Superfine: Three Centuries of Black Style on Display at the Met

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York dedicates its Spring 2025 exhibition to the history of Black style through the lens of dandyism. Superfine: Tailoring Black Style traces over three centuries of fashion, from the 18th century to today, exploring how Black dandyism emerged from the meeting of African and European traditions in a context marked by slavery, colonialism, and imperialism. This style, both aesthetic and assertive, enabled the expression of a strong identity rooted in taste, distinction, and resistance.

The exhibition highlights the importance of style in shaping Black identities within the Atlantic diaspora, especially in the United States and Europe. Through clothing, accessories, artworks, and decorative objects, Superfine explores dandyism as a tool of social and political affirmation. Organized into twelve sections (Champion, Respectability, Heritage, Beauty, Cosmopolitanism, among others), it shows how self-presentation becomes an act of resistance against issues of race, gender, and class.

On view until October 26 in Gallery 999 at The Met Fifth Avenue, Superfine stands out as a must-see exhibition. Included with museum admission, this initiative supported by Louis Vuitton brilliantly celebrates the richness and power of Black style.