Teyana Taylor - Doechii - Zendaya - Getty Images
On May 5, 2025, the fashion world converged for the 2025 Met Gala to celebrate the opening of The Costume Institute’s new exhibition, Superfine: Tailoring Black Style. This year's dress code, "Tailored for You," invited attendees to explore the rich history and artistry of Black dandyism and bespoke tailoring, resulting in a red carpet filled with bold statements and sartorial excellence. Guiding the night's festivities were co-chairs Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams, and Anna Wintour.
The Cosmetics IC team turned a critical eye to the red carpet, spotlighting standout moments and the most compelling interpretations of this year’s theme:
Statement Heritage
Colman Domingo - Photo by John Shearer
Laura Harrier - Photo by Sophia Wilson
Lewis Hamilton - Photo by Miranda Barnes
Superfine: Tailoring Black Style is an appreciation, cultural critique, and reclamation of Black designers who’ve been sidelined from larger fashion conversations. Celebrities reimagined classic tailoring codes with rich cultural references, paying homage to unsung designers, historic style icons, and the radical power of dandyism. These weren’t just clothes, they were layered narratives.
Colman Domingo embodied Black elegance and cultural depth with a layered Valentino look that was both regal and radical. Draped in a cobalt blue cape embroidered with jewels and sequins, he evoked a modern-day monarch. Underneath, he revealed Zoot Suit-inspired separates, windowpane plaid, a polka-dot necktie and boutonniere, and a crisply tailored vest that paid homage to the dandy archetype and the Zoot Suit Riots. Domingo’s stylists, Wayman + Micah, cited art history and Civil Rights references, using fashion to uplift underrepresented heritage. Accessories, from his Boucheron ear cuffs to custom Persol shades, deepened the storytelling. His grooming, a dewy, glowing skin and subtle smoky eye, was a quiet nod to timeless grace.
Actress Laura Harrier delivered a romantic take on classic menswear, reinterpreted through the lens of Black dandyism. Her ensemble, crafted by Gap Studio under Zac Posen’s direction, combined a sharply cinched waistcoat with billowing sleeves and voluminous wide-leg trousers. The contrast between tailored structure and flowing silhouettes created a poetic tension, strength softened by elegance.
This look whispered royalty while nodding to Harlem style codes. Her glowing, minimalist makeup by L’Oréal Paris let the clothes speak volumes, bringing modern femininity into this conversation on gendered tailoring and power.
Lewis Hamilton collaborated with designer Grace Wales Bonner to create a look rich with symbolism and historical resonance. His ivory ensemble featuring a cropped jacket, smoking-stripe high-waist trousers, tails, and a white bow tie, was finished with a sculptural beret and a delicately embroidered waistband. Wales Bonner infused the outfit with storytelling: baobab flower patterns, cowrie shells, and mother-of-pearl buttons referenced African heritage and spiritual traditions. Artistic influences ranged from Barkley L. Hendricks to Cab Calloway, grounding Hamilton’s modern dandyism in ancestral memory and quiet defiance.
Burgundy and Gloss
Doechii - Photo by Kevin Mazur
Zendaya - Photo by Savion Washington
Teyana Taylor - Photo by Mike Coppola
While tailoring reigned supreme on the carpet, beauty looks added a layer of bold sensuality, none more striking than the return of the glossy lip. This high-shine statement wasn’t just a nostalgic nod to Y2K beauty; it became a power move, a finish that amplified confidence, femininity, and polish across diverse expressions of Black glamour.
For her first Met Gala, Doechii delivered a beauty look that was as fearless as her fashion. Styled in a Louis Vuitton short suit by Pharrell, she elevated the look with a voluminous afro, styled by Malcolm Marquez, and bold, graphic makeup by makeup artist Dee Carrion. Her lips were sharply lined in deep burgundy matching her oversized bowtie, then glossed to perfection, creating a sculptural effect that balanced precision with shine. The bold lip was paired with a cheek stamped with the LV monogram, as well as custom LV grillz designed by Gabby Elan Jewelry.
Zendaya embodied the theme in an immaculately tailored custom Louis Vuitton suit, designed by Pharrell Williams and styled by Law Roach. MUA Ernesto Casillas achieved her signature radiance using Charlotte Tilbury products, including the Sensual Sunset eye palette for a bronzed, defined eye, and the Lip Cheat Contour Duo paired with Big Lip Plumpgasm in Nudegasm Diamonds for a sculpted, glossy pout.
Teyana Taylor arrived in a custom Marc Jacobs creation, a powerful burgundy ensemble highlighting traditional men's tailoring, complete with an impactful hat and a red durag. Her beauty look featured burgundy smoky eyes, power brows, dramatic lashes, a chiseled face, and gradient glossy brown lips. Her hair, styled in glossy waves by hairstylist Chris Appleton, utilized Color Wow Dream Coat Supernatural Spray and tools from Shark Beauty FlexFusion for a sleek finish.
Kiss Curls Take the Spotlight
Bad Bunny - Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris
Sydney Sweeney - Photo by John Shearer
Coco Jones - Photo by Gilbert Flores for Getty Images
Popularized in the 1920s by performers like Josephine Baker, kiss curls reemerged on the 2025 Met Gala red carpet as a subtle but intentional beauty detail. Unlike fully laid edges, kiss curls involve one or a few strands styled into delicate, sculptural shapes on the forehead. Their versatility, compatible with a wide range of hairstyles, made them a popular choice for a number of attendees, offering a refined, retro-inspired accent.
Bad Bunny walked the carpet in a chocolate Prada suit and two very meaningful accessories that honored his native Puerto Rico. One was a brown woven hat made to look like the straw pavas often worn in the PR countryside; the other was a diamond brooch shaped like his island’s national flower, the Flor de Maga. Bad Bunny paired his chocolate Prada suit with a minimalist grooming moment, yet it was a kiss curl that subtly elevated the entire look. Just one perfectly swooped strand on his forehead added softness to his sharp tailoring, echoing the vintage influences woven throughout the night.
Sydney Sweeney channeled a retro aesthetic with a look defined by sharp lines and a playful, vintage-inspired silhouette. MUA Melissa Hernandez for Armani Beauty emphasized Sweeney’s '60s style with a sharp, smoked-out cat-eye, dramatically accented by a swipe of white eyeliner (Armani Smooth Silk Eyeliner) on the waterline, and a subtle flush was achieved with Armani's Luminous Silk Cheek Tint. While her graphic white eyeliner and smoked-out cat-eye were showstoppers, two kiss curls were styled just above her browlines. Nestled against her polished updo, the curls served as a whisper of vintage coquetterie, delicate and deliberate.
Making her Met Gala debut, Coco Jones wore a cream-colored Manish Malhotra suit, dripping in pearls and lace embroidery, complemented by a slicked-back ultra-long braid nearly touching the floor, with one single kiss curl arcing gracefully onto her forehead. The contrast between the sleek styling and the softness of the curl captured the elegance and edge of this year’s glam direction.
The CIC Take
As always, the Met Gala proved a pivotal platform for beauty, where makeup and hair became powerful storytelling tools. From Doechii’s cheek monogram to the rise of sculptural circular afros, self-expression took center stage. For brands, these visual statements offer rich inspiration and reminders that beauty isn’t just about enhancement but narrative.
Superfine: Tailoring Black Style runs until October 26, 2025
Explore more fashion and social events influencing beauty trends and reshaping the future of self-expression in our latest What’s Up report.
