The Art of Showing Up: Who Nailed 'Tailoring Black Style'

Some came for the cameras. Some came for the couture. But a few—just a glorious few—came for the concept.

The Met Gala has never really been about looking pretty. It’s a high-stakes fashion thesis, delivered in silk, metal, wool, and vision. It’s not prom—it’s performance art. And with this year’s theme, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” the assignment went deeper than gowns and glamour. It was a study in Black identity, elegance, resistance, and storytelling through tailoring.

Inspired by The Met’s spring exhibition, the night was a tribute to Black dandyism and to those who’ve used fashion as armor and defiance—tailoring presence in a world that never handed them power, and instead stitching it into every cuff, lapel, and silhouette.

This wasn’t about who looked good. It was about who showed up with substance. Who didn’t just wear a look—but wore context.

Mona Tougaard in Thom Browne

We have to start with Mona. This wasn’t just a red carpet moment—it was a performance. In a deconstructed Thom Browne look that blurred the line between feminine armor and sculptural surrealism, Mona climbed the Met steps with a robot dog by her side. Cool? Sure. Editorial? Absolutely. But more than that, it was a commentary—nostalgia meets tech, tradition meets tomorrow. She didn’t just wear the look; she embodied it.

Diana Ross in Ugo Mozie

After 22 years away, Diana Ross returned and made the carpet her own. She literally wore her legacy—names of her descendants embroidered into a sweeping white feathered cape. Fashion as memory, fashion as lineage. Forget “sleeping beauty”—this is a woman who’s kept the industry wide awake for decades. She didn’t just understand the assignment. She is the assignment.

Rihanna in Marc Jacobs

Of course she announced her pregnancy. Of course she wore Marc Jacobs. Of course she shut it all down. In a cropped wool jacket, corset, pinstripe skirt, and hat, Rihanna gave us old-world tailoring with new-world energy. She brings her life to the carpet, and lets the clothes follow. That’s why her fashion moments always feel unforgettable—they’re hers, through and through.

Lewis Hamilton in Wales Bonner

A suit? Yes. But this was no ordinary tux. Grace Wales Bonner delivered tailoring with soul—creamy, ceremonial, spiritual. Adorned with cowrie shells, mother-of-pearl, and a sash rich with symbolism. Lewis didn’t just dress well; he told a story. Quietly powerful.

Zendaya in Louis Vuitton

Zendaya gave us the bridal suit of dreams—but this wasn’t about being a “pretty bride.” This was Bianca Jagger, 1940s zoot suits, unapologetic swagger. Pharrell’s Vuitton is still shaping its voice, but Zendaya gave it one. Law Roach’s styling turned a white suit into a history lesson in cool. The hat. The tailoring. The attitude. Assignment understood—and overachieved.

Jennie Kim in Vintage Chanel

Jennie kept it subtle but sharp. Her choice? Vintage Chanel. A delicate, ethereal dress layered over sharply tailored black trousers—a quiet nod to suiting, androgyny, and subversion. Add that veiled hat, and Jennie wasn’t just playing muse—she redefined what it means to embody a brand. Soft power with precision.

Coco Jones in Manish Malhotra

Coco Jones didn’t whisper elegance—she declared it. In a white, intricately embroidered gown by Manish Malhotra, she turned the carpet into a celebration of diasporic beauty. Beneath the gown? Pants. A perfect merge of tradition and tailoring. Her sweeping braid trailed like a crown, her stance unshakable. This wasn’t a costume—it was culture, owned and amplified.

Colman Domingo in Custom Valentino

Colman never plays it safe, and thank God for that. His custom royal blue Valentino—a suit-gown hybrid—was sharp enough to cut through centuries of exclusion. With strong shoulders, a sculpted waist, and a dramatic train, it blurred every line between masculine and feminine with pure power. Colman walked like a man whose ancestors were watching—and smiling.

Regé-Jean Page in Custom Brioni

Regé-Jean showed us what happens when tailoring tells a story. His custom Brioni? Head-to-toe red—coat, shirt, trousers, Louboutins. Bold but not brash. Confident, clean, precise. He dressed like a man who knows his history and isn’t afraid to stand out from it. No cape needed—just razor-sharp lines and presence.