What Is a Black Dandy? | Superfine: Tailoring Black Style

the countdown to the first Monday in May has officially begun the spring 2025 costum Institute exhibition will explore the black Dandy so what is a black Dandy fashion and dress have been used in a contest of power and Aesthetics for black people from the time of enslavement to today and dandism has often been used by individuals to manipulate the relationship between clothing identity and power style and its role in forming black identities in the Atlantic diaspora is at the heart of the show I'm Andrew Bolton and along with guest curator Monica Miller we're extremely excited

to introduce the costume Institute spring 20125 exhibition the show is inspired by Monica's 2009 book slaves to Fashion black dandism and the styling of black diasporic identity my book and research explores the cultural history of the black Dandy from the concept's historical Origins to his emergence during the 18th century and his contemporary incarnations in recent years we've witnessed somewhat of a Renaissance in men's wear spurred on by both established and emerging designers as well as prominent men of style who've been more willing to take risks with their self-presentation the show will explore the black Dandy

as both a concept and an identity signifier Monica's research invites us to examine men's fashion not only in terms of race but also in terms of class gender and sexuality I'm thrilled to be working with Andrew and the met on this exhibition historically the term Dandy was used to describe someone often a man who was extremely devoted to Aesthetics and approached it as a lifestyle dandism has been used to think positively about black people their Ambitions and aspirations and negatively about those very same aspirations it was imposed on black men in Europe during the 1700s

as the Atlantic slave trade created a trend in fashionably dressed or dandified servants free and enslaved black people came to understand the power of clothing and style and signaling hierarchies of race class and gender over time Dy ISM gave black men and women an opportunity to use clothing gesture irony and wit to transform their identities and imagine new ways of embodying political and social possibilities the exhibition explores how the history of black dandism illustrates the transformation from being enslaved and stylized as luxury items acquired like any other signifier of wealth and status to autonomous self-fashioning

individuals who are Global Trends Setters through the stories of stylish black individuals the exhibition will be organized around a group of Concepts that Define a black Dandy but are not definitive you can expect to see historical and contemporary garments and accessories alongside drawings and prints paintings photographs and more that have been instrumental to the formation and understanding of black identities and experiences during this time once you know about it you see black dandism everywhere and in different modes we want visitors to see elements of themselves and their families reflected in the exhibition while also considering

the power of fashion its freedoms and limit ation for ourselves and Society