Queer Stars Ruled the Met Gala Red Carpet

The 2025 Met Gala theme—“Superfine: Tailoring Black Style”—celebrates the Black dandy. Born out of resistance, the dandy is a figure who blurs boundaries, brims with pride and continually redefines selfhood. There’s an inherent queerness to dandyism, not because every dandy is queer, but because the culture surrounding this style symbol, by nature, warps the rules of identity politics. And at the 2025 Met Gala, this understanding took centre stage.

Sharply tailored, extravagantly accessorized, and always exuding an air of excellence, dandies construct and deconstruct notions of masculinity. “The dandy is a figure who exists in the space between masculine and feminine, homosexual and heterosexual, seeming and being,” writes Monica L. Miller, this year’s guest curator and author of Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity.

Miller cites the influence of Bonnie Clark, a famous drag queen in Harlem from the early 20th century. Another seminal dandy is singer Gladys Bentley, whose signature Harlem Renaissance look—a top hat, a cane, a jacket with tails—established her as a masc-presenting lesbian icon. Andre Léon Talley, a “dandy among dandies,” wore regal capes and sumptuous furs that celebrated his fluid identity. Transformation and subversion of expectations are at the heart of the dandy. That’s why, at the 2025 Met Gala, the best looks paid homage to this culture.

Co-chair Colman Domingo arrived in a royal blue Valentino cape that referenced the image of André Leon Talley at the Met Gala years ago. Once on the carpet, he shed the cloak to reveal a suit that evoked modern day dandy, complete with mixed prints, a floral brooch and gray textured trousers. Classic yet playful, it exemplifies the idea that a perfectly tailored suit can also be a statement.

Transformation was key to many of these looks, especially that of non-binary star Janelle Monáe, who used the evening to constantly reinvent their Thom Browne suiting. First, they arrived in a boxy overcoat with exaggerated trompe l’oeil pinstripes. The look was wonky and off-kilter, complete with a slanted bowler hat and a monocle extending down from the chapeau brim.

On the carpet, they took off the outer layer to reveal a fitted floor-length skirt suit with a two-toned black and red palette. As the night went on, Monáe shed even more layers, subverting the expectations of put-together suiting. By the after-party, they donned a mini skirt, blazer and tie against their bare chest. Through it all, the monocle brought a dose of humour and performance to the ensemble—a staple of queer self-expression.

Doechii, who has become a suiting darling in recent months, opted for the unexpected in a pair of knee-length bottoms. The look, designed by Pharrell Williams for Louis Vuitton, struck a chord between buttoned-up and letting-loose, with billowing bermuda shorts, a satin bow tie and a cigar in place of a purse. The trailing tails evoked Gladys Bentley’s renowned tuxedo jackets, while the “LV” branding—stamped on her overcoat and imprinted on her cheek—calls back to the logomania of hip hop’s dandyism culture.

Playwright Jeremy O. Harris presented another delightful reference to dandy culture in custom Balmain. His look—with its navy tails and hourglass silhouette—was inspired by 19th-century suiting and was reminiscent of Beau Brummell, the “original dandy.” While posing on the steps, Harris held his hand up to show off a statement ring. On the statement accessory was engraved with detailed precision a portrait inspired by black dandies of the 1800s.

Hunter Schafer, who is known for her red carpet gowns, subverted womenswear in a custom Prada suit, complete with opera gloves, slouchy white beret and a blazer draped over her shoulders.

“A dandy is someone who studies to dress elegantly,” says Miller. It’s this level of detail, discipline and daringness that makes the dandy such a rich historical figure and a master at fluidity. On the Met Gala 2025 red carpet, queer stars understood the assignment.