SUPERFINE: TAILORING BLACK STYLE

 

A quiet revolution in fabric and form, Superfine: Tailoring Black Style is the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s most intimate yet resonant fashion exhibition in years. Spanning over three centuries, it traces how Black style, rooted in self-determination, resistance, and cultural brilliance, has shaped the language of tailoring. 

Curated by Andrew Bolton and Monica L. Miller, the exhibition brings together over 200 pieces: garments, portraits, archival photographs, and personal artefacts. From 18th-century silhouettes to contemporary statements by designers like Grace Wales Bonner and Virgil Abloh, Superfine unfolds across twelve themes, exploring presence, ownership, adornment, and the enduring power of "cool." 

More than a study of elegance, it’s a study of how fashion holds memory, how clothes carry pride, protest, and poetry. The tailoring here isn’t just meticulous, it’s myth-making.

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue through October 26, 2025