Keke Palmer always knew what she wanted her 2025 Met Gala look—designed by Vera Wang—to be. First and foremost, the actor was resolute in her desire to pay tribute to Dorothy Dandridge, who, in 1954, became the first-ever Black Academy Award nominee for best actress for her role in Carmen Jones. “Much of [the look] was about the weight of Black dandyism and how it has been used to activate and reshape narratives,” Palmer tells Vogue. “I wanted to zero in on an inspiration of someone who did that in media from the start, and that was Dorothy Dandridge.”
Not only was Dandridge a talented actor (she also earned a Golden Globes nomination for her role in Porgy and Bess), she was also a regular performer at some of New York City’s most legendary venues, including the Apollo Theater and the Cotton Club. But during her life, Dandridge was subject to racism within the entertainment industry—including losing Black roles to white actors who performed them in blackface, and being passed over for lead roles opposite white men—prompting her to get involved with the NAACP and the National Urban League.
“After seeing her in Carmen Jones, I completely related to Keke’s fascination with her,” Wang says. “Dorothy represented, in parallel, a true moment for African American success and recognition in Hollywood, and this concept felt entirely authentic to both of us.”
Palmer was keen on honoring Wang’s house codes in her sartorial homage to Dandridge, allowing the two to land on a feminine interpretation of men’s suiting—with embellishments galore. “From the start, it was truly a meeting of the minds,” Wang says. The look is composed of four separate pieces: a fitted ivory silk faille bodice was outfitted with a lapel neckpiece, which she wore with a pair of black pinched-seam tuxedo pants fabricated in Italian silk and wool radzmire. Over the trousers, she wears a sweeping, bubble-hemmed ball skirt, embroidered with Swarovski crystals and glass pearls. She also added a black ostrich feather headband, for a final dose of drama.
“Story-wise, it’s about a Black beauty who used said beauty and fashion to open doors. That, to me, is Black dandyism at its core from an impact standpoint,” Palmer says of the look. “We also took the tailoring into account and paid homage to the male tuxedo, which was fun because I love playing with the masculine and feminine.”
At the 2025 Met Gala, with a little help from Vera Wang, Keke Palmer brought Old Hollywood into the modern era.
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