Every year, New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art opens its doors to some of the world’s most high-profile celebrities and artists on the first Monday in May. Although many traditions are baked into the fabric of this longstanding event, the 2025 Met Gala is doing a few things differently.
The Met’s Costume Institute announced on Tuesday it will bring back the previously defunct tradition of a “host committee” to supplement the official Met Gala host list, and this new group features several notable figures with strong ties to Chicago.
This year’s dress code revolves around the theme of “Tailored for You,” a reference to the museum’s first menswear-only exhibit in 20 years: “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.” The exhibit is an ode to the rich culture of precise tailoring in Black menswear, ranging from the 18th century to contemporary fashion. As a result, the gala’s official hosts are exclusively men, besides the event’s longtime organizer Anna Wintour.
That said, the host committee is comprised of men and women alike, such as decorated Olympic gymnast Simone Biles. Biles frequently appeared at Soldier Field this past year to support her husband, Bears safety Jonathan Owens, who is also on the Met Gala host committee list.
Another major figure in the Chicago sports scene also snagged a spot on the host committee: Chicago Sky star Angel Reese, who was named to the WNBA’s All-Rookie Team this past October. At last year’s Met Gala, Reese made her first appearance just hours after wrapping up practice with the Sky.
The Met Gala host committee’s Chicago connections do not stop there, though. The list includes Rashid Johnson – a contemporary artist not only born and raised in the Chicago area, but with works also exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago. A former Columbia College and School of the Art Institute student, Johnson made his directorial debut adapting Richard Wright’s pivotal Chicago-set classic novel, “Native Son.”
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, award-winning playwright included in the Met Gala’s host committee, was born in Washington D.C. but has surprising ties to Chicago as well. Chicago’s own Steppenwolf Theatre Company enlisted Phylicia Rashad to stage his theatrical work, Purpose, to audiences in the city this past year. The show saw so much success and acclaim locally, it is set to debut on Broadway in New York City this year.
The attire for these host committee members remains to be seen. But if previous years are any indication, Met Gala attendees with Chicago ties will dress to impress.
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