Another first Monday in May, another round of fashion’s biggest night in the books. This time around, the 2025 Met Gala was a particularly big deal around GQ HQ, given that the theme of this year’s Costume Institute exhibition, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” promised the most menswear-centric Met (at least since 2003, which riffed on the historical constraints of male fashion with the aptly titled theme of “Men in Skirts”).
But on Monday night, many of the well-dressed famous fellas across the industries of music, sports, art, and entertainment attended the so-called “Men’s Gala” with a bright, dandyish sense of sartorial freedom, paying homage to the history of identity-affirming Black fashion and tailoring traditions.
From pattern-happy bespoke creations to moody tonal masterpieces, here are a dozen of the finest looks to grace the 2025 Met Gala red carpet.
12. Justin Jefferson
For much of the 2010s, Public School’s Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne ranked among the coolest young designers in New York—racking up prestigious fashion awards, dropping red-hot Jordan collabs, and generally becoming scene-leading men about town. But by the early 2020s, the brand had all but faded from view, with its founders engaged in solo projects and corporate gigs. Which is what made it all the more heartwarming to see the duo reunited on the Met Gala steps last night, reviving Public School to dress Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson in a flouncy, pleated, Prince-of-Wales-check zoot suit. Following their surprise appearance, the label’s Instagram account appears to be teasing…something—and if Jefferson’s stellar look is any indication, it’s worth getting excited about.
11. Burna Boy
Few menswear designers better embody contemporary Black dandyism than Ozwald Boateng, the British-Ghanaian tailor who has reinvigorated Savile Row with his penchant for brash tones, exuberant prints, and strong lines. And few stars are better equipped to wear Boateng’s creations than Burna Boy, the irrepressible Afrobeat megastar. At the Met Gala, the Nigerian musician arrived decked out in a searing crimson tux offset by a shimmering leather cape and a clashing canary silk shirt. It’s a look that demanded attention in the best way possible.
10. Tom Ford
At last year’s Met Gala, Tom Ford did something out of the ordinary: He didn’t wear Tom Ford. (Instead, he donned a fantastic burgundy dinner jacket from Anthony Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent.) But this year, the legendary designer returned to form and wore a perfect black tuxedo by—who else?—Tom Ford. Which is, frankly, a very dandyish move.
9. Law Roach
Few people were as booked and busy during this year’s Met Gala season as the celebrity super-stylist Law Roach, who, in addition to styling seven celebs at Burberry’s table, also managed to outfit himself in a great velvet-jacquard tuxedo with a slinky, extra-wide cummerbund and a playfully frilly silk shirt.
Per a brand press release, Roach’s ensemble “is a celebration of traditional tailoring, inspired by the essence of dandyism. A style revolution steeped in pride, resistance and sartorial refinement, the self-expression of dandies has long provided a subtle form of rebellion against societal norms.” Plus, his perfectly coiffed swoop of blond hair was perhaps the best accessory of the night.
8. Tyson Beckford
It’s poetic, really, just how well Tyson Beckford—the male supermodel of the ’90s, whose wave-making 1994 Polo Sport campaign still feels like a fixture on every cool brand’s marketing moodboard—can pull off a classic Ralph Lauren dinner jacket. Like popcorn at the movies or rain in the spring, some things just make sense.
7. Willy Chavarria
On a Met Gala carpet that felt severely lacking in vibrant hues, Willy Chavarria’s pale pink Pachuco-inspired suit felt as refreshing as a scoop of strawberry ice cream on a hot summer day. “The Pachuco is the quintessential dandy from the ’30s and ’40s, representing Latinos and Blacks who dressed as a form of resistance through beauty,” the CFDA winner told WWD. The turquoise tie, custom Jacques Marie Mage aviators, and fistful of red roses were the proverbial sprinkles on top.
6. Andrew Scott
For as much as dandyism is about perfect tailoring, it is also about dressing exuberantly, which is something that Andrew Scott nailed with this colorful Giuliva Heritage suit. The near-clashing tones, the rakishly loosened tie, and the wickedly pointy shoes brought some much needed flair last night.
“I love, love, love playing with colors,” the Irish actor told British GQ of the look. “It just feels really fun.” And lest we forget, fun is part of this, too!
5. Andre Walker
Fear of God boasted arguably the coolest table at the gala, with Jerry Lorenzo recruiting the powerhouse likes of Sinners director Ryan Coogler, NFL superstar DeAndre Hopkins, and gamechanging artists Amy Sherald and Arthur Jafa. It was one of Lorenzo’s fashion forebears, however, who looked most righteous modeling the label’s roomy, dramatic wares: Andre Walker, the trailblazing New York designer whom André Leon Talley once called “unsung genius.” Walker cut an especially rakish figure in his drapey black overcoat, pooling black trousers, leather driving gloves, and knit skullcap.
4. Questlove
While Pharrell’s pearl-encrusted Louis Vuitton dinner jacket was certainly striking, it was slightly outshined in the mollusk department by Questlove’s elegant Gabriela Hearst rig. By deploying its more than 30,000 freshwater pearls as pinstripes, Hearst gave the ensemble the dandyish glitz necessary to meet the evening’s dress code while simultaneously elongating and enhancing its graceful silhouette.
3. Colman Domingo
Colman Domingo will go down in Met Gala history as one of the event’s most devoted co-hosts ever, and the honor of strutting with abandon was not one the Oscar-nominated actor took lightly.
“I’m emotional thinking about it right now because I feel like, where I come from, this is beyond anyone’s dreams,” the actor told GQ during the fitting for his two Valentino looks, which included a resplendent blue cape as well as this technically perfect homage to the checkered wool zoot suit. The suit worked particularly well because it felt historical while also looking completely contemporary.
2. Justice Smith
During his celebrated tenure at Gucci, Valentino creative director Alessandro Michele engineered some of the most diabolical Met Gala stunts in recent memory: there was the time Jared Leto carried his own head up the steps in 2019; three years later, in 2022, Michele and Leto dressed as slightly unnerving twins. For Justice Smith’s look this year, however, Michele eschewed any over-the-top tricks in favor of tasteful flair. Half of the I Saw the TV Glow star’s sharply tailored cream jacket is shrouded in a neatly knotted polka-dot scarf, with a demure lace turtleneck peeking out along the edges. Natty, inspired, and not too much.
1. Lewis Hamilton
There was a disproportionate number of all-white suits on the carpet last night—Zendaya, Tyler Mitchell, Mary J. Blige, Anna Sawai, and, uh, this dude all sported spotless alabaster, among several others—but none of them could quite catch F1 GOAT and Met Gala co-chair Lewis Hamilton in pole position. “From the moment I heard the theme,” Hamilton wrote on Instagram, “I knew I wanted to work with Grace Wales Bonner.” It’s easy to see why: In collaboration with Hamilton’s stylist Eric McNeal, the British designer crafted a sublime ivory tuxedo—topped off with a matching beret from the London milliner Stephen Jones—riddled with thoughtful references. The sash around his waist was embellished with cowrie shells, believed to ward off evil spirits in many African cultures, while his cropped jacket was a nod to the legendary jazz singer Cab Calloway. “This is more than a suit,” Hamilton said. “This is ancestral history.”
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