The Met Gala announces the theme and co-chairs for 2025, including Lewis Hamilton

We looked the camp straight in the eye, explored the celestial bodies of Catholic aesthetics and visited the Garden of Time.

The first Monday in May is the biggest evening in the fashion calendar; an exclusive and lavish haute couture fundraiser hosted by Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

And when celebrities take to the steps of the Met, us mere mortals have the opportunity to play the ultimate game of toot or boots.

We’ve seen it all: Doja Cat as, well, a cat; Jarod Leto holds a replica of his own head in his hands; Gaga’s 16-minute four-in-one ensemble; and everything from the iconic Zendaya x Law Roach collaboration.

Today the Met Costume Institute announced next year’s exhibition, next year’s theme, and co-chairs.

Here’s everything we know.

What is the theme of the Met Gala 2025?

The theme of the 2025 Met Gala is “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” in keeping with the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition of the same name.

The theme is inspired by Monica L. Miller’s 2009 book “Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity.”

The exhibition will “present a cultural and historical examination of the black dandy,” the Met said in a statement.

“Fashion and clothing have been used in a competition for power and aesthetics for Black people from the period of enslavement to the present,” Miller said in a video statement released by the Met.

“The history of black dandyism shows how black people have evolved from being enslaved and stylized by luxury items acquired like all other signs of wealth and status, to becoming autonomous, self-fashioning individuals who are global trendsetters,” she added added.

Sydney-based model Samuel Barrie praised the Met Gala for exploring the “rich history of fashion traditions” that “has shaped and continues to shape men’s fashion.”

The artist, model and actor said his heart was “full of joy” when he learned that men’s fashion would be on display, particularly those from the African diaspora.

“The black man is given a space to assert his identity in fashion,” he said.

He said he hoped attendees would embrace and engage with the evening’s themes.

“I think there is a blurry line between accepting and respecting the culture versus appropriating it without understanding the meaning of the story,” he said.

The theme marks 20 years since the last focus on men’s fashion

The theme also marks the first time in 20 years that the Met Gala will focus exclusively on men’s fashion (most recently at the Bravehearts: Men in Skirts gala in 2003).

The Costume Institute’s executive curator, Andrew Bolton, said men’s fashion had undergone “something of a renaissance” in recent years.

“At the forefront of this revitalization is a group of extremely talented Black designers who continually challenge normative identity categories,” he said.

“While their styles are both unique and distinctive, what unites them is a reliance on various tropes rooted in the tradition of dandyism and particularly black dandyism.”

And with that, here’s the list of hosts that might make sense now…

Who is co-hosting the Met Gala 2025?

Each year, Anna Wintour carefully selects a group of celebrities to serve as co-chairs and help open the museum exhibition.

This time the honor went to Pharrell Williams, Lewis Hamilton, Colman Domingo, A$AP Rocky and LeBron James.

Seven-time Formula One champion Hamilton said he developed his own style later in life after years of being “forced to adapt”.

“As the only black kid on the track, there was no one like me to look up to,” he said.

“I know the power of representation and how fashion can be a tool to promote diversity and celebrate our differences.”

“I look forward to celebrating Black history.”

When is the Met Gala?

The first Monday in May, duh.

That means it falls on May 5, 2025 next year.

And so we wait.