In New York, the Met gala pays tribute to fashion and the creation of black diasporas of the United States

The fashion festival started on Monday, May 5, on the extravagant gala of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (MET) on Monday May 5 on Monday. Like every first Monday in May, celebrities paraded on the steps of the prestigious 5 museum^e Avenue de Manhattan, backed by Central Park, crowds of fashionistas waiting for long hours on the sidewalks, to hope to capture an image of stars on their smartphone.

The purpose of this gala is to raise funds to finance the costume Institute, the MET fashion department, and the 2025 edition is marked by a theme that resonates particularly with news: fashion through black diasporas in the United States.

Among the first personalities to dazzle this annual worldly event at the crossroads of fashion and philanthropy, the actress and musician Teyana Taylor posed in an endless detail: hand cane, feather hat on her head, she wears a costume enhanced with silver chains on a fitted button vest, all under an impressive rosy cape. The singer Madonna presented herself, cigarette in her mouth, in a clear salient suit, with a bow tie and a buttonhole flower.

The high priestess of the event, the director of VogueAnna Wintour, has arrived, just like some of the co-presidents of the 2025 edition: actor Colman Domingo, whose royal blue cape with white collar pays tribute to the late André Leon Talley-the first African-American creative director at Vogue –the Formula 1 pilot Lewis Hamilton, in a cream suit matching his beret, or the artist Pharrell Williams, now creator at Louis Vuitton, who wears a short white jacket inlaid with pearls.

At the foot of the steps, they listened to a choir singing the song Ain’t No Mountain High Enough Made famous by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell.

Political dimension

As usual, the theme of the evening coincides with the great exhibition of the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum. The MET this year promises an exploration of American fashion since the 18th century^e A century through clothing styles first imposed on black populations in the United States and Europe, but that the latter have reclaimed and reinvented. Like the black dandies, an aesthetic inherited from slavery which has become synonymous with elegance and emancipation.

The exhibition, prepared for months, is part of the quest for diversity of American cultural institutions, five years after the immense wave of anti-racist protest of the Black Lives Matter movement (“black lives count”) after the death of an African-American, George Floyd, during a police arrest.

But it takes on a particular dimension when Donald Trump, returned to power, abolishes federal funds on any initiative to promote diversity, which he castigates as a “woke” drift weakening meritocracy.

“It is obvious that this exhibition was planned many years ago and that we did not know what would happen in the political arena, but it takes on a new importance and a new reason for being”underlined, at the France-Presse agency, Anna Wintour.

A place at $ 75,000

Among the guests, are also the champion of gymnastics Simone Biles, arrived in a bright blue outfit, and the sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, as well as the filmmaker Spike Lee, but also the new rap of Rap Doechii, singer Shakira and the stars of Pop Chappell Roan and Charli XCX.

The actresses Hale Barry, Demi Moore or Nicole Kidman also climbed the steps, just like the actor Adrien Brody. On the other hand, the legend of basketball LeBron James, who had the title of honorary president of the gala, said, because of a knee injury.

When the theme was announced last October, Pharrell Williams, whose brand sponsored the exhibition of the costume institute, had stressed the importance of celebrating the cultures from slavery, which still haunts American society.

“We are the survivors of what the worst trials are never suffered by a group of human beings, and not only we have survived, but we have worn music, culture, beauty and universal language through an ocean and four centuries”he had launched. “This is what the Met Gala will celebrate: we, our talents, our history, our gastronomy, our resilience and our beauty, our style and our strength”he added.

The gala and its climb of the steps are one of the most selective events on the planet. This year, the party is expected to bring in $ 31 million (almost 27.5 million euros), the Director General of the MET, Max Hollein, revealed on Monday. According to the New York Timesplace at dinner costs $ 75,000 (around 66,000 euros), $ 350,000 (around 310,000 euros) for a table.

The singer and designer Rihanna – who has become a billionaire businesswoman by launching her make -up, lingerie and haute couture marks – took advantage of the event, where she is one of the most awaited guests each year, to reveal that she was waiting for a third child with the rapper at $ ap Rocky. The artist first staged on Instagram walking in the middle of the cars in New York, his belly rounded well visible, dressed in a Layette blue set, a portrait broadcast by the photographer Miles Diggs. A few moments later, the father of his first two children, A $ AP Rocky confirmed the happy event on the red carpet.