Monica Miller to Guest Curate “Black Dandyism” Exhibit at Met

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This fall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art named Barnard’s Monica L. Miller — professor and chair of the Africana Studies Department — as guest curator for the Costume Institute’s upcoming show “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” (May 10-October 26), which kicks off with the celebrity-studded Met Gala on May 5.

This groundbreaking exhibition marks several cultural milestones: It’s the first time that the Costume Institute will produce a show specifically on Black dandies and the first time in 20 years, since 2003’s “Men in Skirts,” that it will focus on menswear. The topper: Miller is the first guest curator contracted during curator-in-charge Andrew Bolton’s eight-year tenure.

“[Miller] foregrounds the importance of sartorial style [and] the formation of Black identity in the African diaspora,” says Bolton. “I think a lot of Black designers today are exploring the different modalities that the Black dandy represents — things like freedom, dissonance, theatricality.”

In planning for the show, Miller — author of 2009’s Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity — will draw from her extensive research on disciplines ranging from literature and performance studies to fashion and dress.

“In the past few years, I’ve been writing and researching contemporary Black designers, Afrodiasporic art and artists, and I’m using all of that knowledge now,” says Miller. “As part of the design process for the exhibition, the curatorial team and I have been able to collaborate with artists whose work I follow and really admire. I’m learning everything from the conservation of historical garments to the many different kinds of mannequins and how they are dressed for an exhibition.”

The exhibition will be structured around the 12 characteristics of Black dandyism delineated by Barnard alum Zora Neale Hurston in her 1934 essay “Characteristics of Negro Expression.” The work of a number of designers will be featured in the exhibition, including the late Virgil Abloh and Pharrell Williams for Louis Vuitton, alongside a diverse collection of other media. Composed of works from the Met’s collection and loans from global institutions and design houses, the show will display garments such as a 19th-century purple silk velvet waistcoat trimmed with gold lace and a modern wool jacquard set called the “Maya Angelou Passport” suit by Labrum London.

“Being able to create a multidimensional world featuring historical and contemporary garments and accessories, paintings, prints, and decorative objects from my book Slaves to Fashion has been an incredible honor and a huge, fantastic challenge,” says Miller. “My curatorial colleagues at the Costume Institute are truly amazing. I’m excited for people to visit the exhibition in May.”

Back at Barnard, Miller plans to bring students into the Black dandy discussion by teaching a summer 2025 class based on the exhibition, as well as a fall 2025 course called the Cultural History of Black Fashion and Dress.

“I have been wanting to teach a class like this for years,” she said. “Now is clearly the time.”