Rihanna, A$AP Rocky, Usher Start a Fashion Trend Before The Met Gala

The countdown is on for the Met Gala — with guests toning up, Upper East Side hotels filling up and fans gearing up to watch Monday night’s arrivals.

As messengers shuttle designer freebies to celebrities and florists burn the midnight oil to create welcome-to-the-city bouquets, the uninvited can still be part of the action not just by following the play-by-play on social media, but dressing the part. Monday night’s annual fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute will celebrate the spring show “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.” The 400 guests have been asked to follow the “Tailored for You” dress code, as a wink at the exhibition’s focus on suiting and menswear.

Springtime in New York doesn’t typically translate to tailored suits and belted trenchcoats, but fashion forges ahead in its own direction. Regardless of the temperature, celebrities can always guide the masses to a new trend, or at least point them in the right direction.

Rather than wait for the first Monday in May, most of the Met Gala’s co-chairs — Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams and Anna Wintour — have been doing their part by turning up in Dorian Gray-worthy styles.  For the media event announcing the theme last October, Wintour, Condé Nast’s chief content officer, chose a tailored coat dress and Hamilton wore a sage suit with a Nehru-type collar.

In February, Wintour sported an Alexander McQueen gray skirt suit when King Charles made her a member of the Order of Companions of Honour at Buckingham Palace. That same month A$AP Rocky wore an assortment of buttoned-up looks for his Los Angeles Court trial. With his choices of a forest green suit, mismatched pinstripes, and a belted trench, the Grammy-winning musician (who was acquitted of two felony charges), epitomized the “modern dandy,” a “Superfine” theme. His partner Rihanna, who isn’t exactly associated with business attire, also showed up in a trenchcoat one day. On the day of the ruling, the mother of two went with an oversized gray suit with a gray silk blouse.

That same month at the Grammys, Janelle Monáe, a member of the Met Gala’s host committee, wore a stylish blue pantsuit without a shirt. Another musically inclined host committee member, Usher performed in a glittery black suit last month in Paris. And just last month Domingo hit the step-and-repeat at the kickoff luncheon for the Emmys in a sand-colored suit with high-waisted pants and a coordinating tank top.

Although Louis Vuitton is sponsoring “Superfine,” the Kering-owned Saint Laurent is on board with the suiting trend too. Michelle Pfeiffer models menswear-style looks in Saint Laurent’s summer 2025 ad campaign. Fifth Avenue shoppers can’t miss a towering image of the Oscar winner in a suit and tie that is hung floors above the exterior of the house’s Fifth Avenue store — a mile south from The Met.   

With the “‘Superfine’ concept underscoring the power of quiet luxury and meticulous construction,” Courtney A. Hammonds, an educator, editor and consultant, said she sees “this moment as a cultural recalibration. Tailored looks are not only making a comeback; they are being re-contextualized as statements of individuality and intention. Expect to see a new generation embracing sharply cut silhouettes, elevated textiles, and refined minimalism with a fresh, modern perspective.”