A Virgil Abloh for Louis Vuitton bag displayed at Barnard professor Monica L. Miller’s “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” exhibition preview, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, on May 5, 2025

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From Book to Exhibit: Monica Miller’s ‘Superfine’ Vision

On May 5 (fashionably known as Met Gala Day), ahead of the official May 10 opening of the Costume Institute’s 2025 exhibition, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Monica L. Miller, chair of Barnard’s Africana Studies Department, and the Met hosted a press preview of the show.

Inspired by her 2009 award-winning book, Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity — which explored the Black dandy from the Enlightenment in England to the contemporary art worlds of London and New York — “Superfine” features more than 200 garments, accessories, drawings, prints, paintings, photographs, film excerpts, and more. Organized into 12 different categories — such as “Ownership,” “Distinction,” “Champion,” “Heritage,” and “Jook” — the preview heightened the anticipation for the public and all lovers of style.

Below is a sample of what to expect.

“Superfine: Tailoring Black Style”

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Monica L. Miller, chair of Barnard's Africana Studies Department, speaking with the press at the Met’s “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” preview exhibition

House of Balmain. Ensemble, 2023. Designer Olivier Rousteing’s interpretation of the Veste Hussard, a 19th-century French cavalry jacket.

Olivier Rousteing for Balmain, 2024

Leather bag with appliquéd vines and polychrome flowers of cut leather, by Virgil Abloh for Louis Vuitton menswear, 2022-2023.

Left: Grace Wales Bonner for Wales Bonner, 2017

A suit embellished with cowrie shells, designed by Grace Wales Bonner

L-R: L’Enchanteur’s “L’E Goldwill” bullion and “Name Spell Name Plate” necklace, by Dynasty and Soull Ogun

In the “Distinction” section, an afro pick and pouch by Rushemy Botter and Lisi Herrebrugh for Botter, 2021

Exoskeleton suits by IB Kamara for Off-White

A high-collar top designed by Bianca Saunders

Designer Maximilian Davis’s 2021 ready-to-wear suit debuted on the runway in 2021.

19th-century abolitionist Frederick Douglass’s brushed wool tailcoat; top hat; gold, leashed pocket watch; a pair of shades; a cane; white vest and matching band-collar shirt with monogrammed bib; comb; and other personal accoutrements

Virgil Abloh for Louis Vuitton, 2023

In the “Respectability” section, traditional suits stand out, including the wool striped Morty Sills suit (right) that belonged to Vogue’s creative auteur André Leon Talley.

The “Jook” section jumps out here, with a trio of tailored suits, including Maximilian Davis for Ferragamo (left) and a photograph of 20th-century performer Josephine Baker.

Learn more about Miller’s scholarship, her yearlong collaboration with one of NYC’s most famous museums, and how she brought her research on Black style into fashion’s most talked-about exhibition.