The Met and Met Gala this year revolve around “Black Dandyism” – but what exactly does it represent?
Perhaps the most telling example would be Roch Aza et Louis Armand Constantin Rohan, prince de Montbazon (1732–1794), 1758 by Jean-Marc Nattier. It features the French noble Louis-Armand-Constantin de Rohan receiving a letter announcing his promotion to captain. Rohan is depicted in a regal shining armour. But what’s interesting is the other person depicted in the portrait – a young black man, adorned in exquisite costume. This was Roch Aza, Rohan’s black slave. This is one of the earliest examples of ‘Black Dandyism’ – a phenomenon that occurred during the height of the transatlantic slave trade. More portraits started featuring black slaves in sophisticated costumes that spoke of prosperity and luxury. However, the phenomenon was explicitly for the benefit of their white slave masters; a way to tell the world that they are so rich that even their slaves wear fancy robes.
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Since then, Black Dandyism has evolved in a direction separate from its white masters. Slowly and gradually, it turned from a prop without agency into a rebellious form of self-expression. This is what the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York seeks to celebrate this year. Their “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” exhibition seeks to explore the way Black Dandyism evolved to uniquely define the fashion of Black Americans. The Met Gala, which concluded yesterday, also held the same theme, where celebrities, particularly men, aimed to represent fashion born from oppression and evolved into self-expression.
