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Several of the most recognizable looks at the 2025 Met Gala pointed to a specific person, photograph, or archival garment. Zendaya, Anna Sawai, and Kerry Washington drew on Diana Ross in Mahogany; other looks cited Josephine Baker, André Leon Talley, Selika Lazevski, and historic couture. Here are the documented pairings—and what each star borrowed or transformed.
What tied the references together?
The 2025 Costume Institute exhibition was Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, focused on Black dandyism and the role clothing plays in forming Black identities across the Atlantic diaspora. The gala dress code, “Tailored for You,” was intended as guidance for creative interpretation, and the exhibition focused on menswear. The references below connect individual outfits to that larger context without treating every resemblance as a confirmed source.
Guest curator Monica L. Miller described dandyism as more than surface decoration: “Dandyism can seem frivolous, but it often poses a challenge to or a transcendence of social and cultural hierarchies.” Miller’s 2009 book, Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity, inspired the exhibition. Read Vogue’s explanation of the exhibition and dress code.
Met Gala 2025 looks and their documented references
| Star and look | Reference | What the look drew on | Attribution and transformation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zendaya in white tailoring and a wide-brimmed hat | Diana Ross as Tracy Chambers in the 1975 film Mahogany | The white suit and broad-brimmed hat evoke Ross’s character. | Zendaya identified Ross as the reference, telling Vogue, “She’s the reference!” Vogue also noted a possible secondary association with Bianca Jagger’s wedding-day trouser suit; that is distinct from the direct Tracy Chambers reference. |
| Anna Sawai and Kerry Washington in white tailoring and broad-brimmed hats | Tracy Chambers in Mahogany | White tailoring paired with matching wide-brimmed hats. | Vogue grouped both with Zendaya as references to the character; the source does not establish that either outfit was a reproduction. |
| Gigi Hadid in gold lamé Miu Miu | Josephine Baker’s Balmain dress from 1951; designer Zelda Wynn Valdes | The garment reference points to Baker’s dress, while the tailoring tribute points to Valdes. | Hadid told Vogue the look paid tribute to Valdes’s approach to tailoring for women: “She took her technique and the skill in men’s tailoring and applied that to the female form.” These are two separate strands of inspiration. |
| FKA twigs in a Wales Bonner flapper dress; Dua Lipa in custom Chanel | Josephine Baker | Both looks were identified among the Baker references. | Vogue made the association; the available account does not specify a single garment copied by either look. |
| Megan Thee Stallion | A 1951 portrait of Josephine Baker | The sculptural ponytail drew on Baker’s hairstyle in the portrait. | The documented reference is specifically to the hair, not necessarily the entire outfit. |
| Colman Domingo in an embellished blue Valentino cape | André Leon Talley’s blue cape at the 2011 Met Gala | The blue cape recalls Talley’s distinctive gala look. | Vogue identified it as a direct tribute to the former Vogue editor, whose influence was also part of the exhibition. |
| Tessa Thompson | André Leon Talley | A church fan displayed an image of Talley. | The tribute was carried by the accessory rather than an asserted recreation of Talley’s clothing. |
| Jodie Turner-Smith in custom Burberry | Selika Lazevski, a Black equestrian in Belle Époque Paris, in an 1891 photograph by Paul Nadar | The Victorian silhouette was reimagined in leather. | Designer Daniel Lee and stylist Law Roach drew from the historical photograph; the modern look is an interpretation, not a reproduction. |
| Sydney Sweeney in Miu Miu | Kim Novak in a sequin dress in a 1967 photograph | The visual point of comparison is Novak’s sequin dress. | Vogue reported that Sweeney shared the reference image on Instagram after the gala. |
| Nicole Kidman in Balenciaga | A 1952 Cristóbal Balenciaga couture gown photographed by Richard Avedon for Harper’s Bazaar London; images of female dandies, including Eartha Kitt | The archival gown supplied a sculptural silhouette; female-dandy imagery informed the broader tribute. | Vogue reported that the recreation was made in silk organza. Kidman and stylist Jason Bolden also considered images of female dandies, which Kidman said the look honored. See Vogue’s account of Kidman’s gown and references. |
| Anne Hathaway in Carolina Herrera | André Leon Talley’s personal style and archive | White button-down shirts worn beneath double-breasted suits informed the styling. | The team accessed Talley’s archive through SCAD, which holds it. Vogue reported that the skirt had 200,000 beads and rhinestones and took 910 hours to make. Read Vogue’s report on Hathaway’s look. |
| Jenna Ortega in custom Balmain | A tailor’s measuring ruler | Hundreds of rulers were joined to create a silver gown, referencing the craft of tailoring rather than a named historical figure or archival outfit. | Vogue described the ruler construction as the look’s reference. See Vogue’s details on Ortega’s Balmain gown. |
Vogue’s reference roundup includes these looks alongside additional examples, but it is not a complete catalogue of every guest’s inspiration. Where a source identifies a resemblance or a broad influence rather than a direct quotation from the wearer or designer, the distinction matters: a shared silhouette is not by itself proof of a specific reference. View Vogue’s Met Gala 2025 reference roundup.
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How to read the comparisons
- Person versus object: Some references name a person, such as Josephine Baker or André Leon Talley; others point to a photograph, film character, couture garment, or tailoring tool.
- One look can have multiple sources: Hadid’s Baker garment reference and Valdes tailoring tribute are separate. Kidman’s Balenciaga silhouette and the female-dandy imagery also play different roles.
- Interpretation is not replication: Turner-Smith’s leather reworking of a historical silhouette and Ortega’s ruler-built gown translate their sources into new materials and forms.
- Check what the source actually attributes: Baker inspired Megan Thee Stallion’s ponytail, while the available reporting does not say the portrait was the sole source for her full look.
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