In pinstripes and hats, with canes and twists on suiting, Met Gala crowd largely did menswear proud

NEW YORK (AP) — Pinstripes. All Ways. Hats galore. Pantsuits. Gown suits. Zoot suits. Canes. A single cigar (looking at you Madonna) — and expert displays of tailoring. The Met Gala crowd, for the most part, did the Black dandy menswear theme proud at fashion's biggest party of the year.

“Those that researched the moment and pulled inspiration from history made it modern and their own. I loved it,” said Holly Alford, assistant dean and an associate professor in the fashion and merchandising program at Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts.

Among her favorites: Colman Domingo's homage to dandy icon André Leon Talley. It was one of many that honored the towering fashion figure, a rare Black fashion editor in a largely white industry. And among others in odes to Talley, who died in 2022, were Anne Hathaway in a Carolina Herrera dress she picked specifically for him.

“We wanted André Leon Talley to look down from heaven and scream ‘GLAMOUR,’” Hathaway said on the Vogue livestream Monday night.

A glamorous night it was, and an inventive one at that amid a broad White House siege on DEI programs and protections that serve immigrants, LGBTQ+ people and myriad others. What does that have to do with fashion and the theme this year? Everything, in terms of Black power, ownership, heritage and, most importantly, freedom.

What, exactly, was the suggested dress code? It was “Tailored for You,” inspired by Black dandyism through time, the subject of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's spring show at its Costume Institute.

On the blue carpet, a bit soggy from drenching rain, guests played with the fundamentals of fashion to make their looks their own with the help of designers and stylists. And many honored their heritages in special touches like the cowrie shells on the cuffs of Lewis Hamilton's Wales Bonner jacket.

The shells pay homage to Black diasporic culture, to spirituality, to memory, said Rikki Byrd, assistant professor of visual culture studies at the University of Texas at Austin and founder of the Black Fashion Archive.

Tessa Thompson honored Talley with a fan adorned with his image.

“It’s representative of a church fan and André Leon Talley often talked about his first introduction to fashion was through his church,” Byrd said.

Teyana Taylor was a standout for Shantrelle P. Lewis, author of “Dandy Lion: The Black Dandy and Street Style.” With her cane, in her red velvet cape, “she understood the assignment,” Lewis said. Taylor's cape was emblazoned with her nickname in honor of her home turf: “Harlem Rose.” And she, like Swizz Beatz, donned a durag.

Lewis, who has been seminal in understanding dandyism, said the attire on the carpet was generally underwhelming.

“The lack of color, the lack of African print, even the absence of African designers. I said, ‘Where is the Black dandyism?’” she said. “No sartorial risks were taken.”

Big risks? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Brandon Tan, fashion director for Cosmopolitan, was satisfied.

“A classic silhouette can be completely reimagined by something as simple as the color and fabrication of the textile, as seen on Henry Golding,” he said. “Inversely, a very classic gray wool can be totally remixed by the cut and silhouette like Walton Goggins’ kilt look by Thom Browne.”

A few simply showed up in comparatively routine black tuxedos (hello James Corden) and questionable spins on the theme (Sorry, Halle Berry, but that was a lot of skin in the crotch area).

Coattails of varying lengths were a huge trend amid the sea of hats and head pieces anticipated ahead of the gala that brought together A-listers from the worlds of sports, entertainment, music, art, literature, politics and more to raise money for the Costume Institute.

Black and white looks carried the night, with enough pops of color to keep it interesting.

Kevin Huynh, InStyle's fashion director, also praised Domingo, who wore a huge Talley-esque collared blue cape first, then ditched the cape to reveal a pearled window-pane jacket he wore with dot accessories.

“As the undisputed king of the red carpet, his regal look was beyond appropriate for the night’s theme,” Huynh said. “He fully embodied the spirit of dandyism in not one but two statement-making looks from Valentino, and he aced it in terms of being unapologetically bold and flawlessly fanciful.”

That “fearlessness and individuality,” he said, is what the night was all about.

“After a marathon awards season run, his Met Gala red carpet reveal was well worth the wait. From the moment he stepped out of The Carlyle draped in a jewel-toned Valentino cape, it was clear that more was coming,” said Claire Stern Milch, Elle’s digital director.

“And when he finally arrived on the steps, his custom three-piece zoot suit, also designed by Alessandro Michele, was a playful and sophisticated nod to the theme,” she added.

Milch called Domingo’s oversized polka dot flower on one lapel undoubtedly the highlight. The look, she said, was the “perfect marriage of classic tailoring and avant-garde flair.”

Nikki Ogunnaike, editor-in-chief of Marie Claire, noted that suiting of all kinds wasn't a huge surprise, considering the style guidance from Vogue's Anna Wintour, who puts the gala together each year.

“My favorites included Ayo Edebiri in Ferragamo, Tracee Ellis Ross in Marc Jacobs, Zendaya and Lisa in Louis Vuitton, Colman Domingo in Valentino and Mindy Kaling in Harbison, all of whom interpreted dandyism and suiting in their own unique way,” she said.

Athletes, meanwhile, also took the spotlight. Tailoring for them is a special craft that Tom Marchitelli, custom menswear designer and stylist, takes into consideration with all the suits he creates for NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball players.

“These guys have these superhero builds, as I like to say, and they can’t walk into any store on Fifth Ave, in Rodeo, anywhere and just pick out a suit off the rack to fit them,” he said.

Marchitelli said he appreciated the clean form-fitting looks on Philadelphia Eagles players Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley.

“To have this many athletes showcased, I think that says a lot about how important sport is to culture, pop culture in America, how influential the athletes are,” he said.

The night's vibe was inspired by the exhibit called “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.” It's the first Costume Institute show to focus exclusively on Black designers, and the first in more than 20 years devoted to menswear.

Big-time Black designers and smaller brands of creatives of color were represented on the carpet. They included Sergio Hudson, LaQuan Smith and Ozwald Boateng, a former wunderkind of Savile Row.

So who are some others who blew it, or didn't even try to spin the theme?

Blackpink's Lisa might have walked the line in her look by Vuitton, a gala sponsor. She went pantless with little faces on black undies to go with her matching jacket and LV logo sheer stockings.

Some on social media thought the faces were Rosa Parks. They weren't, a representative told The Cut, explaining they were “portraits of figures who have been a part of the artist’s life.”

OK. So it goes. Undie portraits might not be a good idea in general.

As for Corden, The Cut posted a video of him in his mere mortal look and viewers threw some barbs, including one who called him “James Boredon” giving “a total snooze fest per usual.”

Ouch, James.

For more coverage of the 2025 Met Gala, visit https://apnews.com/hub/met-gala.

Lewis Hamilton attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" exhibition on Monday, May 5, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

This combination photo shows fashion worn by Colman Domingo, top row from left, Ayo Edebiri, Tracee Ellis Ross, Cole Escola, Walton Goggins, bottom row from left, Lewis Hamilton, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling, Teyana Taylor and Zendaya, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala on May 5, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

This combination photo shows Lisa at The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala on May 5, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

This combination photo shows Zendaya at The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala on May 5, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

This combination photo shows Colman Domingo at The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala on May 5, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani will take his midnight oath of office on a centuries-old Quran, marking the first time a mayor of New York City uses Islam’s holy text to be sworn in and underscoring a series of historic firsts for the city.

When the 34-year-old Democrat becomes mayor in a long-closed subway station beneath City Hall, he'll be the first Muslim, first South Asian and first African-born person to hold that position.

These milestones — as well as the historical Quran he will use for the ceremony — reflect the longstanding and vibrant Muslim residents of the nation's most populous city, according to a scholar who helped Mamdani’s wife, Rama Duwaji, select one of the books.

Most of Mamdani's predecessors were sworn in on a Bible, although the oath to uphold the federal, state and city constitutions does not require the use of any religious text.

And while he has focused heavily on the issue of affordability during his campaign, Mamdani was outspoken about his Muslim faith. He frequently appeared at mosques across the five boroughs as he built a base of support that included many first-time South Asian and Muslim voters.

Mamdani will place his hand on two Qurans during the subway ceremony: his grandfather's Quran and a pocket-sized version that dates back to the late 18th or early 19th century. It is part of the collection at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

That copy of the Quran symbolizes the diversity and reach of the city's Muslims, said Hiba Abid, the library's curator for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies.

“It’s a small Quran, but it brings together elements of faith and identity in New York City history,” Abid said.

For a subsequent swearing-in ceremony at City Hall on the first day of the year, Mamdani will use both his grandfather's and grandmother's Qurans. The campaign hasn't offered more details on those heirlooms.

The manuscript was acquired by Arturo Schomburg, a Black Puerto Rican historian whose collection documented the global contributions of people of African descent. While it is unclear how Schomburg came into possession of the Quran, scholars believe it reflected his interest in the historical relationship between Islam and Black cultures in the United States and across Africa.

Unlike ornate religious manuscripts associated with royalty or elites, the copy of the Quran that Mamdani will use is modest in design. It has a deep red binding with a simple floral medallion and is written in black and red ink. The script is plain and readable, suggesting it was created for everyday use rather than ceremonial display.

Those features indicate the manuscript was intended for ordinary readers, Abid said, a quality she described as central to its meaning.

“The importance of this Quran lies not in luxury, but in accessibility,” she said.

Because the manuscript is undated and unsigned, scholars relied on its binding and script to estimate when it was produced, placing it sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century during the Ottoman period in a region that includes what is now Syria, Lebanon, Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan.

Abid said the manuscript’s journey to New York mirrors Mamdani’s own layered background. Mamdani is a South Asian New Yorker who was born in Uganda, while Duwaji is American-Syrian.

The meteoric rise of a Muslim democratic socialist also brought a surge of Islamophobic rhetoric, amplified by national attention on the race.

In an emotional speech days before the election, Mamdani said the hostility had only strengthened his resolve to be visible about his faith.

“I will not change who I am, how I eat, or the faith that I’m proud to call my own,” he said. “I will no longer look for myself in the shadows. I will find myself in the light.”

The decision to use a Quran has drawn fresh criticism from some conservatives. U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama wrote on social media, “The enemy is inside the gates,” in response to a news article about Mamdani’s inauguration. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil-rights group, has designated Tuberville as an anti-Muslim extremist based on past statements.

Such backlash is not new. In 2006, Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, faced condemnation from conservatives after he chose to use a Quran for his ceremonial oath.

Following the inauguration, the Quran will go on public display at the New York Public Library. Abid said she hopes attention surrounding the ceremony — whether supportive or critical — will prompt more people to explore the library’s collections documenting Islamic life in New York, ranging from early 20th century Armenian and Arabic music recorded in the city to firsthand accounts of Islamophobia after the Sept. 11 attacks.

“This manuscript was meant to be used by ordinary readers when it was produced,” Abid said. “Today it lives in a public library where anyone can encounter it.”

Associated Press writers Jake Offenhartz in New York and Kim Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama, contributed.

This photo provided by The New York Public Library shows the Schomburg Quran on Dec. 16, 2025 in New York. (Jonathan Blanc/The New York Public Library via AP)

This photo provided by The New York Public Library shows the Schomburg Quran on Dec. 16, 2025 in New York. (Jonathan Blanc/The New York Public Library via AP)

This photo provided by The New York Public Library shows the Schomburg Quran on Dec. 16, 2025 in New York. (Jonathan Blanc/The New York Public Library via AP)

This photo provided by The New York Public Library shows the Schomburg Quran on Dec. 16, 2025 in New York. (Jonathan Blanc/The New York Public Library via AP)