A crushed velvet suit with cowrie shell trim by Grace Wales Bonner, another suit printed with Maya Angelou’s passport stamps by Labrum London, and a checked two-piecer by Pharrell Williams for Louis Vuitton were among the looks on display at yesterday’s announcement about the Costume Institute’s spring 2025 exhibition “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.” Curator in Charge Andrew Bolton says we’re in the midst of a menswear renaissance, with Black designers like the ones mentioned above leading the way. He’s brought on Monica L. Miller, an academic and the author of the 2009 book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity, to guest-curate the show, which will will take the Black dandy as its subject, examining the importance of clothing and style to the formation of Black identities in the Atlantic diaspora. “The contemporary designers that are in the show are there because… they’re really well versed in the kinds of issues that we’re talking about in the exhibition, [issues] that are related to race and power, that are related to immigration, slavery, colonies and colonization, empowerment, joy, aesthetics.” For more of what contemporary designers are up to, don’t miss Jose Criales-Unzueta’s wrap-up of the best men’s looks at the women’s spring 2025 shows. |
