Toronto is getting its own Met Gala this weekend

Every year, fashion lovers eagerly anticipate the first Monday in May — the day upon which the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is flooded with actors, artists, designers and A-listers dressed their best. One of the world’s most prolific fashion events, the Met Gala marks the launch of the museum’s new Costume Institute Exhibition each year. While the day may have come and gone already, Torontonians who can’t get enough of this year’s theme will have another opportunity to revel in all things fashion this weekend. Toronto’s Nia Centre for the Arts is hosting their own version of the Met Gala on Saturday.

Named Stylin’ Out: The Dandy Within, the Toronto event draws on the new exhibition at the Met and the Met Gala’s theme this year, Superfine: Tailoring Black Style. The exhibition, and therefore the attire sported by attendees at the gala, is said to explore the emergence and significance of the Black dandy. Inspired by guest curator Monica L. Miller’s 2009 book, Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity, it happens to be the first Costume Institute exhibition since 2003 to focus on menswear.

Guests who attended the Met Gala this year also received a dress code: Tailored for You. Many attendees took note, with meticulous tailoring and suiting elements featuring heavily in many of the looks. Some guests got a bit more creative, going for more avant-garde interpretations that included Demi Moore’s outfit by Thom Browne, in which she dressed as a literal tie, or André 3000’s Burberry coveralls, complete with a massive piano strapped to his back.

If this sounds intriguing to you, the Nia Centre’s Met Gala event will be filled with even more inventive creations that touch on Black dandyism. The organization, which is Canada’s first professional Black arts centre, said they’ll be rolling out the black carpet for the event, which promises to be a “celebratory evening of Black high style.”

Toronto designers Mic. Carter and David Ezomoh will be taking the stage for a conversation about their work, their modern interpretations of dandyism and more. Carter is the creative director and owner behind the gender non-conforming fashion label L’Uomo Strano, while Ezomoh is the creative director behind DAVID ZALA / ZALAHARI. 

Attendees will also be able to explore a Toronto version of the Met’s fashion exhibition — the Nia Centre will have on display a fashion presentation featuring garments selected from both visionary designers’ archives.

Of course, any Met Gala isn’t complete without a chance to socialize and mingle — and this one is no exception. Finish off the night with a mixer, where you’ll have a chance to mingle with local Black fashion professionals.

Key to this event is the dress code, which asks that attendees reflect the Met Gala’s theme of Superfine: Tailoring Black Style. “Come dressed in your boldest, sharpest, most Dandy-inspired fit,” the invite reads.

For those unfamiliar with dandyism, look no further than Miller herself. She writes in her book that the term Dandy has historically been used to describe someone (though often a man) who was “extremely devoted to aesthetics and approached it as a lifestyle.”

The Nia Centre notes that the Black Dandy is all about freedom, dissonance and theatricality. Take your cues from this year’s Met Gala co-chair, Colman Domingo, or the always-stylish and whimsical (and one of the inarguable best-dressed of the night) Janelle Monáe.