This year’s Met Gala honored the artistry of dandyism and black tailoring in a celebration of culture, resistance, and identity. Fashion, in this sense, becomes more than a source of self-perception; it becomes historic preservation, where legacy blends with the contemporary. Photographer Noam Ekhaus was there to capture the elegance, glamour, and style.
Outside The Mark Hotel
Photo by Noam Ekhaus.
Photo by Noam Ekhaus.
At The Mark Hotel, just before the Met Gala, I created an analogue documentary of the scenes behind the scenes, where elegance and vulnerability coexist. Beyond the spectacle, I was drawn to the theatre of intimacy- the liminal space between transformation and arrival, unfolding just before (or after) the grand event. In these moments, surrounded by their closest teams, guests are in between identities: the personal self and the public persona. It is here that they express themselves most freely.
Timeless Fashion Moments
Photo by Noam Ekhaus.
Photo by Noam Ekhaus.
In this high-pressure, high-frequency environment, I focused on emotional expressions and connections, and captured cultural memory in moments that feel timeless. These photographs before the Met Gala tell a story of raw emotion, authenticity, presence, and passion. Beneath the glamour lies our shared humanity and the essence of the soul.
Capturing the Spirit of “Superfine”
Photo by Noam Ekhaus.
Photo by Noam Ekhaus.
As a photographer with roots in neuroscience, my work explores the human experience both artistically and scientifically. I see documentary photography not as passive observation, but as a cinematic dialogue and a mutual dance between myself and my surroundings. I approach each encounter with intention, sensitivity, and an open channel: sometimes invisible, sometimes engaged, always creating space for a moment to reveal itself.
About Noam Ekhaus
Photo by Noam Ekhaus.
Photo by Noam Ekhaus.
Noam Ekhaus is a multidisciplinary photographer and creative director whose work explores the intersection of art, neuroscience, and education. With a background in both fine art and science, she brings a unique lens to portraiture, documentary, and conceptual photography- using visual storytelling to spark emotional insight, cultural reflection, and human connection. Noam holds an M.S. in Neuroscience and Education from Columbia University, where she also served as a teaching assistant. Her photographs have been published in Vogue, GQ, and Forbes, and exhibited internationally. Alongside her visual work, Noam has developed neuroscience-based programs, phototherapy workshops, and community initiatives. She is committed to the transformative power of art in both individual and collective narratives.
Photo by Noam Ekhaus.
Photo by Noam Ekhaus.
Photo by Noam Ekhaus.
Photo by Noam Ekhaus.
Photo by Noam Ekhaus.
Photo by Noam Ekhaus.
About “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style”
The Costume Institute’s spring 2025 exhibition presents a cultural and historical examination of Black style over three hundred years through the concept of dandyism. In the 18th-century Atlantic world, a new culture of consumption, fueled by the slave trade, colonialism, and imperialism, enabled access to clothing and goods that indicated wealth, distinction, and taste. Black dandyism sprung from the intersection of African and European style traditions.
Superfine: Tailoring Black Style explores the importance of style to the formation of Black identities in the Atlantic diaspora, particularly in the United States and Europe. Through a presentation of garments and accessories, paintings, photographs, decorative arts, and more, from the 18th century to today, the exhibition interprets the concept of dandyism as both an aesthetic and a strategy that allowed for new social and political possibilities. Superfine is organized into 12 sections, each representing a characteristic that defines the style, such as Champion, Respectability, Heritage, Beauty, and Cosmopolitanism. Together, these characteristics demonstrate how one’s self-presentation is a mode of distinction and resistance—within a society impacted by race, gender, class, and sexuality.
About the Curator of “Superfine,” Monical Miller
Monica Miller is Professor and Chair of Africana Studies at Barnard College, Columbia University. She is a scholar of contemporary African American and Afro-diasporic literature and cultural studies. Her book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity won the William Sanders Scarborough Prize for an outstanding scholarly study of Black American literature or culture from the Modern Language Association and was short-listed for the Modernist Studies Association Book Prize.
She’s been interviewed and consulted frequently by the media and arts worlds; she teaches and write about Black literature, art, and performance, fashion cultures, and contemporary Black European culture and politics. Her work has received support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and the Institute for Citizens and Scholars.
Miller studied at Dartmouth College where she earned a BA in English and Classical Studies, and Harvard University, where she received an MA and PhD in English Literature. Her next book project, Blackness Swedish Style: Race and the Rhizomatics of Being considers cultural production by the emerging Black community in Sweden and its connection to Black European identity formation and cultural/political movements.
