The 2025 Met Gala, themed Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, offered more than its usual parade of custom couture and celebrity spectacle. This year, it became a cultural lens, sharpened by its celebration of Black Dandyism– a lens through which the fashion world, and critically, brand executives, could better understand Black consumers’ shifting emotional landscape and expectations. The gala delivered a masterclass in cultural fluency, historical awareness, and the sheer power of on-point aesthetics for companies serious about building meaningful relationships with diverse audiences.
Black Dandyism, at its core, is about dignity, defiance, and identity. It traces back to 18th and 19th-century African diasporic men, who, even while enslaved or marginalized, used meticulous fashion to assert humanity in societies that denied it. Figures like Frederick Douglass used style as a form of armor and eloquence. This ethos carried into the Harlem Renaissance, flourished again in the 1960s with the Black Panthers’ clean lines and berets, and thrives again today in the hands of artists and designers like Dapper Dan, Telfar Clemens, and Kerby Jean-Raymond of Pyer Moss. The Met Gala, curated in partnership with the Costume Institute and key Black scholars, pointed a spotlight on this evolution, and brands should take note of the lessons to be learned.
One of the clearest insights for brands is the redefinition of what luxury means in Black cultural contexts. It’s not simply about price points or exclusivity– that’s so early 2000s. For many minority consumers, the new luxury is about narrative, self-determination, and visibility. For instance, Zendaya’s Louis Vuitton look, a nod to both the iconic white suit Diana Ross wore in the film Mahogany and 1940s zoot suits, wasn’t just stylish and layered with historical commentary on style as resistance– a callback to times when flamboyant dress challenged the policing of Black and Latino bodies. Pharrell Williams, Louis Vuitton Men’s Creative Director, leaned into this legacy with a piece that blurred gender lines and upended Eurocentric tailoring traditions. It’s a signal that fashion– and by extension, consumer goods in general– must tell more layered, nuanced stories to matter in today’s market.
For brands, this means aligning with creators and narratives that reflect authenticity. Recent McKinsey research on inclusive marketing found that 76% of consumers say they are more likely to trust brands that represent diversity authentically in their advertising. But it’s not only about trust– it drives revenue. According to Nielsen, Black consumers in the U.S. wield over $1.7 trillion in annual buying power, with a particularly strong influence in the fashion, beauty, tech, and entertainment sectors. In addition, Black consumer trends often set the tone for broader youth and mainstream culture, meaning brands that get it right with Black audiences are more likely to lead culture at large.
Lauryn Hill’s surprise appearance in a flowing canary-yellow suit, accented by a deep blue Hermès Kelly bag, communicated joy, with a touch of regality. Designed by Jude Dontoh, the look wasn’t just about color– it symbolized Afro-futuristic confidence. Serena Williams wore a Moncler duvet-style cape that invoked protection and maternal power, redefining what elegance and strength can look like for modern Black women. These were not random choices. They reflect deep emotional truths about belonging, security, confidence, and tradition– truths brands can address in their messaging.
Brands that aim to be emotionally resonant should move beyond demographic targeting and toward what cultural strategist Marcus Collins calls “cultural meaning-making”. This involves understanding not only what people buy, but why– what values and identities they are expressing through their purchases. Emotional connection, especially for POC audiences, stems from representation, historical respect, and empowering messages.
For fashion lovers, one of the things that was most fun about the red carpet arrivals was how Black Dandyism was interpreted. In the looks most dedicated to the theme, it merged precision– think Angela Bassett’s velvet jacquard cape from Burberry– with calculated excess, like Khaby Lame’s extravagant tuxedo adorned with more than 20 vintage pocket watches. You had to pay attention, as every aesthetic gesture tells a story. For brands, the lesson here is twofold: minimalism is not inherently more “elegant”, and maximalism isn’t necessarily frivolous. In Black cultural spaces, both can coexist as expressions of dignity, aspiration, and individuality.
Janelle Monae’s gala look embodied this duality perfectly. Her Thom Browne coat, which was a trompe l’oeil illusion of a printed suit layered over a hidden one beneath, was a metaphor for double consciousness– the concept originally coined by W.E.B. Du Bois to describe the internal conflict experienced by subordinated or colonized groups. This is how fashion becomes philosophy. Brands can learn from this level of symbolism: your product must offer more than function or trend– to make a mark on consumers, it should speak to their inner world.
If the Met Gala was a moment of aesthetic inspiration, the takeaway for brand leaders is how to move from inspiration to activation. The event itself was a stunning display of Black cultural pride and sophistication, but how can brands take those moments of cultural expression and transform them into long-lasting engagement with Black consumers?
One of the most critical first steps is recognizing that Black culture is not a trend to be capitalized on for one season; it’s an ongoing dialogue involving history, identity, and innovation, and that means having Black trendsetters at the table. Brands should prioritize collaborations with Black creatives, designers, and cultural institutions that go beyond one-off connections. Authentic, ongoing partnerships that tap into the true spirit of Black cultural production can lead to products and campaigns that resonate deeply with consumers.
Fashion’s role as an emotional expression was also central to the overall impact of the Met Gala. Even if they don’t realize it, brands have never just sold products; they sell emotional experiences. Whether through storytelling in advertising, developing product lines that cater to a sense of empowerment, or peeking into the cultural and historical weight behind certain styles, the most successful brands will be those that connect with the core emotional drivers of their audiences. This means integrating elements of cultural storytelling into product design and marketing campaigns, showing that brands understand not just what their consumers want to wear, but why they wear it.
For example, a brand like Burberry, which, as mentioned above, collaborated with Angela Bassett, went further than just a celebrity endorsement– it aligned itself with a cultural moment. Burberry, a brand that, by all accounts, has been struggling as of late, decided to connect with the spirit of the Black experience in a way that wasn’t just on the surface; it was embedded in the choice of materials, tailoring, and the persona of the celebrity ambassador. Brands should be looking for these kinds of deep cultural intersections in their strategies. They should prioritize the authenticity of the people behind the brands they choose to work with and not rely on superficial “diversity” for the sake of optics.
The Met Gala’s celebration of Black Dandyism was a call to action for brands. The event raised a record-breaking $31 million, more than at any other time during the event’s 7-decade history. Black culture has a power that most brands have yet to fully wrap their arms around and activate, and consumers demand more from the companies they support. Surface-level representation is no longer enough.
Cultural fluency, emotional resonance, and historical awareness are now prerequisites for brand relevance, especially for younger, more diverse audiences. The Met Gala put on display the fact that culture is not a trend, but tradition. Black Dandyism means that style can be armor, joy, memory, and protest– all at once. Brands that understand and reflect that complexity in messaging to diverse audiences will win attention and trust from consumers.
