The Best-Dressed African Stars at the Met Gala

Africa is famous for a number of things, but the continent’s dazzling array of stylish celebrities is one of its greatest attractions. And yesterday, at the 2025 Met Gala, the world’s biggest fashion convention, Africa was represented by a cohort of exquisitely dressed stars. This year’s Costume Institute exhibition tagged Superfine: Tailoring Black Culture, centers on the history and culture of Black dandyism. Inspired by Monica L. Miller’s seminal 2009 book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity, the exhibition celebrates the role of fashion in empowering the Black race and resisting racist stereotypes around Black people.

Keeping with the exhibition’s theme, the best-dressed Africans embodied the winsome spirit of the Black dandy through elegantly tailored ensembles. From Ayo Edebiri, who sported a custom look that marries Benin sartorial elements with a more traditional look, to Tems, who stepped out wearing a spell-binding Ozwald Boateng ensemble, here are the best-dressed African stars at the Met Gala.

Tems

When Tems made her Met Gala debut in 2023, she at once cemented herself as fashion savvy and set the bar for subsequent African appearances at the Met Gala. She sported an avant-garde gown by London-based couturier Robert Wun, complete with slick gloves and a trademark elaborate headdress made of coq plumé . This year, for her sophomore appearance, she donned a custom look by Oswald Boateng, the British designer of Ghanaian provenance whose tailored looks feature prominently in this year’s exhibition. Tems dazzled with a patterned blue shirt-dress, a matching green neck piece, and an umbrella to complete the look. 

Burnaboy 

For his second Met Gala appearance, the African Giant sauntered onto the red carpet in  an Oswald Boateng ensemble—a yellow shirt, a brilliant crimson tuxedo, and a matching trench coat. His Met Gala appearance comes two weeks after his historic Stade de France performance, and he looked every bit the star that he is. 

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 

Renowned writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who’s also a member of the host committee for the 2025 Met Gala, dazzled in an immaculate Prabal Gurung red ball gown complete with a passel of ribbon and fluffy froufrous. Her style has always leaned conservative but last night she put a slightly edgy spin to her typical style.

Damson Idris

The British-Nigerian actor stole the spotlight when he arrived draped in a bedazzled racing helmet and a full Tommy Hilfiger racing suit—a nod to the movie F1, which he features in. After a few minutes of preening for the camera, two staff members peeled off his racing ensemble, revealing a red three-piece suit by Tommy Hilfiger.

Tyla 

You can always bank on Tyla to make a bold fashion statement, and this edition of The Met Gala was no different. Her outfit—a striped white and blue Jacquemus dress adorned with jewels—channeled the glamour of vintage Hollywood icons like Josephine Baker. 

Shaboozey

For this edition of The Met Gala, the Nigerian-American singer/rapper traded his trademark country look for an elegant effeminate ensemble: boot-cut pants and a tapered cropped jacket adorned with pearls. His look was one of the most edgy of the night, and yet, he pulled it off elegantly.

Stormzy

Stormzy’s look at this edition of the gala is a perfect representation of his effortless cool. He wore a pair of black oxfords, a black pair of high-waisted pants, and a partly unbuttoned white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. His look is perhaps one of the most interesting of the night, not just because of its effortless elegance but also because it explores the boundary between casual and chic.

Ayo Edebiri

Edebiri’s look last night can best be described as a seamless fusion of the two worlds that constitute her heritage. Her Nigerian heritage is referenced through the white floor-length shirtdress she wore, which was adorned with two arches of red beads. The juxtaposition of the red beads against the white dress is a clear allusion to traditional Benin attire. Her American heritage was also spotlighted through a flowing leather jacket that sat on the pristine white dress.