Last October, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute revealed plans for its upcoming exhibition, 'Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,' a show that would highlight Black male fashion in a way never done before.
At that time, the political environment appeared quite different. Kamala Harris was in the final stretch of her historic campaign, aiming to become the first female vice president and the first Black woman on a major-party presidential ticket. The exhibition, the result of five years of dedicated work by Andrew Bolton, the Costume Institute’s curator, was intended to diversify the museum’s collections and programming following the national reckoning on racial justice spurred by George Floyd’s death.
Now, as the exhibition opens alongside the Met Gala—arguably the most high-profile fashion event of the year—the surrounding cultural and political context has shifted dramatically. Federal authorities have increasingly opposed initiatives related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, particularly within cultural institutions.
Earlier this year, the Kennedy Center’s programming came under scrutiny with promises to reduce ‘woke’ content. Subsequently, an executive order targeting what was labeled ‘divisive or anti-American ideology’ threatened to cut funding to Smithsonian exhibits perceived as racially divisive.
In this charged atmosphere, the Met’s exhibition—its first to focus solely on designers of color and exploring how Black men have historically used fashion as a means of identity, resistance, and expression—has gained heightened significance.
Consequently, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of the world’s wealthiest and most renowned museums, now appears as a bastion of cultural resistance. Meanwhile, the Met Gala, often criticized in recent years for its ostentatious display of privilege, is increasingly seen as an act of solidarity, a gesture of ‘allyship’ toward designers and artists of color.
