Every year, the Met Gala arrives like a glittering cultural storm. Hosted by Vogue and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, it’s an evening dedicated to high fashion, celebrity visibility, and big-ticket fundraising for the museum’s Costume Institute. With tickets now reportedly hitting an astronomical $75,000, it’s the kind of event that not only defines style for the year but also reveals deeper truths about who’s “in,” who’s “out,” and who’s being quietly erased despite their influence.
This year’s Gala was more than just another red carpet affair. The 2025 theme — “Superfine Tailoring: Black Style” — was a celebration of Black dandism, a subversive fashion tradition deeply rooted in elegance, defiance, and cultural identity. The exhibit, which opens to the public on May 10th, traces the aesthetic and historical influence of Black fashion from colonial resistance to modern luxury.
But while the museum’s exhibit aims to honor and uplift, the event’s guest list told another story.
Where Was Wisdom K? The Silence Was Loud
In the days leading up to the Gala, one question dominated fashion Twitter, TikTok, and Reddit threads alike: Why wasn’t Wisdom K invited?
Wisdom K, arguably the most influential digital fashion creator on the planet, has 13.5 million followers on TikTok, a robust global fanbase, and a reputation for pushing menswear styling to the next level. Known for his precise tailoring, eclectic takes on suiting, and editorial-level visual storytelling, Wisdom doesn’t just follow fashion — he defines it for the digital age.
The fact that he was absent from an event literally themed around Black style and tailoring felt like more than a snub. It felt deliberate.
Last year, Wisdom K attended thanks to TikTok purchasing a table and placing him on the guest list. But in 2025, TikTok didn’t buy a table — and with no direct invite from the Met or a major luxury fashion house, Wisdom was left out. He confirmed as much in a TikTok, noting that this time around, “I didn’t hear anything. Nothing at all.”
Fans were livid. Videos started flooding the app, with creators saying things like, “You’re telling me the guy who made digital tailoring cool again, who literally wears the theme every single day, got passed over?” The backlash grew louder as more influencers, particularly Black creatives, were revealed to have been left out.
Meanwhile, Emma Chamberlain — an influencer-turned-Vogue-correspondent — and Miley Cyrus, who has no known connection to Black fashion or tailoring, were invited and celebrated.
It was the kind of contradiction that couldn’t be ignored.
The Disappearing Digital Creators
Wisdom wasn’t the only one who found himself on the outside looking in. This year marked a sharp pivot away from digital creators at large. In recent years, platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram were buying tables and placing their biggest stars alongside A-listers. But 2025 brought a sudden halt to that trend.
Aside from Chamberlain (who has essentially become Vogue’s Gen Z red carpet liaison), influencer visibility was nearly wiped from the main event. While a few creators were seen at afterparties or hotel exits, the actual carpet was reserved for Hollywood royalty and legacy names.
This shift raises a broader question: Has the Met Gala — and by extension, the high fashion world — decided that digital creators no longer deserve a seat at the table? And if so, who gets to make that call?
It’s a hard pill to swallow for creators who’ve built fashion’s modern audience. These are people who push trends, democratize style, and introduce younger, more diverse fans to the world of couture — all without the gatekeeping machinery of traditional media.
The digital fashion community didn’t just notice the erasure. They documented it, dissected it, and dragged it for the world to see.
Black Style Center Stage — But Not Backstage
Ironically, the theme this year was supposed to center Black influence in fashion, yet the lack of actual Black digital creators on the carpet sent a clear message: representation may be featured in the museum, but it’s not guaranteed in the guest list.
The disconnect is stark. Black dandism isn’t just a fashion style — it’s a cultural response to exclusion, oppression, and enforced invisibility. From the zoot suits of the 1940s to the Harlem Renaissance and beyond, it’s been a vehicle for Black men and women to claim space and rewrite narratives of dignity and beauty.
Wisdom K epitomizes this legacy in the digital age. His looks channel historical depth while remaining undeniably current. His styling reflects diaspora aesthetics, luxury, and avant-garde all at once. To exclude him from an event that claims to celebrate those very values feels not just ironic — it feels hypocritical.
The Camila Confusion: Influence ≠ Access
Adding more chaos to the mix, Camila from the Bob House (a rising influencer house online) posted a TikTok saying “Hello Met Gala last night,” sparking rumors that she had attended. She was also seen leaving the iconic Mark Hotel — a known Met Gala prep location — which only fueled the fire.
Turns out, she hadn’t attended the Gala at all. She was headed to an afterparty, and the post was just part of the carefully curated smoke-and-mirrors that defines influencer branding.
This moment reminded everyone of the optics game — just how powerful association has become in the influencer world. Even without a real invite, Camila trended for 24 hours and convinced millions she had been part of fashion’s biggest night.
If that kind of buzz doesn’t prove the value digital creators bring, what does?
From Red Carpet Drama to Cultural Tension
As always, the red carpet itself was full of viral moments — some fun, some fraught.
- Joey King and Barry Keoghan had fans reading body language like CIA agents. Their brief interaction ignited rumors of friendship rifts, as Barry once dated Sabrina Carpenter, who’s close with Joey. The internet was convinced Joey was side-eyeing Barry and faking her smile — classic Met Gala micro-drama.
- FKA Twigs stunned on the carpet — and sparked some side-eye after bailing on Coachella just weeks prior over visa issues. Fans joked online, “So her visa magically cleared for the Met?”
- Doja Cat tried to stage a secretive reveal with umbrellas and bodyguards, but her outfit leaked early via elevator cameras, triggering a mix of awe and amusement. Fans loved the look but questioned the over-the-top dramatics.
- Zendaya and Anna Sawai showed up in nearly identical dresses, reigniting rumors about Anna Wintour’s level of control over the fashion. Wintour claimed she doesn’t approve every outfit — and for once, the internet actually believed her.
Lisa’s Debut and the Rosa Parks Controversy
One of the night’s most buzzed-about debuts came from Lisa of BLACKPINK, who attended her first-ever Met Gala in a custom Louis Vuitton design by Pharrell Williams and artist Henry Taylor.
The piece was stunning at first glance — but things turned controversial quickly. One of the portraits on her bodysuit was widely speculated to depict Rosa Parks, which many called disrespectful given the placement on an intimate piece of clothing.
Louis Vuitton pushed back, claiming the faces were part of Henry Taylor’s broader body of work — unnamed figures who shaped his life. But they never confirmed or denied who exactly was featured.
The backlash centered on a key issue: Intent doesn’t always override impact. Whether or not the image was Rosa Parks, the design blurred the line between tribute and tokenization. For a theme so deeply embedded in Black history, the mistake hit harder — especially coming from one of the world’s largest luxury brands.
Rihanna Saves the Night — Fashionably Late
As always, Rihanna turned the Met Gala into her own personal runway. Pregnant with her third child, she showed up late, shut down the carpet, and reminded everyone why she’s still the reigning queen of style.
The only problem? Vogue’s livestream had already ended. Fans missed the moment live — a huge L for the organizers and a major point of frustration for her devoted fanbase.
Still, photos quickly flooded in, cementing her as one of the night’s most iconic appearances. No matter the chaos or the snubs, Rihanna always delivers.
Final Thoughts: The Met Gala’s Identity Crisis
The 2025 Met Gala raised more questions than it answered. Can an event that claims to honor Black style afford to exclude the very voices shaping it in real time? Can fashion still pretend to be apolitical when its exclusions are so glaringly racialized and classist?
The truth is, the Met Gala is going through an identity crisis. It wants to be an inclusive celebration of fashion’s future — but it’s still clinging to the same exclusivity and elitism that’s defined it for decades.
Digital creators like Wisdom K are the future. They reach audiences traditional media can’t. They represent communities that have long been excluded from these conversations. And yet, when it comes time to give them the spotlight they’ve earned, the door is closed — or worse, never opened.
Until the Met Gala (and fashion at large) starts honoring true influence over institutional clout, these contradictions will keep coming — and fans will keep calling them out.
