Before Black Dandyism became a Met Gala theme, it was a movement!
Shantrelle P. Lewis is a scholar, curator, filmmaker, and author who committed herself and much of her curatorial work to highlighting Black Dandyism with intention, rigor, and purpose. Long before major museums and fashion houses took note, Lewis had already spent over a decade centering the power, presence, and politics of Black sartorial resistance around the world.
In 2010, Lewis launched The Dandy Lion Project with a pop-up exhibit titled Dandy Lion: Behold a Gentleman in Harlem. Inspired by OutKast’s The Love Below, the exhibition didn’t just display beautiful portraits of Black men and masculine-presenting individuals in dapper attire—it challenged rigid narratives of masculinity, style, and identity across the African Diaspora.
“I spent 15 years of my life dedicated to making the invisible visible and telling the stories of Black dandies, be they cis-het men, masculine of center women, non-binary folks or transmen as a nuanced conversation about Black masculinity across the globe,” Lewis posted to social media.
The project quickly evolved, moving to the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA) in Brooklyn by invitation from Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo. Then, to Aljira in Newark. Then to Amsterdam, where Lewis deepened her ties with a global community of Black creatives, including award-winning Dutch journalist Nicole Terborg, filmmaker Bouba Dola, activist Jerry King Luther Afriyie of the Soul Rebel Movement Foundation, and fellow curator Charl Landvreugd, who she names as core to that early journey.
From there, The Dandy Lion Project traveled the globe—from the Reginald Lewis Museum in Baltimore to MOAD in San Francisco, Miami, Hammonds House in Atlanta, the UK, and most recently, the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago. Her work was also featured in The New York Times, CNN, BBC, The Cut, Nylon, OkayAfrica, and more. Along the way, Lewis continued to spotlight her peers and predecessors who were also doing the work, honoring the late Daniele Tamagni, Rose Callahan, and Dr. Monica Miller.
In 2017, Lewis published Dandy Lion: The Black Dandy and Street Style through Aperture—a bold, visually electric coffee table book that continues to inspire readers worldwide. Lewis’s book was even optioned for television by Viola Davis and her husband, Julius Tennon, through their production company, 44 Blue.
“This work has been presented in various mediums, as essays, and papers, short films and performances. There is a growing community of scholars, artists, and cultural producers who have built upon the Dandy Lion as a conversation,” explained Lewis.
But as the 2025 Met Gala turned its spotlight to the Black Dandy, it did so without adequately acknowledging the cultural architect who brought global attention to the very style it aimed to celebrate. Ahead of fashion’s biggest night, Lewis turned her mic on, not to demand flowers but to remind the world that the roots of this movement run deep and to ground the conversation in “authenticity, expertise, and nuance.”
“As the Met Gala prepares to celebrate the Black Dandyism aesthetic, I’m disappointed. And exhausted. Once again, those of us who have built, written about, and lived this movement for many years are being erased from the narrative.”
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Despite building the most comprehensive body of work on the subject, as noted in a 2016 New York Times article, Lewis and her contributions were nowhere to be found on The Met Gala stage. Many assumed Lewis was central to this year’s theme alongside Miller and the celebrity co-chairs, including actor Colman Domingo, who was featured in Lewis’ book. Knowing now that she was not has sparked a new conversation, calling it not just an oversight but a missed opportunity and a disservice to the movement itself.
“ [The Met Gala is] a flaunting of aristocracy and stolen wealth and distracting celebrity…When they do things like erase a Black woman’s scholarship and erase all of the work that she did that was foundational to them creating a theme for a gala. They’re telling you that they don’t care that they have stolen from a Black woman to get this… It’s diabolical…They don’t want the indictment that comes with Blackness, and Ms. Lewis’ work is not just a presentation, it’s also an indictment,” said @VagaBroadJournals in a critique reposted by Lewis.
Users flooded social media with praise and affirmation for the groundwork Lewis laid. BLK MKT Vintage reposted a carousel of their favorite images from Dandy Lion and some even took to social to dub May 5th “Shantrelle P. Lewis Day.”
“I always think of you first,” author and activist Brittney Cooper wrote.
Lewis spoke to Because Of Them We Can about the impact of this moment, calling it “exhausting.”
“It’s erasure. Period,” says Lewis before quoting the late Toni Morrison’s novel The Bluest Eye.
“But what they do not know is that this plain brown girl will build her nest stick by stick, make it her own inviolable world, and stand guard over it.”
Lewis says The Met Gala snub has only inspired her more to continue her work and educate the masses about the roots of Black Dandyism. While the work of many scholars and The Met Gala traced the origins of Dandyism to slavery and the Enlightenment period in England, Lewis says that is incorrect, noting that her book traces its roots back to the continent of Africa.
“This is what happens when something becomes visually appealing to the mainstream — the politics, the history, and the people behind it get pushed aside,” said Lewis.
For the renowned curator, Black Dandyism has never been just about the clothes.
“It’s about resistance. Identity. Self-definition. Heritage. Power. Pride,” she explained.
Lewis encourages people to purchase her book and follow @thedandylionproject to honor this movement. Visit www.thedandylionproject.com to learn more.
Cover photo: Meet Shantrelle P. Lewis, Curator, Filmmaker & the Preeminent Scholar of Global Black Dandyism/Photo credit: Arteh Odjidja