Tonight is Savannah James’s first time walking the Met Gala red carpet. (Her husband, LeBron James, is an honorary co-chair of the gala, but because of an injury he wasn’t able to attend.) And while Savannah was thrilled to represent her family, to be honest, she was also a little nervous—mostly, she says, because of the stairs.
For her interpretation of this year’s 2025 Met Gala theme, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” she’s taking the dress code, Tailored for You, in stride. “I love suiting,” she says. “I feel most comfortable in a suit.” To that end, she went with a design by Anifa Mvuemba’s Hanifa—a brand she has long been a fan of—in a bit of serendipitous decision-making. “I was on Instagram one day—this is shortly after I had gotten word that I had been invited to attend the Met, and I didn’t really know what direction that I was going to go in,” she says. As luck would have it, she saw a post from Mvuemba asking if anyone would like to work together. “This is actually coming full circle right now,” she says. “It was important for me to wear a young Black designer because I am all about elevating and amplifying my people. I am a number-one supporter of anyone who looks like me, who is just trying to be great at what they love.”
James and Mvuemba started their design journey over Zoom, as they are based on opposite sides of the country. Despite the distance, James was so impressed with how seamlessly the Hanifa team made the process. The pair dreamed up a take on the Harlem zoot suit. “I think we came up with an amazing body of work; I think the dress looks amazing,” she says. “The team did great. It’s fitting me just how I need it to fit.”
Glam, she says, was clean and simple. “I feel like the look speaks volumes, so I wanted to keep the attention there,” James explains. Instead of relying on intensive treatments, she focused on the essentials, prepping her skin with a secret formula, she says, that “has been a staple in my routine for the last two years” and setting the stage for makeup centered around a statement lip. Her hair featured a “40-inch buss-down” for “giving movement and length. I just have to remember when I sit, I need to move my hair,” she says, laughing.
“I’m very excited that this is the actual first [Met Gala] that I am going to,” she says. “I feel like the experience will be through the roof. I’m a museum girl. I’m a gallery girl.” The only thing missing from the memorable night? Her husband, of course: “Maybe next year he’ll be able to go.”
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