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Last night, in its series of talks leading up to the 2025 Met Gala, The Metropolitan Museum of Art hosted an intimate panel discussion previewing the forthcoming exhibition “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.” Taking place in the heart of Bed-Stuy at the Billie Holiday Theatre, the discussion was moderated by renowned cultural scholar Monica L. Miller, whose book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity serves as one of the primary inspirations of the exhibition.
Guests reflecting Bed-Stuy’s stylish reputation were first greeted by the theatre’s latest exhibition, “We Love You, Black Woman.” Then the evening kicked off with warm remarks from Max Hollein, director and CEO of The Met, and a decorated introduction to Miller, who guest curated the exhibition opening on May 10.
“We want to make sure not only that you understand and see what’s in preparation for this exhibition but also see that community lies at the heart of our mission, and we’re deeply honored to bring this exhibition and this conversation here to Brooklyn, a place where art and culture thrive,” said Hollein.
Miller commenced the discussion with a brief slideshow previewing some of the artwork, garments, and jewelry that will be on display. The items brought context to the exhibition themes of ownership, distinction, disguise, freedom, and heritage. Her presentation featured work by designers L’Enchanteur, Who Decides War, Ib Kamara, and Agbobly, as well as a kaftan worn by late Vogue editor and style icon André Leon Talley.
The special guests of the evening then took the stage to discuss creative entrepreneurship among Black fashion designers: Soull and Dynasty Ogun of L’Enchanteur and Tela D’Amore and Ev Bravado of Who Decides War.
Panelists spoke on topics such as perceptions of streetwear and how the term entrepreneur is applied to their creative output. They also dove into the familial backgrounds that served as their earliest inspirations.
“Dynasty and I are from Flatbush, Brooklyn,” Soull Ogun said. “Inside our household, there was a melting pot already happening. Our mom is from Dominica in the West Indies, our dad is from Nigeria, and we’re first generation. So while we were trying to exhibit being from Flatbush, in the house it was a lot of Caribbean and African happening, whether it was the music, the food, the clothing, the way our parents dressed, or the way that they dressed us. When we stepped outside, there was also that larger spectrum of this melting pot.”
Bravado added, “My grandmother had a church not too far from here, 1191 Bedford Avenue. So Sunday mornings—a lot of us know as Black people, African American people, Caribbean American people—are when you put on the finest. And my dad being a tailor and coming over to the country—he’s from Barbados, my mom’s from St. Vincent—it was an affair to see everyone get dressed on Sunday morning.”
D’Amore discussed the link between sustainability and community. “Being really intentional about what is being created—I think you owe that to your community once you start to build it,” she said. “You have all these people that are paying attention, and you do have to give your heart to that. You do have to give who you are and what you’ve built. You do have to sustain that. When you do that for your community, it’s tenfold; it comes back to you. A major part of the success of our business has been community and world-building and making sure that our community is able to have access to that world as well.”
When asked what museumgoers should take away from the exhibition, Miller responded: “I really hope that we provided, especially with all of the themes, different entry points for people into the exhibition so that they see things that are familiar that may have happened 200 years ago or might be happening right now. I want there to be familiarity in terms of the way that people use clothing to talk about themselves—to imagine themselves differently and to just honor who they are in the moment or where they came from. But I’m also hoping some people will see something familiar, right? That there’ll be someone, something in the exhibition that reminds you of your uncle, your father, your mom. I think that there’s enough in the exhibition that will touch people in that more specific way. So I’m hoping for multiple entry points and then, hopefully, a little bit of soul.”
