Threaded in Legacy: Black Dandyism, the 2025 Met Gala, and the Ancestral Roots of Tailoring
- Sahar
- May 6
- 5 min read
The 2025 Met Gala was more than a display of fashion; it was a profound reminder to pay homage to the rich tapestry of Black sartorial expression. Centered around the Costume Institute's exhibition, Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, the event celebrated the intricate relationship between fashion, identity, and resistance within the Black community.
Curated by Monica L. Miller, author of Slaves to Fashion, alongside Andrew Bolton, the exhibition showcased over 200 artifacts, tracing the evolution of Black menswear from the 18th century to the present day (The Guardian).
Black Dandyism: Elegance as Empowerment
Black dandyism has long served as a medium for self-expression and defiance against societal constraints. Emerging prominently during the Harlem Renaissance, figures like Gladys Bentley challenged gender norms through tailored menswear, while the zoot suit became a symbol of youthful rebellion and cultural pride. This tradition continues today, with artists like Pharrell Williams and A$AP Rocky redefining modern elegance (The Guardian, Vogue).
At the 2025 Met Gala, Janelle Monáe captivated attendees with a custom Thom Browne ensemble that masterfully blended classic tailoring with avant-garde artistry. Her look featured a black, white, and red pinstriped overcoat adorned with trompe l'oeil details, including a tie, lapel, and briefcase, all crafted from duchess silk and embroidered grosgrain ribbons. Complementing the ensemble was a surreal Magritte-inspired bowler hat and a unique monocle fused with a timepiece, adding a whimsical touch to her dandy-inspired attire (Vogue).
A standout element of Monáe's outfit was a 5.5-carat emerald-cut diamond brooch, innovatively crafted from 1800 Cristalino tequila. This avant-garde accessory, encased in over 70 carats of white sapphire and bordered with upside-down diamonds emulating the texture of the agave plant, symbolized transformation and creativity under pressure (Page Six).
Monáe's ensemble not only paid homage to Black dandyism but also echoed the themes of the Costume Institute's exhibition Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, celebrating the rich history and cultural significance of Black tailoring traditions (EW.com).
Tailoring Across Cultures: A Universal Language of Identity
Tailoring has long served as a visual language in African and Indigenous societies, encoding stories of lineage, spirituality, social hierarchy, and resistance. Across West Africa, the act of commissioning a garment is deeply ceremonial, often aligned with major life transitions such as birth, marriage, initiation, or death.
In countries like Nigeria, Senegal, and Ghana, artisans craft garments like the agbada, boubou, and kente robes not only for their beauty but for their symbolic resonance.
The textiles themselves, woven from cotton, silk, or raffia, are dyed with natural elements and often feature geometric patterns, animal motifs, or proverbs embedded within the weave.
These garments are more than fabric and thread; they are archives of belief systems and ancestral memory. Colors carry meaning: gold for wealth, white for purity, blue for peace. Patterns can signify clan affiliations, honor roles within society, or reflect moral values. In the Yoruba tradition, for example, the aso-ebi system allows entire families or communities to wear matching tailored garments as a show of solidarity during ceremonies.
Indigenous nations across the Americas have similarly used beadwork, weaving, and tailoring to reflect seasonal cycles, gender roles, and tribal identities. In these traditions, tailoring is a sacred art, a cultural technology passed down through generations, often from elder to apprentice.
What the Western world often views as "fashion innovation" is frequently a reworking of these ancient traditions. Tailoring, in its truest cultural context, is an instrument of self-determination and heritage.
Tuareg Tagelmust: Indigo Threads of the Sahara
In the vast, arid landscapes of the Sahara, the Tuareg, a semi-nomadic Berber people spread across Niger, Mali, Libya, Algeria, and Burkina Faso, have developed one of the most iconic and enduring fashion traditions in the world. The tagelmust, an indigo-dyed turban and veil worn by Tuareg men, is both practical and deeply symbolic. It serves to protect against the harsh desert winds and sun, but also functions as a marker of identity, masculinity, and spirituality.
The process of creating these garments is labor-intensive and highly skilled. Indigo, derived from native plants, is fermented and used to dye long strips of cotton fabric. The resulting turbans are wrapped skillfully around the head, covering the face in a way that aligns with Tuareg social codes, particularly the value placed on discretion and stoicism. Over time, the indigo pigment seeps into the skin, leaving a blue tint that has earned the Tuareg the nickname, "The Blue People of the Sahara."
But beyond aesthetics, the tagelmust plays a vital social role. It is worn during rites of passage, religious ceremonies, and public gatherings. Its styling and richness can indicate wealth, clan lineage, and spiritual knowledge. The more intense the indigo, the more revered the wearer. In Tuareg society, a man's veil is a deeply personal, almost sacred extension of self, much like a knight's armor or a priest's vestments.
In a world increasingly detached from the sources of its fashion, the Tuareg reminds us that clothing can still be a living ritual, woven with meaning, shaped by the environment, and grounded in respect for the elements and the divine.
La Sape: Swagger, Spirit, and Survival
The Republic of Congo, specifically the cities of Brazzaville and Kinshasa, has birthed one of the most vibrant and subversive style movements in modern history: La Sape, short for La Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes.
This “Society of Ambiance-Makers and Elegant People” may appear at first glance to be about flamboyant fashion, but it is rooted in far deeper soil, including colonial resistance, identity reclamation, and the radical joy of self-expression.
La Sape began as a response to the brutal dehumanization of colonial rule. When European colonizers arrived in Central Africa, they imposed strict dress codes and hierarchy, often relegating African people to laborer’s uniforms and denying them participation in “civilized” European customs.
In a powerful act of cultural rebellion, Congolese men began to adopt and reinterpret European fashion, not out of mimicry, but to subvert the colonial gaze. They turned the suit into a canvas of African elegance, injecting it with color, pride, and rhythm.
Today’s Sapeurs invest extraordinary care and resources into their wardrobes. Three-piece suits in rich magentas, lime greens, or sapphire blues are accessorized with silk pocket squares, walking sticks, and Italian leather shoes. But make no mistake, this isn’t just fashion for fashion’s sake. It is a performance of pride, an assertion of dignity in the face of poverty, and a philosophy of life.
Many Sapeurs live modestly, even sacrificing basic needs to maintain their wardrobe. They walk the streets not just as men in suits, but as living sculptures, embodiments of grace, creativity, and resilience.
More than a look, La Sape is a way of being, a culture that teaches us that elegance is not reserved for the wealthy, and that style, when wielded with purpose, can be a tool of power, protest, and poetry.
The 2025 Met Gala illuminated the profound narratives embedded in Black and Indigenous fashion. Honoring these traditions, we recognize clothing as more than mere adornment; it is a chronicle of history, a statement of identity, and a testament to the enduring spirit of communities worldwide.
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