At Cartiers intimate but glitteringwith star power and fine jewelryannual Met Gala pre-party on Monday, everyone had a riveting story to tell. The mood in Bemelmans Bar felt especially energized and festive, as A-list guests readied to celebrate the Costume Institutes exhibit Superfine: Tailoring Black Style while weaving their own narratives of history, family, and personal style through the Tailored for You dress code.
Ayo Edebiri considered the history of dandyism and what it meant to her. There were just so many different ins: Im half Nigerian, I grew up in the church, Im a Black person. I was thinking about [how] the womens and queer [experience] blends in, the Met Gala host committee member told Vanity Fair. So it was all kind of swirling around. Edebiris black leather trench with ribbons flowing down from the pointed cuffs, and white gown with majestically draped coral embellishments by Ferragamo creative director Maximilian Davis also paid homage to her Nigerian fathers Edo and Yoruba roots.
Edebiri worked with her stylist, Danielle Goldberg, to accessorize with meaningful jewels, like a Clash de Cartier 18k rose gold ring with a cluster of apple green chrysoprase, and an adorable 1966 Cartier Collection yellow gold doggy brooch adorned with rubies. I love this little dog brooch, partially because Im missing my dog because hes back home, said Edebiri, lifting a sheer-gloved hand to playfully move the head back and forth. Its like the cutest thing ever.
The Emmy winner wasnt the only one whose luxury jewelry choice reminded her of home. Miley Cyrus adorned a custom cropped, croc-embossed leather top and ball gown skirt by Ala�a by Pieter Mulier with a triple-layer, yellow and white gold Cartier Collection necklace from 1988.
By Nadine Ijewere/Cartier.
Its from the 1980s, so it reminds me a lot of my mom, said Cyrus of her mother, Tish. That was her prime, and she will tell you she hasnt come out of the 80s yet. I dont have the heart to tell her that its 2025.
The Something Beautiful singer also considers the Ala�a team to be like family, and the fashion house holds sentimental meaning not just for designer Azzedine Ala�as collaborations with legend Tina Turner, but for Cyrus herself. I remember my first big purchase was a perforated Ala�a belt, said Cyrus. So now to be able to represent them at The Met, it just feels like its a very full circle.
Kelvin Harrison Jr., who played B.B. King in Elvis and the titular 18th-century trailblazing composer and violinist in Chevalier, also looked to musical greats to express Black dandyism through his Prada double-breasted suit.
By Nadine Ijewere/Cartier.
I always wanted to be like a Quincy Jones meets Nat King Cole and that timeless kind of sassy, flamboyant masculinity, said Harrison, who was styled by Michael Fisher, also pointing toward his tulip-print shirt, which threaded back to his attendance at the 2022 Met Gala with director Baz Luhrmann and the Elvis cast.
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Subscribe NowAustin Butler had a really pretty little scarf, said Harrison of Butler's 2022 look. He similarly undid his shirts necktie to showcase four gleaming necklaces, with a 1984 Cartier Collection yellow gold, sapphire, and diamond chain pendant as the centerpiece. [The necklace] has a little bit of sex appeal to it, but at the same time, theres something very androgynous about the diamonds and the jewels.
By Nadine Ijewere/Cartier.
Upon first spotting Harrison at the bash, Oscar- and Grammy-winning musician extraordinaire Jon Batiste yelped in delight. Fun fact: For Batistes custom Dunhill tux last year, he took inspiration from Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint Georges, formerly embodied on film by Harrison.
One of my favorite things about the Met Gala is this ability for us to all align on the theme and come together and celebrate something that brought us to this moment, said Batiste, who was styled by Law Roach. Now were here together, celebrating the dandyism of our ancestors.
With his custom Tom Ford suit this year, Batiste recognized a Hall of Fame of Black American musicians, including Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Allen Toussaint, Fats Domino, and Harold Battiste. The delicate white polka dots on Batistes double-breasted suit jacket lauded all of the great conductors, like band leader Fletcher Henderson, while the billowing material and cut of his trousers saluted the maestros of the 40s. It allows you to dance, said Batiste. If you can imagine seeing the Mills Brothers, Cab Calloway, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard onstage, and the motion, I wanted that silhouette.
Batiste also paid tribute to before-her-time jazz great Billie Holiday with a white gardenia pinned to his lapel by a 1968 Cartier Collection brooch featuring a ruby-eyed, yellow gold rabbit in a top hat. Its an Easter egg, he said.
But his saxophone proved his most important accessory, as Batiste proceeded to turn the Met Gala red carpet into an impromptu, headline-making concert. To really pay homage properly, [a performance] needed to happen, he said.
By Nadine Ijewere/Cartier.
Batiste also greeted Andra Day with zeal, as the star of The United States vs. Billie Holiday excitedly told him she had brought visionary fashion futurist, designer, and consultant J�r�me LaMaar out of retirement for her hot pink tuxedo.
[LaMaar] was the epitome of Black dandyism, Afrocentrism and Afro-futurism, said Day. I have been trying to get him to work with me for over 10 years. The interview paused for a moment as Days stylist, Wouri Vice, and staffers buzzed around her, attempting to bustle the jackets long, bead-embellished train in preparation for the rainy commute to The Met.
The train pays homage to the dandy-ette, said Day, explaining that it flowed out into three tobacco-leaf shapes. Because we wanted to talk about the historyhow we got to dandyism and what we had to break through to get thereand just remember how hard-fought and well-earned it was.
A self-professed admirer of the Cartier Panth�re collections, Day proudly showed off jewelry conveying the spirit of Afro-futurism: an 18k white gold, diamond, emerald, and onyx bracelet; and two glittering rings, a geometric one and another of embracing felines. She also carried a Cartier leather clutch, encrusted with amethysts, hessonite garnets, and green onyx cabochons. No ones ever seen this before, said Day, as a staffer brought over her phonewhich was too big for the case. Its the first time its been debuted.
Another Simple Favor actor and haute horlogerie aficionado Henry Golding also happily took a rare Cartier piece out for a test-spin. I actually requested this watch. Im a huge fan, he said, showing the gleaming 18k yellow gold and black leather Cartier Tank � Guichets on his wrist. Its a dream watch.
By Nadine Ijewere/Cartier.
For his third Met Gala, Golding earnestly dressed on theme in a custom gold three-piece suit, with Adinkra symbols signaling knowledge, by British Ghanaian Savile Row designer Ozwald Boateng.
[Boateng] says that I wear and carry wisdom very well, so he designed the gold and the emblems, said Golding, also emphasizing the connection to the zoot suit, a representation of pride and identity with roots in the Harlem Renaissance of the 20s and 30s. Its an honor to be able to represent someone like Oswald and be one of his muses for the evening.
Fellow Brit and White Lotus breakout Aimee Lou Wood was one of the later arrivals to the pre-partyreadying for her first Met Gala experience. Also in a version of black suiting, she quickly fell into animated conversation with Edebiri, as Bemelmans Bar longtime pianist Earl Rose played upbeat tunes as their backing track.
Ive felt like for years I was always putting really girly clothes [on], and its not very me, said Wood. When [I found out the theme was] tailoring, I was like, This is just the perfect moment right now. She happily found an exuberant custom Ahluwalia take on a tuxedo: a cropped jacket, shirt, and tie layered over a draped asymmetrical dress.
By Nadine Ijewere/Cartier.
After meeting designer Priya Ahluwalia at a party, Wood knew the British Indian Nigerian designer would be her number one ask for her Met Gala debut. In collaboration with Woods stylist, Felicity Kay, Ahluwalia designed the tuxedo, inspired by the self-expressive, sharply outfitted, and resistance-fighting Congolese Sapeurs. The handmade flower appliqu�s on Woods ankle socks showcased Ahluwalias Nigerian and Indian roots.
It was just the perfect alignment, said Wood, who adorned the jacket with an elegant Cartier Collection white gold and diamond brooch, circa 1939 Paris.
Wood, feeling somewhat jittery about walking the red carpet, found relief in knowing her Sex Education costar Ncuti Gatwa was on the guest list. Hes gonna be here, which is the best. Its also the perfect theme for him, like hes such a dandy, said Wood. And then Patrick [Schwarzenegger], whos in The White Lotus with me. So Ive got two great [friends] and then Walton [Goggins is] here as well, somewhere.
Schwarzeneggerin pinstripe Balmainconsiderately dropped into Bemelmans to hang with Wood, and chatted with Edebiri by the bar. Then the two costars left to share a ride to The Met, with Schwarzenegger presumably giving Wood pointers from the two previous times he attended (in 2019 with model Taylor Hill, and in 2022 holding a red straw hat).
By Nadine Ijewere/Cartier.
Wood wasnt the only newbie at the Cartier pre-party. Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was also getting in the zone, per se, at Bemelmans. Im a little out of my element, but Im excited to experience something new, for sure, said the athlete, also known as Joe Brr due to his affinity for opulent jewelry (i.e., ice). I just think the more that I can diversify that part of my life, the more well-rounded Im gonna be.
Burrow also ventured into new territory with an Art Decostyle Cartier High Jewelry platinum pin with sizable pink and blue sapphires surrounded by diamonds. Ive never worn a brooch before, but this one just caught my eye with the colors and the shapes, he said, also highlighting a relatively understated Les Berlingots de Cartier 18k yellow gold and snakewood necklace, a notable 18k yellow gold Cartier Santos-Dumont watch, and blue Panth�re de Cartier sunglasses tucked into the pants pocket of his Gucci suit.
Its all just about individual expression, and I like colors, I like blue, I like classy, and this fit exemplifies that, said Burrow, also focusing on the most significant part of the evening. Just celebrating African American history and culture is important to everybody in this country.
Appropriately, Dapper Dan, groundbreaking Harlem fashion designer and godfather of hip-hop fashion, was the last to appear, and quickly jetted off to The Met. He made his much-anticipated grand entrance in his own design, of course: a black-and-white, zoot-suit-inspired tuxedo with lace, honoring the Harlem Renaissance of the 20s.
I tried to have my outfit embody the whole history, said the Met Gala host committee member. [The Harlem Renaissance] is the most important period to methe true, liberating period of dandyism, because thats when the grassroots people dressed themselves.
By Nadine Ijewere/Cartier.
The Harlem-based designer broke ground in fashion and culture by combining Western European luxury logos with bold streetwearonly to first be appropriated by those very fashion houses, and then to ultimately partner with Gucci and then creative director Alessandro Michele in 2017. I am regarded as the father of logo mania, and I wanted to tie in the history of Africa and history of the world to that in the diaspora, he continued, referring to the Ghanaian Sankofa symbols, meaning retrieve, emblazoning his jacket and hat.
Dapper Dans 18k yellow gold, peridot, and onyx Panth�re de Cartier ring spoke to Cubas storied Leopard Society, and the pyramid-shaped yellow gold and diamond Cartier Collection ring, dating to 1932 New York, evoked Southern Gothic author Flannery OConnors short story collection Everything That Rises Must Converge.
Everything that rises must converge, and so I see myself coming together in Africa, here, the diaspora, everywhere, said Dapper Dan, whose mink-collar, Louis Vuittonlogo, leather jacket knock-upmade for Run-DMCs Jam Master Jayis on exhibit at the Costume Institute. But the rose-shaped, 1936 New Yorkoriginated Cartier Collection brooch, sparkling with platinum, diamonds, and sapphires, sent the most celebrated message of the evening.
I suggested this here because of the flower, said Dapper Dan. Everybodys happy that Im finally getting my flowers.
