Black Beauty Excellence Was the Star of the Met Gala

The first Monday in May did not begin beautifully. A wooly gray sky stretched over the puddle-pocked streets of Manhattan, as the 2025 Met Gala, which celebrated the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art‘s latest exhibition, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” rolled out its red carpet, which was blue and printed with daffodils.

Beauty arrived later that afternoon, in fits and starts. As guests arrived, and spoke to interviewers about the night, they all offered their usually various interpretations on the theme of the dandy or the craft of tailoring. (Nicole Kidman to LaLa Anthony on Vogue‘s livestream: “Anna told me it means ‘tailored for you,’” she said.) It was clear to some attendees, and many viewers, that the significance of this particular event was not that it was about suits, or even about menswear, but was rather the closest thing in history to an unapologetically Black Met Gala.

The night’s beauty looks were best when they were Blackest: outsize Afros, natural hair coiffed just so, cool locs, artistic brands and immaculate fades.

The model Jasmine Tookes showed up to the Met Gala on Monday in Harlem Renaissance-inspired waves by hairstylist Kim Kimble (and sponsored by Unite Hair). Musician Coco Jones sported an extra long braid that, held in her hand, resembled a dandy’s cane; comedian Ego Nwodim’s updo, sculpted by hairstylist Miles Jeffries, suggested a church hat, or a crow taking flight.

There was plenty of inspiration from the legendary Black songstress Josephine Baker, in looks like Anok Yai‘s pussycat pixie, prepped by Jawara Wauchope, or Megan Thee Stallion’s diamond-studded ponytail, an homage by her frequent stylist Kellon Deryck. The gymnast Simone Biles borrowed Baker’s bang swoop, which was shiny enough to gleam. (Her stylist, Brenton Diallo, was sponsored by K18.)

There were also riffs on the classic ‘fro from Colin Kaepernick, who demonstrated geometric perfection, and Doechii, who went more ‘70s, and whose no-makeup makeup that was finished with a three-dimensional LV monogram that appeared to be rising from her cheekbone — a nod to creative director Pat McGrath‘s forthcoming makeup debut? Pop star Doja Cat‘s ‘fro-hawk, styled by Vernon François, matched her Marc Jacobs ensemble. McGrath again was on makeup, supplying a red lip and powder blue eyeshadow.

The celebration of Black beauty on the Met Gala daffodil carpet actually began a few days before the event itself, some hundred blocks downtown, at the Black Hair Reimagined Hair Show, staged at the member’s club Water Street Associates. Creative director Jrod Lacks, a former fashion editor at Allure and current founder of production company Echelon Noir, conceived of the event with Wauchope, one of his best friends.

“We wanted to capture the energy and the nostalgia of Black hair shows, using Bronner Brothers and hot irons as a reference point,” Lacks said.

The Hair Show entrants who battled it out on the runway Friday night included venerated hairstylists like Wauchope, François, Yusef Williams, Malcolm Marquez and Cyndia Harvey, many of whom reprised their skills for the gala on Monday.

“Especially with the timing of what’s going on with our country,” Wauchope added, “It was no better time to celebrate Black hair and the culture around it.”

Co-chair A$AP Rocky was groomed by barber Chaz Hazlitt for the brand Bevel, who carved out his serpentine braids and a whisper-thin moustache on Monday. “I wanted to give a little ‘Harlem Nights,’” he told interviewers Teyana Taylor and Nwodim, who cheered while he gave a spin. But the best beauty moment of the night went to the country star Shaboozey, who made his Met Gala debut in a tuxedo draped in turquoise beads and matching turquoise grills. Part cowboy, part dandy, it was a look perfectly tailored for the moment.

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