This Word Means: Black Dandyism
Why today?
The theme of this year's Met Gala — followed specially in India this time as Shah Rukh Khan made his debut on its red carpet — is 'Superfine: Tailoring Black Style', which honours 'Black dandyism'.
What is the Met Gala?
The Met Gala is organised by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, or The Met. Its website talks about this year's theme thus, 'In the 18th-century Atlantic world, a new culture of consumption, fueled by the slave trade, colonialism, and imperialism, enabled access to clothing and goods that indicated wealth, distinction, and taste. Black dandyism sprung from the intersection of African and European style traditions.
How is this year's theme significant?
Superfine: Tailoring Black Style explores the importance of style to the formation of Black identities in the Atlantic diaspora, particularly in the United States and Europe.' The theme is inspired by the 2009 book 'Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity' by Monica L Miller.
The exhibition on the Superfine theme is organised into 12 sections, such as Champion, Respectability, Heritage, Beauty, and Cosmopolitanism. 'Together, these characteristics demonstrate how one's self-presentation is a mode of distinction and resistance—within a society impacted by race, gender, class, and sexuality,' the Met's website says.
What is Black dandyism?
A 'dandy' is basically a well-dressed male. Not just someone who buys and wears expensive clothes, but who dresses with intention, as a way of self-expression, even if that expression is simply vanity. However, in the case of Black people in the 'Atlantic diaspora', dressing was a highly political act. When they were brought to the USA or the UK as slaves, African people were stripped of their native clothes. They were either made to dress in standard-issue, impersonal uniforms or ostentatiously dressed up as an expression of their owners' wealth or status. The Blackface minstrel tradition had white men dressed in suits and painting their faces Black to entertain other White people.
The slaves tried to bring in small elements of personalisation in their uniforms too, by the odd button or embroidery here and there. But once they were emancipated, clothing for the slaves either became a way of declaring their newfound visibility as free individuals, as opposed to a dehumanised herd of slaves, or a way to blend in and not attract much attention, which too often turned violent. Thus, a Black man in a three-piece suit was not always declaring his prosperity, but also trying to look the White-accepted version of respectable.
In the midst of this, Black dandyism became a way of proclamation of identity, of arrival, and of ownership. For example, the fashion that emerged from the Harlem Renaissance was vibrant, colourful, loud, unapologetic and fearless in attracting attention.
It is this spirit that the Met Gala seeks to celebrate.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Dilli Dark: Film resonates with Africans seeking acceptance in Delhi
'What New York is for Indians, Delhi is for Nigerians.' Nigerian actor Samuel Abiola Robinson's qualification of the Capital finds an echo in his portrayal of the protagonist of Dilli Dark, a newly released dark comedy that questions the city's attitudes towards race, tolerance, majoritarianism and colonialism. Robinson, last seen in the 2018 Malayalam film Sudani from Nigeria, plays Michael Okeke, who seeks to wriggle free of the stereotype so many Africans in Delhi are plastered with. In one scene an electrician, called in to repair a faulty fridge, flees after he sees a plate of meat, shouting that the African man is a cannibal. Another Nigerian, Ola Jason, 49, knows exactly how that feels. 'Once police came to my house in Malviya Nagar because someone complained that there was a dead baby inside my freezer when in fact it was mutton I had bought from INA Market,' said Jason, who has not yet watched the movie but is aware of the subject. In the movie which released on May 30, Okeke is determined to get an Indian work permit. To pay the rent, he starts dealing in contraband. 'Everybody knows what you guys are famous for,' a customer tells him. Such statements are not just lines in a script for Robinson. 'I have lived in Delhi for five years and every few days, someone asks me where they can procure drugs from in Delhi. This is one reality, and the other side of this story is that so many African nationals are rejected from the workforce here that maybe they do turn to this. This is what the movie depicts,' said the 26-year-old. If finding work is hard in a city like Delhi, finding a house is 'like going to war,' said Jason, who moved to Delhi in 2011, and set up his own casting agency after playing side roles in a few Hindi movies. 'Landlords rejected me even before they met me only because I am Nigerian or they charged me double the rent.' There's more, said Cynthia Oyo, from Nigeria who lived in Delhi for seven years before moving back home. 'They come up with strange rules like no visitors allowed or a strict 8 pm curfew or triple the rent without explanation. Some people I met are such racists that the minute they find out you're African, they impose all kinds of rules,' said Oyo, who has also acted in Dilli Dark. The pressure manifests in different ways. Robinson recalled how his neighbour in Dwarka in Delhi would repeatedly cut the power supply of his rented home. 'They didn't want African people living in their colony,' he said. Large chunks of Dilli Dark are also based on director Dibakar Das Roy's experiences living with Nigerian students while at Delhi University. 'When I came to college in Delhi, there were a string of incidents against Africans. I later worked as a writer in advertising, which is when the impact of how I was treated and the incidents I saw around me came together. But really, it was my time in the US that helped me understand what race was,' said Roy. The 90-minute film was first released at MAMI and toured the festival circuit. It could not find a theatrical release until now. Largely shot in Delhi's southernmost fringes such as Neb Sarai, Mehrauli and Chhatarpur, the film purposely avoids most of the Capital's reliable identifiers – India Gate, Jantar Mantar, Jama Masjid. The only exception Roy makes is for the illuminated Qutub Minar. For the character Okeke, it is a lighthouse in a sea of darkness, a short distance from his apartment in Neb Sarai, the south Delhi neighbourhood home to many of the city's 2,500-odd Nigerians. His other refuge is, in many ways, is Debu, a dark-skinned Bengali who insists he's black and Okeke's brother. 'No you're not,' Okeke clarifies. 'You have no idea.' For 25-year-old Miracle Dike, who hails from Ghana and made Vikaspuri in Delhi her home six months ago, even a trip to the local market daily is not free from challenges. 'I find people staring at me which makes me extremely uncomfortable. They use racial slurs, even the N-word and that just breaks my heart. When I watched Dilli Dark, I could relate to so much,' said Dike. Even in the darkness, Roy stressed, Delhi isn't a city without compassion. The film uses power cuts as a recurrent motif, moments of sudden darkness that let crucial characters out of trouble. That for instance, said Roy, is one of Delhi's many moments of compassion. And there's the great unifier, pointed out Roy, one that's also underlined in his film. 'You want to be an Indian, no?' a teacher in his MBA class tells Okeke. 'Then struggle'.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
There's no one like Shah Rukh Khan: Ananya Panday shares how he still wants to know 'what we're doing, is very involved'
Actor Ananya Panday shares a close bond with Shah Rukh Khan and his family. Now, in an interview with Times of India, Ananya called him "an amazing father" and said that he still "wants to know what we're doing and is very involved". Praising Shah Rukh Khan, she said that there's "no one like him". (Also Read | When Ananya Panday said Shah Rukh Khan was like her second dad) Ananya talked about how Shah Rukh has been by her side since childhood. She said, "I think the way Shah Rukh Khan handles his personal and professional life -- there's no one like him. While growing up, I saw first-hand what an amazing father he is to Aryan, Suhana and AbRam and the way he's been with all of us." She said that there's no one like Shah Rukh. "He would train us all for our sports day and taekwondo competitions. He was very, very present in what was happening in our lives. Even now, he wants to know what we're doing and is very involved. Also, when he is talking to you, he has this quality of making you feel that you are the only person in the world. There is no one like him," she added. Apart from Shah Rukh, Ananya is close to his daughter Suhana Khan. She is one of Ananya's closest friends in the Hindi film industry. Ananya has often been spotted spending time with Shah Rukh's sons Aryan Khan and AbRam Khan as well. In 2019, Ananya talked with Asian Age about the actor. 'SRK is like my second dad. He is my best friend's dad so we used to go with him for all the IPL matches. Only Suhana (Shah Rukh Khan's daughter) and Shanaya (Sanjay Kapoor's daughter) are my close friends from the industry and we share everything,' she had said. Ananya was last seen in Karan Singh Tyagi's Kesari Chapter 2 alongside Akshay Kumar and R Madhavan. She will be seen with Kartik Aaryan in Tu Meri Main Tera, Main Tera Tu Meri. Directed by Sameer Vidwans, the film is produced by Karan Johar's Dharma Productions. It is slated to release in theatres on February 13, 2026. Ananya also has the upcoming romantic drama Chand Mera Dil, in which she stars alongside Lakshya. Directed by Vivek Soni, the film is scheduled for release in 2025.
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
Woman dragged out of Diddy trial after screaming obscenities: ‘Pull out guns, they are laughing at you..'
One of Sean 'Diddy' Combs' supporters was tossed out of the Manhattan courtroom Tuesday after yelling at Diddy. She kept spewing obscenities at the marshals, mocking them while asking to pull guns as Judge Arun Subramanian watched. Diddy is currently facing five criminal charges, including racketeering, two counts of sex trafficking, fraud, and two counts of arranging transportation of prostitutes. The trial, which began earlier in May, has entered its fourth week. On June 3, the jury heard from Eddy Garcia, who used to work as a security supervisor at a now-shut-down LA hotel, where CNN obtained the video of Combs brutally assaulting his then-partner, Cassie. Combs' former chief financial officer, Derek Ferguson, also took the stand. Also read: Diddy chased Kid Cudi with gun, in ripped pants, after 'kidnapping' employee, threatening to throw her in East River, says ex-aide According to PEOPLE, a heckler was ordered by the judge to be removed from the courtroom after she kept screaming, 'These mother****ers are laughing at you,' at Combs. She then allegedly yelled, 'You're laughing at a Black man's legacy,' and followed it up with, 'Pull your gun out, ninja, I dare you.' The woman kept mocking the marshals while staring at Combs. In return, the Bad Boy record producer didn't react. He quietly watched the situation unfold, turning heads as she was escorted out of the courtroom. Prior to the outburst, the woman was seen sitting in a room jam-packed with journalists and witnesses' families. She was later identified as someone who had been protesting outside the court as part of the 'Free Diddy' campaign launched by some of his fans. The incident led to a delayed testimony from Garcia, who admitted to receiving $100,000 from Combs to keep his mouth shut about the hotel video. Eddy Garcia was granted an immunity deal, under which a person gets protection against self-incrimination as long as they're honest with the court. Garcia said he didn't actually identify Combs and Ventura when he first saw the video and only later realised their celebrity status. He claimed that at the time of the incident, no police officials were called to the site, and Ventura didn't file any complaint either. Later, he recalled getting a personal phone call from Diddy, who offered to 'take care of him financially' if Garcia managed to get rid of or hide the video that could destroy his career. The former hotel staffer admitted his hotel boss was ready to sell a copy of the footage to Combs for $50,000. Garcia ended up signing an NDA with a million-dollar penalty if he breached the contract. He later admitted to concealing facts when a police probe was launched in 2016. Also read: 'Diddy used to like me a lot': Donald Trump says their relationship 'busted up,' doesn't rule out pardon for disgraced mogul On the other hand, talk about Diddy receiving a presidential pardon has skyrocketed. A May report indicated that Diddy's team is exploring the idea of receiving one under the Trump administration. In a recent statement, the President himself addressed the matter, claiming he hasn't received any such request so far, as no one has approached him. Calling Diddy someone he was once close with before stepping into elections, Trump said they lost touch, and he had read some 'nasty comments' made by the rapper. However, the President didn't rule out the possibility of granting Diddy clemency if the disgraced rapper is found guilty.
