I don’t know if I was dreaming or what,
but I think I watched a documentary that a Foxholer suggested to me about black dandies.
For the life of me,
I cannot remember the name but it was about African dandies who live in a poor town or something.
anyhoo,
i really enjoyed many of the looks at the met gala this year.
(some of) the fashions gave drama and decadence.
you can tell who did their homework.
the theme this year was about black dandyism and had a 98% black committee.
black dandyism was used as a political statement.
learning pharrell had lisa from BLACKPINK wear rosa parks on her crotch:
BLACKPINK’s Lisa’s Met Gala Outfit Faces Backlash Over Underwear Featuring Rosa Parks https://t.co/llTtSptLbD #MetGala #LisaXMetGala2025 #Lisa pic.twitter.com/lH6FbmQTQC
— ktotheworld (@ktotheworld11) May 6, 2025
that was not the tribute he thought it was.
it was tone deaf at best; performance art at worst.
i still don’t know what the hell he had sabrina carpenter wearing:
it giving ringmaster at the circus.i don’t even want to get into that symbolism with a white vixen.
tiktok had thoughts and i watched a video that put things into perspective…
so yes,
this event was “we are here“.
it’s sad we always have to show we have always been here.
so much so:
The Met raised 31 million dollars — the most in its 77-year history.
— AB/G (@bibbygregory) May 5, 2025
with an administration who is trying to play us and strip our rights away.
ask many of those who attended tho:
“Who did you vote for last election?”
this is the issue i can see in point from tiktok.
there was many who were very loud in who they were voting for.
tyler perry,
gabrielle union,
kerry washington,
rih,
and bad bunny but the reality is:
When you have a bunch of millionaires playing dress up,
many who probably voted for this current administration,
don’t be surprised when the message falls flat.
for many who live in a bubble,
this was simply a costume ball for disconnected elite.
ones who flirt with revolution but rarely takes her out for dinner.
that is essentially what black dandies were doing.
they were definitely not rich black people.
so for some of the folks,
it was performing political edge without the burden of an actual stance.
i do feel like colman domingo was all in tho:
i LOVED his looks:
for many others,
it was just another scene in new yawk where the cameras flash,
the wine flows,
and the messaging gets lost between IG engagement and the after party.
I’m conflicted and double minded when it comes to this, I can intellectually understand where @ashleytheebarroness is coming from but what is the ultimate point?
What I mean is you could totally eliminate “Black Dandyism” and still get to the same fashions that we saw at the Met gala; it was basically 1920s to 1940s style and tailoring.
If you really want to go there the Met gala is problematic, but in ways people don’t really want to talk about. The Met gala presents and projects a certain type of arrival, wealth, and access that doesn’t exist for Black America. It also gives the illusion of parody with white wealth that doesn’t exist, if you look at the pictures they’re just as many white people as black people and everyone is “rich” because the tickets start at $75,000 per person and up to $300,000 per table. Most black people are working class, really working poor, and below.
I like Damson Idris, but he’s a B list actor/celebrity at best on his way to becoming A-list; Idris doesn’t have $75,000 for a ticket to the Met, it’s more likely that it was included as part of the marketing budget for his upcoming F1 movie.
We live in perilous times, black smiles, laughter, and joy is a form of resistance and rebellion. I get the point, but I’m cool with the Met and black dandyism in this moment.