Pharrell Williams and Audra McDonald on Putting Dandyism on Display at the Met Gala: ‘It's About Time'
The co-chairs for the 2025 gala are Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams and Anna Wintour, with LeBron James serving as an honorary chair.
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Williams revealed that Wintour asked him to be a co-chair while they were eating breakfast at the Ritz.
'It was nice. I'm grateful to her for providing this platform for that special color Black. That American color Black,' he told Variety.
When asked about his fashion icons, he said, 'The working class. The Black men of the working class. They do the hard work, but then when it's time to get fresh they get dandy and super fine. I'm inspired by the working class because that's where I come from.'
The Met Gala host committee includes Audra McDonald, André 3000, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Jordan Casteel, Dapper Dan, Doechii, Ayo Edebiri, Edward Enninful, Jeremy O. Harris, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Rashid Johnson, Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee, Janelle Monáe, Jeremy Pope, Angel Reese, Sha'Carri Richardson, Tyla, Usher and Kara Walker.
McDonald, who just received a Tony nomination for her lead role in 'Gypsy,' said she was 'thrilled' to hear the theme of this year's gala.
'Honestly I thought, 'It's about time.' Someone just asked me where I think Black creativity came from and why is it what it is and I said, 'Because when we were taken away from our motherland, that's all we had. All we had was ourselves, our souls, our bodies.' From that, we survived and thrived.'
She looked to her own family for fashion inspiration for her look.
'When it comes to dandyism, my granddaddy, may he rest in peace,' she said. 'He always looked sharp. Most of the men in my family actually. My dad, too, was a sharp dresser. That was important to them. It was important to the culture and it was very important to them. You look right, you do that not only for yourself to claim and be proud of yourself, but you do that for our race.'
Variety's On the Carpet is presented by Panera.
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