When fashion’s most anticipated night announces its co-chairs, the world listens — but it shifts when one of them is Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time Formula One World Champion is no stranger to speed, precision, and bold statements — on and off the track. But come May 6th, Hamilton will co-host the 2025 Met Gala, and this time, his vehicle is style.
Set against the grandeur of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, the upcoming Met Gala isn’t just a red-carpet affair. It’s a cultural reset. This year’s theme, “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” will take on new meaning with an unprecedented spotlight on menswear and Black style, curated by Professor Monica L. Miller, author of Slaves to Fashion. With a lineage of Black dandyism, style-as-resistance, and tailored elegance set to be explored in the accompanying Costume Institute exhibition, 2025 feels less like a gala and more like a moment of reclamation.
Colman Domingo, Pharrell Williams, and A$AP Rocky join Hamilton as co—chairs—a bold, culture-shaping quartet that bridges fashion, film, music, and sport. Together, they represent a new guard where elegance is expressive, masculinity is multidimensional, and Black identity in fashion is not a sub-theme but the centrepiece.
Hamilton’s appointment is more than symbolic. It’s stylishly strategic. Known for his love of avant-garde tailoring, bold prints, and boundary-breaking fashion choices, he’s long blurred the lines between athlete and artist. Whether walking for Tommy Hilfiger or donning custom Valentino, Lewis has treated the paddock like a runway and the runway like a manifesto. He’s championed young Black designers and stood firm on issues of diversity and inclusion in elite spaces — the Met Gala included.
This year’s exhibition will delve into how Black men have historically used fashion as a language, not just of self-expression, but of defiance and elegance in the face of stereotype. With garments ranging from 18th-century suiting to contemporary streetwear, the exhibit promises to be a rich tapestry of style, struggle, and sophistication.
The 2025 Met Gala’s dress code — “The Garden of Time” — hints at florals, fantasy, and finesse. But this time, the tailoring will take centre stage. Menswear will be elevated from backdrop to headline. Think: velvet lapels, sculpted jackets, brocade textures, and accessories that whisper power. Women are expected to lean into structured silhouettes, with designers like Grace Wales Bonner, Martine Rose, and LaQuan Smith anticipated to shine.
But all eyes will be on Hamilton, not just for his outfit but also for his orchestration of the tone. He brings with him not only his own star power but also a cultural consciousness that has earned him admiration across industries. Fashion has flirted with inclusivity; 2025 might be the year it commits.
If fashion mirrors the times, this year’s Met Gala reflects a world where heritage, identity, and innovation meet in immaculate tailoring. It is a place where suits are not just sewn but spoken—a language of lineage, pride, and presence.
As Lewis Hamilton took the steps of the Met in May, he wouldn’t just be walking into fashion history. He’ll be helping write it.
