Guest post: Met Gala on Black Style: Superfine or Superflop?
How to move from creating brand affinity to managing the brand context
In this week’s guest post, Claire Gallon, Partner at the Salmon Consulting, Board Member at 17H10, and Professor at the Paris School of Luxury unpacks the implications of the latest Met Gala theme through the lens of two analytical concepts - affinity (which creates positive brand associations) and positionality (which considers a brand in context) - to arrive at a set of recommendations. Read below.
Last week, The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced the theme of the Anna Wintour Costume Center spring exhibition and the upcoming 2025 Met Gala, Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, co-chaired by Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, Pharell Williams and Anna Wintour, alongside honorary Chair LeBron James. Inspired by the book of Monica Miller published in 2009, Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity, the press release reads “the exhibit will feature garments, paintings, photographs and more, all exploring the indelible style of Black men in the context of dandyism, from the 18th century through present day.”
My initial reaction to the theme was extremely positive. Having worked on several missions promoting the African creative scene around the world, it is the kind of initiative I hope to see more in the industry. But it also raises questions I face everyday as a consultant in luxury and fashion about representation, cultural appropriation and diversity. My job is to make sure good intentions get positive reactions to protect and promote our clients’ engagement. This means applying a methodology that includes asking hard questions. In this series, I will be opening the door to my process to expose how I would approach these topics had we been given this brief.
A sign of the times?
I would have loved to be a fly on the wall when Anna Wintour pitched this theme to her teams - if she does in fact pitch. In today’s climate, there is no doubt that the Met, the Anna Wintour Costume Center and co-chairmen have discussed the benefits and risks of choosing this theme. The question remains why take the Met Gala in this direction? Perhaps, to own the fact that the ceremony has not promoted this community enough? Is it an attempt to be more inclusive? Who will validate the looks? How can they make sure designers and celebrities avoid cultural appropriation or diversity washing? What’s Vogue legitimacy for promoting black men’s style when the media has promoted privileged white female standards for decades? Are four American/British male celebrities representative of the black style influence in diasporic identities? How to avoid alienating some of Vogue’s current readers? And maybe more importantly where is Edward Enninful? In other words, I have questions.
It is well-known that the idea of the Met Gala as we know it (inviting celebrities, giving them a thematic dress code to support the exhibition of the Costume Institute, providing extensive live media coverage through Vogue) was Anna Wintour’s attempt in 1995 to help the Costume Institute raise funds but also to make Vogue appeal to a broader and younger audience, bringing together fashion, celebrities, culture and entertainment.
By choosing this theme, Anna Wintour probably aims at building proximity with new audiences - men (the fastest growing segment in fashion now) and the American black community (who influences taste and purchase in the US). While this campaign is early days, this may well be a masterstroke that will provide authentic and sustainable international visibility to African designers and fashion weeks (Dakar since 2004, Lagos in 2011, Bamako since 2015 and Abidjan in 2024) who are becoming more popular than ever. Imagining the best case scenario is a luxury we rarely afford ourselves but in this case I want to believe that the champagne that will flow will be deserved.
Beyond the opportunities, the Met Gala team is playing with fire. The timing of the announcement right before the US presidential election will only bring more attention to the theme that has been sparking heated debate and outright toxicity for years. While threading the needle will be next to impossible, it is part of an approach that has bore fruit over the past decade. At The Salmon Consulting, we call it the “affinity economy”.
The affinity economy’s lust hurrah?
The affinity economy is a model based on the creation and reinforcement of an emotional connection between a company and its consumers. More concretely an affinity company brand serves the needs and interests of a community and offers an experience that matches the beliefs and convictions of that same community. It offers a vision of society that comforts its consumers via their values but at the risk of being controversial and losing other potential targets. Think when Nike chose in 2018 the NFL player Colin Kapernick as the brand ambassador after boycotting the national anthem cost him his job. Business-wise, it has been a profitable strategy for the past 10 years; Nike declared that after product boycott and stock market price fall in the short-term, it had a positive effect on the brand image and its business (31% sales). We estimate that companies that adopted affinity economy strategies can increase their product price by 20% per The Deloitte Consumers study in 2022, and benefit from 5 to 10% more loyal clients, per Business Wire.
However, the Anna Wintour Costume Center, the Met and indirectly and Vogue have more to lose than to win playing this game. In a recent study we carried out with BETC and Havas on luxury aspirational audiences, we observed that 88% of GenZ respondents are ready to boycott a brand if it takes position against their personal convictions. And it seems true in all categories. When Bud Light in November 2023 tried to build proximity with the LGBTQ+ community to appeal to younger audiences both conservatives (who felt mis-represented on their values) and progressivists (who felt used) called for a boycott that ultimately resulted in a massive drop in sales.
Indeed, the affinity economy model is showing its limits. It creates tactical and short-term results instead of building long-term value, it reduces the potential market target, it exposes the brand to more criticism and worse, it reinforces social and cultural cleavages that have been frankly exhausting in a year the whole world went to the voting booth.
In the Met Gala’s case, choosing this theme could contribute to reinforcing the division between progressives and conservatives in a tense political climate. It creates strong engagement to American audiences who are more sensitive to black representation especially since BLM, but it weakens Vogue’s international anchor where diversity in luxury desperately needs to address misrepresentation of Arab and Asian diversity. Further, this creates reputational risks for the entire fashion sector. How can white western designers and fashion houses be legitimate in executing “black tailoring”? How will white western journalists fare commenting black cultural heritage? And again, why is Vogue’s global cultural advisor, Ghanaian-born Edward Enninful, seemingly absent from the conversation?
Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that the Met, the Anna Wintour Costume Center or Vogue should play it safe or that brands should not be actors of change. I just mean that playing the affinity game can be more risky and that brand’s activism in today’s complex world requires a profound strategic application of “positionality”.
Positionality: the new brand action framework
Positionality is a term that emerged in epistemology in the middle of the 1920s to describe the position of elements in space relative to others. During the progressive movements of the 1960s, sociologists and anthropologists began to question whether it was possible to observe a phenomenon objectively, without being influenced by its own context.
Today it defines “the social and political context that creates your identity in terms of race, class, gender, sexuality and ability status. Positionality describes how your identity influences, potentially biases your understanding and outlook on the world”. Basically, positionality means understanding the world around you and being conscious of your own biases to find your fair position in society and act accordingly.
Used wisely, positionality can become a robust framework for introspection allowing brands to question and rethink the scope of their actions without falling into the classic pitfalls.
Here is how I would have applied the positionality framework to the 2025 Met Gala if Anna Wintour came to me with the pitch.
Building the positionality of the 2025 Met Gala on ‘Tailoring Black Style’
I would have followed a three-step methodology ;
Step 1 : Understand the global and local dynamics
Depending on the markets, the region, the city where the company, brand, individual operates, the first step consists of:
- Analyzing the context and local specificities in which the brand is located (traditions, heritage, historical and current sensitive topics).
- Identifying and monitoring influential people (allies and detractors) in order to understand the subjects they defend.
- Consider local calendars (religious holidays, electoral campaigns).
In the case of the Met Gala, my recommendations would have been:
Avoid being associated with one of the hottest topics in the US right now such as the allegations against Sean “Diddy” Combs who is in federal custody after being charged with racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. Unfortunately, the honorary Chair of the 2025 Met Gala, LeBron James has seen a video of him resurfaced saying “ain’t no party like a Diddy party”. There should be elements to address it and manage visibility
Expand allies : The Met Gala made a smart choice by announcing the theme at the same time of the committee alongside Anna Wintour composed of Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, Pharell Williams. But the problem is that it only valorizes American or British celebrities to represent “black identities”. Black identities have origins in countless countries and hundreds of cultures with different expressions of fashion and style where young generations are reclaiming their heritage to define themselves outside of the western outlook. In this perspective, I would have made sure the committee members are from different origins not to reduce “black identities” or “diaspora” to the US/UK anglophone perspective. Especially when we know that dandyism is so strong in the French speaking countries like Congo with la SAPE la Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes (the Society of Ambience Makers and People of Elegance). Or I would have specified the theme to “American black identity”.
Be extra careful with semantics: The word “Superfine” can risk giving the impression of a comparison, hierarchy, recognition given by a western institution, the Met Gala here. The definition of “Dandyism” in itself raises debate and does not fairly encapsulate the complexity of black style and culture, confining it to a masculine look could make the recognition of what women have fought for invisible from the Congolese perspective, for example.
Consider postponing the Met Gala theme announcement outside of the presidential elections calendar so it is not interpreted as a political act but a historical and stylistic trend in fashion.
Step 2 : Find your positionality
At the intersection of global dynamics and local specificities, the second step requires us to identify the resonance with the DNA of the company/brand/individual. It allows us to establish its positionality by
- Determining the areas where it would be perceived as legitimate to act because it is a reflection of its history, its values, its actions or its expertise.
- Determining the areas where it would not be legitimate because it would create a discrepancy with the reality of the brand/company/individual.
In this case, I would have recommended the following:
Spell out the intention from the beginning “We, the Anna Wintour Costume Center recognize that we have neglected these realities and have acquired, since 2020, 150 pieces by BIPOC designers and aim to curate more of those styles through dedicating a Met Gala to that theme”. Instead the press articles present it more as an agenda choice. The theme of the Met Gala reflects the exhibition theme which has not always been the case.
Curate and sensitize staff: many people involved in representation may have biased perspectives on black styling depending on their culture and origins that could lead to misinterpretation or the dreaded accusations of cultural appropriation if not being directly racist. From photographers to hairdressers, make-up artists to media who will comment on it, how to ensure that the point of view they will take will be respectful and not normative? It starts with making sure they’re not all Americans, like the committee. Beyoncé handpicked for her Vogue cover in 2018 photographer Tyler Mitchell, the first black photographer to shoot a cover in the magazine’s 126 year history.
Connect the dots that could raise sensitive topics as to address them proactively: Is there in the Met, Anna Wintour Costume Center, Vogue or its co-chairman history a case of diversity washing or black shaming? How to prepare from past actions that could come back to the surface in a new context ? As an example, how is Edward Enningful, former head of British Vogue and first black men’s editor, now Head of Culture at Vogue is not getting credit or part of the narrative. It is widely known that it is Anna Wintour who embodies the theme of the Met Gala who pushed Edward Enningful to step down. I am surprised that no journalists or trolls have mentioned it so far.
Step 3 : Move from symbolic proofs to real commitments
Well-articulated, positionality allows companies to guide their actions, and acts as a lever for its approach internally and externally.
In this case, I believe that Anna Wintour should come up with concrete engagement for diversity in the long-term through her influence on the Costume Center and Vogue, especially considering past accusations from the black community. As an example, beyond this one-shot event, what’s the part of the black community in Vogue’s actual staff? What practices does the Anna Wintour Costume Center or Vogue have in place to valorize black style or designers in fashion editorials? What about the co-chairmen?
Whatever the Met Gala and its designers and celebrities are going to do - positive or negative - will allow us all to identify good practices and learn to help brands, companies, individuals to connect good intentions with positive results, including on sensitive subjects.
Join me back here on March 6th when I’ll deconstruct the Met Gala and subscribe for my monthly method releases on fashion, luxury and culture marketing!
Voilà.
Agree 100%. You have misspelled Mr. Enninful's name.
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