How the Met Gala co-hosts have influenced fashion

Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky and Pharrell Williams will co-chair Monday’s Met Gala, alongside Vogue’s Anna Wintour and honorary chair LeBron James.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute’s spring 2025 exhibition ‘Superfine: Tailoring Black Style’ draws inspiration from Monica L Miller’s 2009 book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity. In the context of dandyism, the exhibit will feature garments and artworks that explore the style of Black men throughout history.

This year’s Met Gala co-hosts all extend the Black dandy tradition in ways specific to our current moment, says fashion and costume historian Shelby Ivey Christie, adding that their approaches have not just artistic merit, but business finesse. “Black dandyism has always been about using precise self-presentation to challenge limitations placed on Black expression,” she says. “Just like Frederick Douglass used portrait photography and precise clothing to counter racist imagery, these men are using fashion deliberately to expand possibilities for Black representation. Their choices aren’t random — they’re strategic.”

These choices have made each of the four co-hosts and honorary chair majorly influential in fashion, gaining favour with luxury brands and communicating to music, film, sports and fashion fans alike through their sartorial choices. Vogue Business breaks down the co-hosts’ fashion industry impact ahead of the big night.

This is James’s first Met Gala, but he’s no stranger to the fashion sphere. James was among the first athletes to really lean into a fashion-first tunnel walk. “LeBron fundamentally changed how athletes approach fashion by making it part of his business model, not just a side interest,” Christie says. “When he started showing up with curated looks during the 2012 play-offs, he was signalling to other athletes — especially young Black men — that developing your style identity is part of building your brand. Now that pre-game tunnel walk is as much a part of NBA culture as the game itself.” James’s often-referenced 2018 Thom Browne shorts looks were a standout.