Next Met Gala Chairs: Pharrell Williams, Lewis Hamilton, Coleman Domingo, A$AP Rocky and LeBron James

NEW YORK (AP) — The next theme Meet Gala And its celebrity chairs have been announced: Pharrell Williams, Lewis Hamilton, Coleman Domingo, A$AP Rocky and LeBron James will help the museum launch an exhibition examining black styles in menswear over the centuries

Williams and Hamilton were on hand Wednesday morning to assist officials at the Metropolitan Museum of Art “Superfine: Sewing Black Style,” The spring show that the Met Gala will launch on May 5. A specific dress code for the star-studded gala — tailored specifically to the theme of the exhibition — will be announced early next year.

And it's for the guys: It's the first fashion exhibition at the Met in more than 20 years to focus exclusively on menswear, which explains the host's nearly all-male slate. (Enjoyment editor Anna Wintour(who oversees the gala each year, lists the co-chairs.)

Hamilton, the Formula 1 star, has made poignant comments about how fashion has become a way of expressing his identity.

When he was young, Hamilton said, “I was forced to accept. What I wore from my daily routine. My routine was rigid. And as the only black kid on the racing track, there was no one else like me.

Later in life, she said, “I began to express myself more creatively and more specifically through fashion. I find my identity in how I dress. It was a huge positive change.”

“I know the power of representation and how fashion can be a vehicle to help advance diversity and celebrate our differences,” Hamilton added. “I'm excited to celebrate black history … and show that inclusion and creativity go hand in hand.

Museum director and CEO Max Hollen said the exhibition, which will run for six months — longer than previous Met fashion exhibitions — will explore “the importance of sartorial style to the formation of black identity in the Atlantic diaspora” and “celebrate the power” of rejecting stereotypes and accessing new possibilities. Style as a democratic tool. She noted that it was inspired by a book, “Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity” by Monica L. Miller (a Barnard professor and guest curator of the show).

WilliamsWho among his many pursuits is creative director of menswear for Louis Vuitton, began by paying tribute to the artists responsible for the pyramids of Egypt and spoke at length about the power of art.

“Art to me is an expression of our humanity. It's where we store our history, it's where we tell our stories and the literal manifestation of our dreams,” Williams said when announcing the theme.

“We have survived perhaps the most intense hardships, trials and tribulations to ever afflict a human race, and we have not only survived, but we have carried music, culture, beauty and a universal language across the seas. …” Williams added. “We gave it back to the world and we continue to and that's what the Met Gala will celebrate — us, our gifts, our history, our food, our resilience, our beauty, our style and our strength, our writers. .”

Andrew Bolton, Chief Curator Met's Costume Institute. Note that menswear has been undergoing a renaissance in the last few years.

“It's thanks in no small part to men of style like Lewis (Hamilton) and his co-presidents, men who aren't afraid to take risks in their self-presentation,” Bolton said. He added that Williams was among a group of talented black designers who “represent a flowering of black creativity in fashion that we are very proud to highlight in this exhibition.”

Miller, author and guest curator, noted that in the 1780s, “dandy” was often defined as “men who paid particular and sometimes excessive attention to dress.”

“Historical definitions of dandyism range from absolute precision in dress and tailoring to flamboyance and flamboyance,” says Miller. The show will focus specifically on black dandyism and its various manifestations.

The Met Gala red carpet is always one of the biggest pop culture spectacles of the year with stars like Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian, Billy Porter And Rihanna dressed to match the theme of the night. It's a huge fundraiser: last year's festival Raised over $26 millionA record and a huge sum for such an event.

“Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” will be open to the public from May 10 to October 26, 2025.