The theme for the 2025 Met Gala, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” drew inspiration from Monica L. Miller’s seminal book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity. On Monday morning in New York, celebrities embraced this celebration of Black elegance and resistance in fashion with varying degrees of depth and flair. Some were expected highlights—like Vogue livestream host Teyana Taylor in a sculptural red-and-black ensemble by Ruth E. Carter, or 2025 co-chair Lewis Hamilton in an ivory suit by Wales Bonner. Others, like Kim Kardashian in a dramatic Chrome Hearts two-piece, took more interpretive approaches. Yet among this sea of tailoring, symbolism, and spectacle, it was Punjabi singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh who emerged as the most compelling and surprisingly on-theme guest. Dressed in an ivory sherwani inspired by the regalia of the Maharaja of Patiala, Dosanjh reimagined the Black dandy’s sartorial strategy through the lens of South Asian colonial resistance and cultural reclamation. How does a Punjabi man in a turban, cape, and ceremonial sword manage to interpret the theme more effectively than those in the sharpest of suits? The answer lies in understanding style as not just tailoring—but storytelling.
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