Chantal Regnault’s Avis Pendavis Ball, Red Zone (1990) is featured in the publication accompanying the Met’s latest exhibition
Abstract
Superfine: Tailoring Black Style traces the complex and vibrant legacy of menswear across three centuries of Black culture—from contemporary hip-hop aesthetics and popular street trends, to its use during the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights Movement as a symbol of creativity and political power, and further back to its surprising origins as the mandated attire of domestic workers and enslaved people.
Organized around the key characteristics of dandyism that resonate across time—most notably presence, distinction, disguise, and respectability—this new interpretation of a centuries-old aesthetic draws on the perspectives of leading Black voices in fashion, literature, and art, including Dandy Wellington, Amy Sherald, Iké Udé, and André 3000.
Self-proclaimed dandies and high-fashion models appear in a stunning photographic essay by artist Tyler Mitchell, who also contributes evocative new images of garments designed by contemporary creators such as Virgil Abloh, Pharrell Williams, and Grace Wales Bonner. These works are presented alongside historical ensembles worn by iconic Black figures including Frederick Douglass, Alexandre Dumas père, Muhammad Ali, and André Leon Talley.
Scholar Monica L. Miller situates these objects within their broader cultural context, demonstrating how the evolution of dandy style has inspired new visions of Black masculinity, using the power of dress and attire as a means of self-expression.