroidered with a fist motif next to the words “Black By Birth, Militant By Choice, “Free By Revolution.”
The intersection of sports and fashion was considered in the Champion section. Outsized style and the confidence to pull it off has been a throughline among top athletes for generations, from the elaborate silks worn by horse jockeys in the early 20th century, and the flash displayed by boxing champs Jack Johnson (1878-1946) and Muhammad Ali (1942-2016), to the current moment with NBA players fashioning the tunnel walk as their personal runway.
Half a century ago, NBA star Walt “Clyde” Frazier appeared on the cover of Jet magazine wearing a fur coat and fedora. On display in the exhibition, the April 4, 1974, issue included the following cover line: “Walt Frazier: His Sex Image And His Lifestyle.” Today, designers regularly draw inspiration from sports, athletic silhouettes, and team logos and color ways.
African aesthetics were represented in a variety of ways in the Heritage section, including Torlowei’s custom caftan for Talley. Worn with a double-breasted suit, a crocheted, multicolored kufi-style cap stands out in “Slick” (1977), by Barkley L. Hendricks (1945-2017), the American artist’s limited-palette, white-on-white self portrait.
CHAMPION, Gallery View. Left: Clyde’s, PUMA (German, founded 1948), 1970s. | Courtesy Puma; Center: Hat worn by Walt Frazier, American, circa 2010. | Courtesy Walt Frazier Enterprises; Right: Jet, April 4, 1974. | The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Irene Lewisohn Costume Reference Library. Photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
HERITAGE, Gallery View. BARKLEY L. HENDRICKS (American, 1945–2017), “Slick,” 1977 ((oil, acrylic, and magna on linen canvas). | Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., Gift of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, New York. © Barkley L. Hendricks. Courtesy of the Estate of Barkley L. Hendricks and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. Photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Emeric Tchatchoua of 3.Paradis was born in Paris, France, to Cameroonian parents and spent his formative years in Canada. A trench coat designed by Tchatchoua in collaboration with his friend, French artist Johanna Tordjman, featured two hand-painted figures (Spring/Summer 2025). The image was inspired by photographs Tordman took on a trip to Cameroon and, according to the exhibition label, reimagine “the visual culture and people of the designer’s ancestral village in the Bamileke region.”
A coat and suit designed by Virgil Abloh for Louis Vuitton, featured an “allover motif of the African continent in a houndstooth-style pattern” (Autumn/Winter 2019-20). Another cream polyester and wool blend ensemble by Abloh for Louis Vuitton was draped with an LV-branded, kente cloth-style blanket.
“Abloh was inspired by his heritage, basing the garment on a photograph of his Ghanaian grandmother and simultaneously honoring his Ghanaian American parents Eunice and Nee Abloh. The ensemble announced to the world the multiplicity of his identity and influences as the first Black American of African descent appointed artistic director of a French luxury design house,” according to the exhibition label.
Andrew Bolton, curator in charge of The Costume Institute, viewed the inclusion of Abloh as a vital component of the exhibition.
“Today, menswear is experiencing a vibrant resurgence, led by a group of extraordinary Black designers that we feature in the exhibition. These designers are constantly challenging the normative conventions of menswear by taking classic forms, breaking them down, and remixing them in entirely new ways. I especially want to acknowledge the late Virgil Abloh, who was acutely aware of the figure of the dandy,” Bolton said in the video.
“For Virgil, the Black dandy was part of what he called the ‘Black imagination,’ a way of manifesting Black dreams in real life. In this exhibition, Monica explores how those dreams are realized and made tangible, and in so doing, highlights the liberatory quality of the imagination itself.”
“For Virgil [Abloh], the Black dandy was part of what he called the ‘Black imagination,’ a way of manifesting Black dreams in real life.”
— Andrew Bolton, Costume Institute Curator in Charge
HERITAGE, Gallery View: 3.PARADIS (French Canadian, Founded 2013), Emeric Tchatchoua, Trench Coat (beige wool twill) with hand-painted figurative motifs by Johanna Tordjman (Spring/Summer 2025). | Courtesy 3.Paradis, Photo © Victoria L. Valentine
HERITAGE, Gallery View. Shown, From left, Ensembles by LOUIS VUITTON, Virgil Abloh, Coat, Jacket, and trousers with allover motif of the African continent in a houndstooth-style pattern (Autumn/Winter 2019-20); LOUIS VUITTON, Virgil Abloh, Jacket, trousers, and blanket with allover kente-style LV monogram and geometric motif, silver metal airplane brooch (Autumn/Winter 2021-22); PATIENCE TORLOWEI, Caftan, circa 2020 (on platform, commissioned by André Leon Talley); 3.PARADIS, Emric Tchatchoua, hand-painted trench coat (Spring/Summer 2025); KWASI PAUL, Samuel Boakye, Jacket and pants of hand-woven cotton Fugu (2025); AGBOBLY, Jacques Agbobly, Plaid coat, pants, shirt (2024); GBOBLY, Jacques Agbobly, Green denim jacket and trousers top-stitched and embroidered with polychrome Swarovski crystal beads (2023); (Far right, On platform), DENIM TEARS (American, founded 2019), UGG (American, founded 1978), Tremaine Emory, “Tasman Onia” slippers embroidered floral motif with seed beads (Spring/Summer 2022). | The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Millia Davenport and Zipporah Fleisher Fund, 2023 (2023.247a, b). | Photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
‘SUPERFINE’ WAS A FASHION EXTRAVAGANZA rife with three centuries of Black history. A parade of fashion designers was featured in the exhibition. The curators turned to artists to frame their work.
Chicago-born, Beacon, N.Y.-based Dyson produces abstract paintings and sculptural installations with tension, scale, and how Black and Brown bodies perceive and negotiate space top of mind. The artist calls the work “Black spacial liberation practices.” Dyson led the concept design for the exhibition. The presentation was composed of a series of architectural installations that reflect her practice.
“When designing the space for Superfine, I wanted the architecture to have an atmosphere that was as intelligent as the history of the dandy,” Dyson said in an exhibition video. “I wanted the architecture to tell a story of migration and movement and a really deep atmosphere that reflected the intelligence of the refusals around certain garbs and traditions and histories.”
Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Tanda Francis focuses on public art, particularly monumental African heads. For “Superfine,” she designed two different mannequin heads, which proved to be a profound contribution to the exhibition, introducing a unifying thread of Black masculinity across time.
Handsome and black with almond-shaped eyes, broad noses, and shapely lips, the custom sculptural heads were modeled after André Matsoua (1899-1942). An anti-colonial, Congolese activist and politician, Matsoua is recognized as the first sapeur. La Sape (Society of Ambiance Makers & Elegant People) is a dandy-style fashion subculture in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Brazzaville in the Republic of the Congo. Members of La Sape are called sapeurs.
“When designing the space for Superfine, I wanted the architecture to have an atmosphere that was as intelligent as the history of the dandy.”
— Artist Torkwase Dyson
PRESENCE, Gallery View. IKÉ UDÉ (Nigerian American, b. 1964) Sartorial Anarchy #5, 2012. | NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Purchased with funds provided by Michael and Dianne Bienes, by exchange. Photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
“I had to use his image to tell this story,” Francis said in an exhibition video. “My work tends to link Africa to the Diaspora. And I’m really excited to see this expression of my work wearing so many different garments, [with] so many different people, artists and designers coming together to create a message for each and every garment.”
In addition, Nigerian American artist and author Iké Udé, who is recognized for his dandy style, served as a consultant to the exhibition and was featured in two self-portraits included in the show.
The contributions of the artists were exceptional, overall, and critical to the vision of exhibition. Key elements, however, deserved further consideration.
Several groups of mannequins were installed too high for visitors to get a good look at the garments, much less appreciate their details. Another downside, the lighting throughout the galleries was extremely low. As a result, the entire presentation was too dark for ideal viewing.
The dim lighting gave a solemn vibe, when a sense of pride and dignity are more in keeping with the show’s themes. If the lighting were about 20 percent brighter, the visitor experience would have been much improved, without sacrificing the design vision.
“The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, Written by Himself” by Olaudah Equiano, Daniel Orme (British, 1766–1837), after a composition by William Denton (British, act. 1792–95), 1793. | Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. Photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
THROUGHOUT ‘SUPERFINE’ layers of meaning were channeled via a literary lens. Miller’s book provides a scholarly foundation for the exhibition. The Beauty section was inspired by “Beautiful Black Men (with compliments and apologies to all not mentioned by name),” a 1968 poem by Nikki Giovanni (1943-2024). The poem reads in part, “i wanta say just gotta say something / bout those beautiful beautiful / beautiful outasight / black men / with they afros / walking down the street / is the same ol danger / but a brand new pleasure…”
Zora Neale Hurston made reference to the term “jook” in her 1937 novel, “Their Eyes Were Watching God.” Meaning juke joint or speakeasy, Jook is one of the sections of the exhibition, where zoot suits, androgyny, and the sartorial tastes of jazz musicians are explored.
Finally, the title of the exhibition, “Superfine,” was inspired by the memoir of Olaudah Equiano, an enslaved man who purchased his freedom. “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African. Written by Himself” was first published in London in 1789.
“When he had assembled nearly all of the money needed, he said, ‘I laid out about eight pounds of my money for a suit of superfine clothes.'” Miller recounted in the video.
“Although he knew the word superfine in relationship to the quality of a fabric, over 250 years later, we also understand it as a particular mood and attitude associated with feeling especially good, fantastic even, in one’s own body and in clothes that profoundly express the self. This feeling is often so evident that it is instantly recognized by others, who will announce, with admiration and enthusiasm on seeing you in that suit, with that hat, as you strut, that you are superfine.” CT
Superfine: Taioring Black Style was on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, New York, N.Y., from May 10-Oct. 26, 2025. Guest curated by Monica M. Miller with a team from the Costume Institute: Andrew Bolton, curator in charge; William DeGregorio, associate curator; and Amanda Garfinkel, associate curator, with Kai Marcel, research assistant. Conceptual design for the exhibition by Torkwase Dyson and mannequins heads by Tanda Francis
Title Wall at entrance to exhibition, Gallery View. | Photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
OWNERSHIP, Gallery View. Shown, From left: Livery coat and waistcoat, American, circa 1840. | Maryland Center for History and Culture, Baltimore, Gift of Miss Constance Petre. Right: Livery coat, Brooks Brothers (American, Founded 1818), 1856−64. | Historic New Orleans Collection, La. | Photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Guest curator Monica L. Miller gives a tour of “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The exhibition explores Black dandyism from the 18th century to the present and features more than 230 garments, alongside art and archival materials. Andrew Bolton, curator in charge of The Costume Institute provides an introduction before handing off to Miller. | Video by Met Museum
FREEDOM, Gallery View. Shown, From left, Ensembles by MAXIMILIAN DAVIS (Spring/Summer 2021); OFF-WHITE, Ib Kamara (Spring/Summer 2023); and BIANCA SAUNDERS (Autumn/Winter 2024–25); Center, at top, French, Shirt circa 1800 (white linen). | The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, NAMSB Foundation Inc. Gift, 2004 (2004.170); Portraits: From left, top to bottom, American, Portrait of a man (James Forten?), circa 1820 (oil on panel). | Flint Institute of Arts, Mich., Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch; American, Portrait of James Forten, circa 1818 (watercolor on paper). | The Leon Gardiner Collection of American Negro Historical Society Records, 1933, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; JOHN BLANCHARD (American), “Thomas Howland,” 1850-56 (oil on wood). | Property of the Rhode Island Historical Society Museum Collection, Providence; American, “Portrait of a Gentleman,” circa 1830 (oil on panel). | Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, Maine, Museum Purchase, Hamlin Fund; JEREMIAH PEARSON HARDY (American, 1800-1888), “Abraham Hanson, circa 1828 (oil on canvas). | Addison Gallery of Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., Museum Purchase; Attributed to WILLAM MATTHEW PRIOR (American, 1806-1873), “William Whipper,” circa 1835 (oil on canvas, Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, N.Y., Gift of Stephen C. Clark. | Photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
CHAMPION, Gallery View. Left: Ensemble, Saul Nash (British, b. 1992), Fall/Winter 2023–24. | Courtesy Saul Nash; Right: Ensemble, Saul Nash (British, b. 1992), Fall/Winter 2025–26. | Courtesy Saul Nash. Photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
CHAMPION, Gallery View. Shown, Center, Jockey suit, 1830–50 (jacket of red silk satin with stripes of appliquéd green silk satin ribbon; breeches of white buckskin). | Charleston Museum, S.C.; Top left, DENIM TEARS (American, founded 2019), Tremaine Emory (American, b. 1981), “T.G.B.J.” ensemble, 2024 (coat and trousers of red, blue, and brown cut lamb leather pieced in allover diamond pattern; shirt of zebra-patterned viscose satin). | Courtesy Denim Tears | Photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
JOOK, Gallery View. Left: MIGUEL COVARRUBIAS (Mexican, 1904–1957), “Harlem Dandy (African American man [head & shoulders] wearing a hat with tilted brim),” circa 1930. | Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin, Nickolas Muray Collection of Mexican Art. Right: CHARLES HENRY ALSTON (American, 1907–1977), “Zoot Suit,” circa 1940. | Telfair Museum of Art, Savannah, Ga., Gift of Walter and Linda Evans. © 2025 Charles Alston / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
COOL, Gallery View. Top: ART KANE (American, 1925-1995), “Harlem,” 1958. | Art Kane Archive; Bottom: GORDON PARKS (American, 1912–2006), “A Great Day in Hip Hop, Harlem, New York,” 1988. | The Gordon Parks Foundation. Photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
COOL, Gallery View. Shown, From left, FEAR OF GOD Jerry Lorenzo (American, b. 1977, Jacket and trousers of tan wool gabardine with shirt and tie (Autumn/Winter 2025–26); BIANCA SANDERS (British, b. 1993), “Pull Over” Jacket, shirt, and trousers (Autumn/Winter 2022–23); LOUIS VUITTON, Virgil Abloh (American, 1980–2021), Cardigan of light brown shearling with shirt and tie (Autumn/Winter 2021–22); DAPPER DAN OF HARLEM, Daniel Day (American, b. 1944), Jacket of brown and tan leather with allover LV monogram print and collar of brown mink fur (1987). | Sid Sankaran, Owner, and Prime Minister Pete Nice, Curator of The Hip Hop Museum, Bronx, N.Y.; BSTROY, Brick Owens (American, b. 1990) and Dieter Grams (American, b. 1991), Blue cotton denim jacket and jeans (2017). | Courtesy Bstroy Archive c/o Du and Brick; WALES BONNER, Grace Wales Bonner (British, b. 1990), Adidas Originals jacket and joggers of blue polyester knit with shirt (Spring/Summer 2021); BOTTER, Rushemy Botter (Dutch, born 1984) and Lisi Herrebrugh (Dutch, born 1989) Shirt of blue polyester plain weave with appliquéd stripes of distressed navy polyester plain weave and contrast collar with trousers (Spring/Summer 2022). | Photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
BEAUTY, Gallery View. Foreground, left: Shirt worn by Prince, Louis Wells (American, 1957–2018) and Vaughn Terry Jelks (American, b. 1950) for Louis & Vaughn (American, Founded 1981), circa 1984. | Vaughn Terry Jelks Collection. Foreground, right: Jacket worn by Sylvester, Pat Campano (American, 1932-1989), circa 1980. | GLBT Historical Society, San Francisco, Calif. Photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
DISTINCTION, Gallery View. Shown, Far left, WALES BONNER, Grace Wales Bonner (British, b. 1990), Jacket and trousers of wool-mohair, shirt, vest of silk satin, sash of cotton crochet and silk satin; brooch of silver-plated brass and silver (Spring/Summer 2017); Second from right, HOUSE OF DIOR, John Galliano (British, b. 1960), Haute Couture Coat worn by André Leon Talley, Navy wool twill with appliquéd braid of gold silk-and-metal thread and red silk piping (Autumn/Winter 2000–2001). | Courtesy Alexis Thomas, Estate of André Leon Talley; Far right, HOUSE OF BALMAIN, Olivier Rousteing (French, b. 1985), Coat of black cotton velvet with fringed epaulets and Brandenburg closures of gold metallic braid with embroidered pearls and crystals (Pre-fall 2023). | Photo © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
BOOKSHELF
A new fully illustrated catalog accompanies the exhibition. “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” was authored by Monica L. Miller with Andrew Bolton, William DeGregorio, and Amanda Garfinkel. Tyler Mitchell contributed a photographic portfolio of modern dandy images. Many others contributed texts, including Michael Henry Adams, Grace Wales Bonner, Adrienne L. Childs, Tremaine Emory, Ekow Eshun, Tanisha C. Ford, Kai Toussaint Marcel, Denise Murrell, Richard J. Powell, Amy Sherald, Jonathan Michael Square, Elizabeth Way, and Deborah Willis. Miller’s 2009 book, “Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity,” inspired the exhibition. “Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom” documents William and Ellen Craft’s daring escape to freedom, employing a sartorial strategy. The title of the exhibition (“Superfine”) was inspired by the memoir of Olaudah Equiano, an enslaved man who purchased his freedom. “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano: Written by Himself” was first published in London in 1789. Also consider “Dandy Lion: The Black Dandy and Street Style” by Shantrelle P. Lewis.
