Super-Fine: Suitable Black Mental Health & Black Collective Reclamation
Have we ever really understood before what the purpose of the Met Gala really is? Did we all assume it was just a fancy party full of elites who are showing off their sense of style and fashion? Yes, me too. From what I understand now after days of research is, the Met Gala, historically hosted every first Monday in May, is all about Charity & Fundraising to upkeep the Art Costume Institute for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which hosts the Museums collection of Fashion and Textiles. Fashion Designers buy tables at the event, which run upwards of $350,000, and invite celebrities to model their fashions at the Gala. All of whom, guests and designers included, are exclusively invited by the Anna Wintour, Vogue Magazine’s Editor in Chief. The event ad the attendees, curated months in advanced, is said to revolve around cultural relevance, and also marks the beginning of the Institute’s Annual Fashion Exhibition. The theme for this year’s Met Gala was, "Tailored for You." It is inspired by the concept of “Black dandyism” and Monica E. Miller’s book “Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity”; where Black men and women have used fashion, particularly refined tailoring, as a powerful tool for self-expression and resistance. (Link)
Remember your grandpa’s and grandma’s outfits on Easter? Or Sunday best at Church? The way chains graced the suits of your uncle’s pinstriped pants? Top hats and canes; vibrantly dressed femmes in their stockings and gloves. Throughout the decades, Black people have been showing up and showing out in their best dressed for any and every occasion. Black history oozes through everything we do, especially Style and Expression. So what part of our history does Black Dandyism personify?
Fashion has been used by Black folks to assert our identity, challenge stereotypes, and claim space in societies that have marginalized and erased Black identity for centuries. (Link) Beginning as far back as the 1900's, Black dandyism is shown throughout almost every household’s family photo albums. Black men and women were regally fitted and suited from head to toe, symbolizing their status and style. Black folks have always used style as a tool for freedom and self expression, much like we do today in the art world and beyond. What it means for Black folks to put on their best dressed, means escaping the harsh realities of our past. It meant resistance in every sense of the word. When the world turned it’s back on Black folks, Black folks then reclaimed every genre, every theme, and celebrated our uniqueness.
Black style, including dandyism, is more than just visually appealing, it’s a declaration of our place in society. It is revealing and rewriting our groundedness and roots in what has become, all our own; another layer of what is and has been Black culture. Being or personifying Black dandyism was at first, a way of dressing up slaves, making them “luxury goods.” It was also very controversial for men in particular, because dandyism was recognized as solely queer representation. Modern black dandyism has shifted towards lively and dynamic fits that still caters to the tailoring and suited menswear details. Several regions of the world at several points in history serve as a totem for a distinct story in our history and is always expressed exceptionally with true elegance. From wearing zoot suits in The Harlem Renaissance to three piece suits worn by jazz musicians around the country, Black dandyism has transformed in real time and has slowly but surely been reclaimed and modernized by various fashion icons such as Andre Leon Talley and musical figures such as Andre 3000, Fonzworth Bentley and Jidenna, who from the beginning of his career labeled himself as “The Classic Man.
Fashion is and always will be a pathway towards creativity, self expression and overall health. Without our ability to transcend our emotions and our thoughts, we’re less than fine. We’re ill. Though the Met Gala as a prominent fashion event has influenced trends, it has also served as a way to perpetuate negative beauty standards, and the capitalization of the Black image, creating societal pressures to conform to certain degrees of white supremacy, which can impact our personal mental health and self concept. Individuals, especially Black folks with mental health conditions like anxiety, depression, and body dysmorphia, may become overly focused on their appearance, their role in the industry and feel pressured to conform to fashion norms and acts of people pleasing. By showcasing specific fashion trends, being an invite only high status event that raises funds for a white-owned establishment, and not prioritizing a wider diverse perspective, can contribute to the expectations surrounding appearance, rank, and bias; potentially exacerbating existing mental health challenges or creating new ones.
The theme's emphasis on Tailoring & dandyism and Black self-expression, as well as, the addition of a div variation of diverse co-chairs, can offer a counterpoint to these pressures and biases, highlighting the importance of using fashion as a tool for self-discovery and empowerment while sharing the platform to express a unique part of black history and culture. Black dandyism is far from being just “well dressed”; it’s used to decolonize historical use of tailored fashion as a whole, reclaiming our spotlight where it was repeatedly taken from us. The theme comes at a perfect time where diversity & inclusion is a centered topic in our policies, not only as a country but for the worldwide. While topics like marginalization, stereotypes, and even genocide are now coming to the forefront, it’s important for platforms and stages such as the Met Gala to rewrite and redefine what their priorities are. Perhaps this is the greatest time more than ever to make themes like Black Tailoring & Black Dandyism, a habit to amplify diverse perspectives, important points in our history and an emphasis on rebellion as a tool for resistance. It would be equally as important to direct funds to equally and additionally amplify black costume designers and their spaces, while also aiding their own goals of maintaining and preserving the Met Museum.
It’s important for us, especially Black folks, to reclaim our health and stay empowered; particularly when it comes to societal standards and pressures while staying aware of brands, companies and platforms who attempt to perform and appropriate all in the name of their own agenda. This is in no way saying the Met does, but it’s important for us to apply the same energy we’ve used in every occasion of oppression: to reclaim, resist and rejoice.
