May 5, 2025 / 10:10 AM EDT / CBS New York
The Met Gala, the biggest night in fashion, is finally here.
The hottest names in Hollywood are set to attend the fundraiser Monday night in New York City, and this year’s theme is “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” with the accompanying dress code “Tailored for You.”
“It’s really the one night that we really get to dive deep into fashion and go big,” celebrity stylist Alexandra Mandelkorn said. “I think there’s many other red carpets that are very elegant, sophisticated, chic, but with the Met Gala, you really get to let your creativity fly and you see things you wouldn’t see anywhere else.”
Mandelkorn said this year’s theme is rooted in Black creativity. So what looks does she expect to see?
“I think there’s going to be a lot of hybrid suiting, a lot of details that we see on traditional tailoring – lapels, cuffs, buttons, pocket watches, all these types of things. And I think color, and prints, and that really flamboyant side of dandyism,” Mandelkorn said.
She praised the work of designer Sergio Hudson.
“Every collection, every season, he is bringing some sort of element of tailoring and dandyism into his work,” Mandelkorn said.
“It’s the pinnacle of style”
It’s the 12th Met Gala for makeup artist Vincent Oquendo.
“My favorite part is collaborating with my talent, the people that I’m creating the look on. It can be a sort of high energy, high nerves situation, and so I really lean into the collaboration, because I want them to feel like they’re really a part of it,” Oquendo said.
He said he started creating mood boards a month ago.
“When I think of ‘Tailoring Black Style,’ I just think of those crisp suits and that really cool, like, Big Daddy Kane, hip hop energy,” Oquendo said. “For me, it’s the pinnacle of style.”
Oquendo said his preparations this year spanned a wide range of references.
“I’m leaning into some Victorian-era references, I’m leaning into Josephine Baker, Harlem Renaissance, that kind of stuff, and I’m blending the masculine energy and the feminine energy. I think it’s not just all one reference. I think you’ve sort of got to tap into a few things and think of your client,” Oquendo said.
Jesse ZangerJesse Zanger is the managing editor of CBSNewYork.com. Jesse has previously worked for the Fox News Channel and Spectrum News NY1. He covers regional news around the Tri-State Area, with a particular focus on breaking news and extreme weather.
