Susanne Ljung: It is not pale Dandys that should be praised
The funniest dressed on the red carpet today is often the men.
Sure, many still wear tuxedo and black suits on gala events, but strikingly many take the turns and dress both colorful and imaginative.
A favorite (and not just mine) is American actress Colman Domingo who sailed as one of the new male style stars.
It’s no one Dununge we’re talking about. He is 55 years old and has worked with both theater, film and television for a long time. But he has recently been noticed a little extra thanks to participation in popular series such as « Fear the Walking Dead » and « Euphoria ». In 2023 he was also nominated for several major prizes, including an Oscar, for his role as civil rights activist Bayard Rustin in the movie « Rustin ».
But at least as much attention, if not more, he has received for his stylish way to dress.
« He’s in a fashion class for himself. » « Colman Domingo sets the bar for men’s fashion. » « One of Hollywood’s best dressed. »
It’s just Some of the headings for the many articles written about his way of combining classic suits with surprising accessories and make it look … absolutely fantastic.
So that he is now one of the four fashion conscious men who are involved in this year’s big fashion exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art is not surprising.
The theme is: « Superfine: Tailoring Black Style ». It is not only the first exhibition in more than twenty years at The Met devoted to men’s fashion. Above all, it is the first fashion exhibition ever at this museum that focuses on black fashion creators, and black style.
The exhibition is inspired By the book « Slaves to fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity » by Monica L Miller, a professor at Columbia University and specialist in African-American culture.
She derives the black dandy style until 18th century England, and the slave trade. Popular among white owners, who wanted to brag about their wealth, was then to dress up young black male slaves in extravagant uniforms as a kind of « luxury slaves » to show off.
Today, « Black Dandy » is perhaps mostly associated with the style that took off in the United States in the early 1900s.
Many black men Then began to dress in classically tailored suits of European cut, but combined them with elements of strong colors and patterns picked from Africa.
It was a socially correct look, but also subtle subversive.
Creating a personally designed style became not only a way of expressing independence, but also to « imagine the self in another context », as Monica L. Miller puts it.
And so the very foundation of the dandy is on the idea that through clothes you can become who you want to be.
Thank you the French The Revolution 1789 for it. After that, it was no longer a place to appear as flashy aristocrat in silk and velvet. Instead, it was the people who became a trendsetter, for the first time in history. Now you could get ahead in your career and make yourself noticed without titles and money, but with the help of well -chosen clothes. This new type of fashion conscious one began to be called just Dandy. British Beau Brummel is usually highlighted as the watch type for one.
But if there are any that should really be praised for their groundbreaking style, there are no pale Dandys from the past, but precisely the many black contemporary men who consciously stretch at the boundaries of fashion and create new role models. Like Colman Domingo, a Black Dandy 2.0.
