The party of the year had the potential to be a political firecracker. New York’s ultimate see-and-be-seen event, the Met Gala, was also the launch of Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, a fashion exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum honouring the subversive power of black style and the role of dandyism in expanding ideals of masculinity. In other words, the A-list were showing up to raise a toast to diversity under the watchful eye of an administration bent on reversing it.
On the night, the resistance came to party, not to protest. Glamour was the guest of honour, with politics very much the plus-one. The tempered tone of the night was typified by Kamala Harris, the most high-profile political guest, slipping in a side entrance to avoid the photographers. The night was a joyful and thoughtful celebration of black heritage and creativity, but it was not a forthright statement about politics in 2025.
