With the 2025 Met Gala fast approaching, one phrase is everywhere: Black Dandyism. Black Dandy this, Dandyism that—if you’ve been anywhere near the internet, you’ve seen the buzz. And if you haven’t? Let us catch you up.

This year’s Gala, the annual fashion spectacle and fundraiser for The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, is themed around none other than the Black dandy. Titled Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, the exhibition is a deep dive into the elegance, edge, and evolution of Black men’s fashion—from 18th-century refinement to present-day red carpets and tunnel fits. Think: W.E.B. Du Bois in a top hat, Dapper Dan reimagining luxury for hip hop, and Colman Domingo shutting down the Oscars in custom couture.

The Black dandy isn’t one thing—it’s everything. It’s tradition and rebellion. It’s Prince’s fluid suiting, André 3000’s preppy era, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s high-fashion tunnel moments and arrivals. It’s a legacy of personal style stitched with cultural pride and quiet defiance.

BET spotlights the past, present, and future of Black dandyism—those who tailored the blueprint and those redefining it in real time.

Scroll on for a master class in Black Dandyism.