Superfine: Tailoring Black Style -- Monica L. Miller, Hardcover

This exploration of Black dandy fashion and its representation in art and literature highlights the vibrant, complicated legacy of a recognizable yet constantly shifting style, from its origins in Enlightenment Europe to the contemporary art and fashion worlds

Superfine: Tailoring Black Style traces the complex and vibrant legacy of menswear across three centuries of Black culture--from today's hip-hop aesthetic and popular street trends, through its use during the Harlem Renaissance and the civil rights movement as a symbol of creative and political agency, to its surprising origins as an imposed uniform for servants and enslaved people. Organized by key characteristics of dandyism that resonate across time, including presence, distinction, disguise, and respectability, this fresh interpretation of a centuries-old aesthetic draws on prominent Black voices in fashion, literature, and art--among them, Dandy Wellington, Amy Sherald, Ik? Ud?, and Andr? 3000. Self-described dandies and high-fashion models feature in a stunning photo essay by artist Tyler Mitchell, who also contributes evocative new photography of garments by contemporary designers such as Virgil Abloh, Pharrell Williams, and Grace Wales Bonner. These works are shown alongside historical attire worn by Black luminaries including Frederick Douglass, Alexandre Dumas p?re, Muhammad Ali, and Andr? Leon Talley. Scholar Monica L. Miller contextualizes these objects in her text and shows how the evolution of dandy style inspired new visions of Black masculinity that use the power of clothing and dress as a means of self-expression.

Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press

Exhibition Schedule:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
(May 10-October 26, 2025)

Author: Monica L. Miller
Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art New York
Published: 05/27/2025
Pages: 372
Binding Type: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781588397997

About the Author
Monica L. Miller is professor of Africana studies at Barnard College, Columbia University, New York. Andrew Bolton is curator in charge, William DeGregorio is associate curator, and Amanda Garfinkel is associate curator, all in The Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.