Splitting the long-awaited “Men Gala”.

“If I’m being honest, I always shied away from dandyism, because it felt too close to Jim Crow dress,” Ames told me. He summed up this ironic view: “In terms of empowerment, it didn’t matter what you wore, you still couldn’t escape your skin.” He added that this isn’t exactly a historical scene—he said he was stopped and busted in a parka and baseball cap (“good Harlem scene circa 2007,” he said), but also while wearing a bunch of old guns, explore the Aquascutum trench. and felt the fedora.

The show is meant to follow this thread even further. At a press conference announcing the title, a mannequin encased in a velvet band from Wales Bonner’s original collection sat next to a model of a 19th-century gold-trimmed slave uniform. years in Maryland. It is a difficult meeting, brought to the museum as a result of the research of curator Monica L. Miller, who wrote a guide to the exhibition, a 2009 book. Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and Style in Black Diasporic Identity. As Miller explained: “Dandyism has long served as a vehicle through which one can control the relationship between clothing, personality, and power.” The history of Black dandyism shows how Black people evolved from slavery and enslavement as luxuries, acquired as any sign of wealth and status, to independent, self-centered people who which are global trendsetters. “

As we exchanged DMs, Ames admitted to a sense of pride at the Met’s recognition of “our contribution to fashion.” “Peacock is around a fence of self-expression and a minstrel-esque costume,” Ames said. “On the other hand, we had a great way of making something that wasn’t meant to be ours.”

But he also raises an important point: what happens after the last celebrity walks off the red carpet? “I think I’m happy,” he said, “but I’m more concerned about the OUTCOME, post-gala.” As the owner of an independent menswear brand, and designer of Black, Ames knows how unforgiving the menswear market can be. Superfine will include pieces by nearly 30 contemporary black designers. Those confirmed include Wales Bonner, Pharrell Williams, Virgil Abloh, Olivier Rousteing of Balmain, and Foday Dumbuya of Labrum London. I can imagine that the likes of Fear of God, Martine Rose, Casely Hayford, Golf Wang, Bianca Saunders, Botter, Post-Imperial, Telfar, and Thebe Magugu are also being considered.

It’s a strong but short list, and it doesn’t include important Black composers whose names have gained acclaim and pride but still can’t stay afloat, like Pyer Moss and Kenneth Nicholson. Meanwhile, Abloh’s pioneering Off-White brand has recently been sold at a licensed store, and local stores that might support indie labels like X of Pentacles are struggling in the area. shopping accident. In a moment of long-standing popularity, it may be harder than ever to make it as a Black designer in fashion, Ames suggested. “Our stories are chewed up and digested,” he told me. Yet many are still fighting for scraps, ie money, platforms, and over-the-top gestures leaving many talented individuals to navigate the seas of the fashion business on their own. (But of course I will always support Pharrell’s participation because Virginia screamed,” he added.)

Superfine it is an unmissable opportunity to understand how the Black dandies and their heirs made men’s clothing what it is today. Amidst the Met Gala hoopla, we have to ask which men’s clothes are to blame.

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