“Tailor black style”. Why is the 2025 Met Gala theme (already) controversial?

Barely stated when it already annoys more than one person. The magazine on Thursday, October 9 Vogue: has revealed the theme of its landmark annual event for the fashion industry, the Met Gala. This year it’s time for Superfine. Tailoring Black Style’, which aims to celebrate the wardrobe of black dancers. Surprise, incomprehensibility, racing of computer keyboards… The announcement about the event to be held on May 5 in New York is divisive. Some are delighted with this praise of African-American style and its influence in fashion, while others express their concern on the X Network black facewhich consists of in-your-face caricatures of black people. “I’m afraid black face and afro wigs for the upcoming Met Gala…” one netizen worries. “The Met Gala knows very well that we don’t need a theme about black culture. Many articles have discussed how offensive cultural appropriation is. They’re going to have white women with braids, Kim Kardashian will love it,” quips another. “I’m afraid,” concludes the third. Magazine post on Instagram Vogue:One user added: “Congratulations…let’s pray no one ends up in blackface!”

Behind the number of disturbing comments is also the fear of cultural appropriation, or the idea that white people are appropriating the art and culture of non-Western populations. Several celebrities have already been singled out in this field. Kim Kardashian is often criticized for sports box braidsAfrican braids, which are designed for, for example, curly and curly hair. In 2021, Justin Bieber was accused of cultural appropriation after wearing dreadlocks. Seven years ago, white Australian rapper Iggy Azalea was sued for singing with an accent reminiscent of African-American artists from the American South.

For now, we know that LeBron James will lead the ceremony. The NBA star will be joined by co-chairs Pharrell Williams, actor Coleman Domingo, Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton, singer A$AP Rocky and Anna Wintour.

The Met Gala, the port of fashion

This is not the first time that the announcement of the theme of the Met Gala is unclear and causes concern. Last year “Sleeping Princesses. The topic titled “awakening fashion” was already misleading. Although the theme was about fashion history and the passage of time, some came dressed as fairy tale characters or Disney princesses. On May 6, 2024, Anna Wintour even apologized on an American show Today in the face of this contradiction. He said: “When we found the title Sleeping princessesit was wonderful, poetic and romantic, but in reality many, many things could have happened. “So I’m afraid we’ve caused a lot of confusion, and for that I deeply apologize.”

Same misunderstanding about the topic in 2022 Gilded glamour (“Golden glamour” in French). The evening was to pay homage to 19th-century American industrialism, marked by the luxurious style of clothing in silk, velvet and large veils. However, the organizers of the evening were criticized for the extravagance of the theme, which took place in the context of inflation. “Golden glamour”, in other words, the rich and privileged, once again dictates our reality”, “The gala held in the context of war and epidemic shows the stupidity of vain celebrities. It’s the most narcissistic and inappropriate thing in our history,” reads even the X Network to find out if the Met Gala 2025 will be able to avoid controversy.