The Best Dressed Stars at the Met Gala 2025

The biggest names in fashion, film, and music once again graced the steps the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City for the annual Met Gala.  Widely regarded as fashion’s biggest night, the 2025 Met Gala embraced the theme Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, which ties into the Met’s Spring exhibition celebrating the history of Black fashion and dandyism.

The exhibit draws from Monica Miller’s seminal book, Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity. Spanning from the 18th century to the present, the sartorial aesthetic places menswear at its center, using dandyism as a through line to explore identity, expression, and resistance in Black style.

For the unfamiliar, dandyism once referred to aristocratic dressing but evolved in meaning during the trans-Atlantic slave trade. As Monica Miller chronicles, Black servants in 18th-century England were often dressed in opulent gold, silver, and brass collars, padlocked to signify their owners’ affluence.

Over time, this once-oppressive aesthetic was reappropriated as a form of empowerment. Dandyism came to symbolize self-liberation and defiance—an act of sartorial rebellion through flamboyant, exaggeratedly refined dressing. Think sharply tailored suits, pinstriped fabrics, three-piece ensembles, and broad-brimmed hats.

On the red carpet, that spirit came to life. Guests arrived in ensembles crafted by fashion’s most revered maisons, showcasing sculpted tailoring, lavish accessories, and unapologetically polished styling. Yet the interpretation wasn’t limited to classic suiting. Balmain, for instance, offered an inventive take on the theme, dressing up actress Jenna Ortega in a sculptural column gown adorned with silver tailoring rulers— a clever nod to the precision of bespoke tailoring, cinched waists, and the house’s signature architectural silhouettes.

Needless to say, the sartorial tone reached new heights at this year’s Met Gala. Ahead, get a closer look at the most head-turning and well-executed outfits at the event.