Is the Met Gala Racist? – Black Burden, Black Brilliance

Black Style, Cultural Appropriation, and Why We Can Love & Hate the Met Gala at the Same Time

Last night’s Met Gala 2025, themed “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” was a highly anticipated spectacle in the best way. Curated by Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams, Anna Wintour, and (honorarily) LeBron James, the focus felt like a strong statement in a society that banned affirmative action and defunded DEI. Consequently, I ponder the cognitive dissonance between Black dandyism’s vibrant creativity and the troubling reality of Black commodification. This healthy collective skepticism lingered for a while when the theme was first announced. My initial concerns were similar to Asian viewers during the 2015 Met Gala’s “China Through the Looking Glass” era. Colman Domingo didn’t get enough flowers for Sing Sing. Even though I trust Domingo’s discernment like I trust Anita Hill (with my whole chest), I was still apprehensive. Despite my unease, I checked out Tariro Makoni’s Met Gala Rapid Fire as soon as it dropped! So is the Met Gala racist or am I just a hater?

Spoiler alert: None of the guests showed up in Blackface.

Racist Appropriation v. Appreciation

Opening with Ashford & Simpson’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” was brilliant. Witnessing more Black luminaries on the Met steps, embodying Black dandyism’s enduring innovation, has been heartening. The co-chairs pulled off the blue carpet celebration flawlessly. The team showcased an often overlooked world without sacrificing style. The 2025 Met Gala proved to be fundamentally different from cultural appropriation, which involves a dominant culture taking from a marginalized culture, often without understanding, credit, and respect.

However, this visibility has a history of exploitation. Whitewashed album covers in the Blues era and digital Blackface today demonstrate the entrenched co-option of Black cultural capital. I was pleasantly surprised that the Met Gala didn’t go that route. I loved the way Domingo captured the essence of the night with a George C. Wolfe quote:

“God created Black people and Black people created style.”

For me, the central tension of my cognitive dissonance comes from competing simultaneous desires. I want to critique the pervasive racism and the erasure of Black contributions along with the dumping of waste in Black nations within the fashion industry, BUT I also want to gush over that Ruth E. Carter ensemble that Teyona Taylor wore! Even if these truths seem self-evident, how can I hold them both?

Plus I don’t want to be a hater.

Africa is Not Your Landfill

Fashion’s glamour, however, hides a stark reality: environmental racism. Specifically, Africa bears the brunt of textile waste. Because our consumption fuels this crisis, we are overwhelming an already fragile waste management system. Roughly 100 billion new garments generate over 90 million tons of waste, with a significant portion of that shipped to African shores.

Consider Ghana’s Kantamanto Market, once vibrant, but now struggling with 15 million weekly used garment imports, where a shocking 6 million are unsellable. Mirroring this situation, Kenya faces similar pressure, receiving hundreds of thousands of textile tons annually, and as such, a substantial portion – up to 40% – becomes landfill. Ultimately, these nations aren’t benefiting; instead, they are burdened by our toxic fashion waste.

Moma M. Ali’s 2021 Vogue Scandinavia article is a beautiful deep dive into the Congolese Sapeurs. It showed me an African version of Black dandyism. The images? Utterly captivating. The style ? Undeniably admirable. But the message between the lines? It’s all inextricably linked to violence. The Democratic Republic of Congo has billions in diamonds and cobalt. Yet, the average income is under $500 a year. The GDP is over $65 billion. Western fashion relies heavily on this exploitation. Displacement and starvation are the consequence. These connections don’t prove that the Met Gala is racist. It just means that we have to confront this globally accepted anti-Blackness.

The dumping of fashion waste in African nations is environmental racism, disproportionately impacting the Diaspora with climate change’s burdens. This mirrors the historical undervaluing of Black creative contributions within the fashion industry. While these connections don’t definitively label the Met Gala as racist, they demand we confront this pervasive anti-Blackness within the global system.

So is the Met Gala Racist?

This is bigger than the 2025 Met Gala.

To deny the historical exclusion of Black creatives within the fashion world would be an act of willful ignorance. The more nuanced discourse lies in navigating the double consciousness we embody within fashion’s cultural landscape. I find genuine delight in the visionary looks curated for Zendaya by Law Roach; these moments of brilliance are undeniable.

However, this conversation transcends the confines of the Met Gala. I think of Ann Lowe, who passed before my time. Lowe, the masterful designer behind Jacqueline Kennedy’s wedding gown, was renowned for her exceptional tailoring within high society, yet she often remained uncredited, denied the widespread recognition afforded her white contemporaries during the Met Gala’s formative decades.

Despite these critical observations, respect is due to Anna Wintour and Andrew Bolton for curating a theme with such resonant potential. We’ve seen more prominent media coverage of Black attendees over the years than in the past. The increasing acknowledgement of more emerging Black designers like Bishme Cromartier, Patience Torlowei, and Thebe Magugu is promising.

The need for systemic change within the fashion industry (and beyond) extends to its most visible platforms. In this context, we have to ask: Is the Met Gala racist? While its past may not have centered Black perspectives, I hold at least cautious hope that this year’s co-chairs represent a tangible shift towards a more inclusive future in the organization’s vision and direction.

Final Thoughts

The jarring dichotomy remains. Our exploration reveals a crucial link: the historical marginalization of Black designers intertwines with the exploitation of African nations as fashion waste dumps. Can we truly celebrate the Met Gala’s undeniable flair while these injustices persist? It demands a dual response: reverence for Black creativity and a fierce demand for systemic respect.

Navigating this complex terrain of admiration and outrage requires tangible action: demanding transparency and accountability. Supporting Black-led initiatives like the Fifteen Percent Pledge and BLK + GRN is a start, but our engagement must go further. We must scrutinize popular brands, especially fast fashion, flooding their channels with essential questions: Are your supply chains and waste practices transparent? Who makes your clothes, and from what? What is your plan to end the dumping in African nations?

By tagging, emailing, calling out, and boycotting when necessary, we exert economic pressure. Corporations respond to the bottom line. We must make it clear: environmental racism and economic exclusion are unacceptable. Ultimately, the question of whether the Met Gala is racist reflects a larger issue. While celebrating Black brilliance, we must also confront the burdens imposed by a system that historically excludes and exploits. Like the Black Dandies, admired and reviled, we hold this complex duality as we engage with the spectacle of fashion.

Look–Black creativity is a profound and beautiful force. We can, indeed, both love and critique the 2025 Met Gala for all its multifaceted complexities, just as Black Dandies were simultaneously admired and reviled for the audacity of their very existence.