La La Anthony Honors Legacy of 'Visionary' Late Designer Virgil Abloh at 2025 Met Gala

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05-05-2025

La La Anthony stepped out in an archival Off-White design from the late designer Virgil Abloh, whom she called a friend as well as a "visionary"
The theme of the 2025 Met Gala is "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style," and the dress code is "Tailored for You"
Anthony's Met Gala debut was in 2011 for the "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty" exhibition
La La Anthony is booked, busy and beautiful at the 2025 Met Gala.
The Power actress, who is no stranger to fashion's biggest night, was once again tapped to host Vogue's annual livestream of the Met Gala red carpet. For her hosting duties, Anthony stepped out in an archival Off-White design from the late Virgil Abloh that features half of a white tulle gown and half of a black jumpsuit, along with some glittering silver jewelry from Lorraine Schwartz.
Speaking with Vogue ahead of the livestream, Anthony shared that she was inspired to wear the daring garment by Abloh's powerful legacy.
"Virgil was more than a designer—he was a visionary, he was my friend, and someone who changed the entire game for so many of us," she told Vogue of the look, which Abloh designed for the fall 2020 Off-White collection. "I wanted to carry his legacy with me throughout the evening, to remind people of the doors he opened and the culture he built. It wasn't just fashion. It was love, history, and respect wrapped up in a beautiful garment."
Related: 'Superfine: Tailoring Black Style': The 2025 Met Gala Theme and Dress Code Explained
'What I loved most was that it was an archive design—it's an actual piece of fashion history,' Anthony added. 'The full-on gown, mixed with a sharp tailored pant, is a completely unexpected contrast that makes the look unforgettable. It's glam, but with edge—so me.'
In October, Vogue announced Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams and Anna Wintour would be co-chairs for this year's Met Gala, alongside LeBron James as honorary chair. The event, which is held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, is a fundraiser for The Costume Institute and spotlights the museum's spring 2025 exhibition, 'Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, which is the theme for the gala.Curator in Charge Andrew Bolton shared that the exhibit, which is inspired by guest curator Monica L. Miller's 2009 book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity, explores 'the Black dandy as both a concept and an identity signifier.'
The exhibit 'presents a cultural and historical examination of Black style from the 18th century to the present through an exploration of the concept of dandyism,' according to a post on the museum's Instagram.
The Met Gala's dress code for this year is 'Tailored for You,' a nod to the exhibition's focus on menswear and suiting. The gala also has a star-studded host committee: Simone Biles and her husband, Jonathan Owens, as well as Doechii, Regina King, Spike Lee, Angel Reese and Usher.
Speaking with Vogue, Anthony also shared that she knew from the moment she learned about the theme that she wanted to go all-out this year.
"The Met Gala is always the most special and meaningful evening, but this one felt more powerful and even more personal to me," Anthony told the outlet. "Superfine is about more than looking fly. It's about the history, the pride, the statement behind the fit."
"Black style has always set the tone, and to see tailoring and dandyism finally getting this kind of spotlight excites me," she added. "It's honoring the roots of our elegance—how we've always turned fashion into resistance, into joy, into art."
Vogue's April 22 announcement also revealed that musician Teyana Taylor, 34, and Saturday Night Live cast member Ego Nwodim, 37, would be joining Anthony as hosts.
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Before the 2023 Met Gala, the Total Request Live alum told PEOPLE why hosting for the Costume Institute meant so much to her.
"The great thing about the Met Gala red carpet is that you never know what to expect or what you're going to see," she said. "There's always a surprise, like Zendaya when she came out in that Cinderella dress or Lady Gaga and all her dresses or Blake Lively when her dress changed colors when she moved it around. I'm just looking forward to what's going to be our 'wow' [moment.]"
In 2024's theme of "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion," Anthony wore a black, strapless mermaid gown with a corset-style bodice. The top portion featured a long-sleeve lace underlay that extended from her neck down to her fingertips.
The bottom of her dress fanned out to reveal a red rose pattern.
Related: See 50 of the Most Glamorous (and On-Theme!) Met Gala Outfits of All Time
Anthony continued to follow the theme in her accessories, showing off a diamond petal purse.
She wore her hair in a high ponytail with a single black ribbon to tie it.
For the previous year, she arrived in all white and gold for "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty' as the Costume Institute paid tribute to the late German fashion designer and photographer, who died in February 2019 at the age of 85.
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Her one-shoulder design was perfectly tailored to curve to her body for sleek yet stylish sophistication.
Her high ponytail and cat-eye sunglasses added a retro element to her look.
Related: What to Expect from the 2025 Met Gala: All About the Cochairs, Ones to Watch and The Theme, 'Superfine: Tailoring Black Style'
Ahead of the 2022 Met Gala, the actress spoke exclusively with the outlet for a behind-the-scenes interview as she got ready for the main event.
'Years ago, I remember always saying, 'If I ever go to the Met Gala, I'm it,'' she told Vogue as a hair and makeup team assisted with her glam at The Plaza Hotel. 'That was my bar for fashion. When you get invited, it's such an honor and an amazing thing, so you just want to have a good time and take it all in.'
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According to the outlet, Rokael Lizama was credited with creating a dark eye-shadow look inspired by Aaliyah's vampire ruler Akasha in 2002's Queen of the Damned.
Anthony made her Met Gala debut in 2011 for the "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty" exhibition.
'It's a great room with amazing people from all parts of entertainment, sports, politics, art and fashion,' she said of attending. 'So it's fun just to mix and mingle.'
Always one to stun on the carpet, her 2016 look was no different.
The Think Like a Man star turned heads in a gravity-defying plunging gown in varying shades of red by Nicolas Jebran with a smokey eye that was just as dramatic.
Catch all the minute-by-minute fashion updates from the red carpet right here!
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