It was Colman Domingo’s Met Gala, everyone else was just invited
The star's outfits were inspired by his family, including his brother with whom he read GQ magazines in their shared West Philly room.
At the Met Gala on Monday, all eyes were on Colman Domingo.
The stylish Emmy-winning actor from West Philly served as one of the co-chairs of the New York event celebrating Black dandyism and given Domingo’s history of internet-breaking fashion, his look was one of the most anticipated of the evening.
Before he stepped out in custom Valentino on the red carpet, Domingo spoke inside the museum and honored Philadelphia dandies who inspired his personal sense of style: his stepfather, Clarence Bowles; father, Colman Domingo; and brother Derek Domingo.
“All of these people had great sense of style, but their jobs told one story, and the way they put themselves together outside of their work truly told another,” said Domingo, in a magenta suit by Ozwald Boateng, at the morning preview of the Costume Institute’s exhibit “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.”
Domingo remembered seeing Bowles, who sanded hardwood floors, in his patched-up blue collar uniform during the week, then donning flashy outfits, like sharkskin suits, to go out Friday night. The actor still wears his stepfather’s sapphire pinkie ring.
“When you took him out of his work clothes, he dazzled,” Domingo recalled.
Though his parents had separated when he was a kid, Domingo loved when his Belizean father, Domingo Sr., visited. In one of his fondest memories, Domingo Sr. wore an all-white outfit with tight Italian trousers and a matching turtleneck.
“He also wore a white turtleneck and drove a canary yellow Cadillac with a white roof,” said Domingo. “You see where I get my inspiration from.”
The actor’s sartorial interest was bolstered by his brother Derek, who was obsessed with GQ magazine. The boys pored over the pages of menswear trends in their shared room in West Philly.
Their mother and aunt made their own dresses, saying, “‘You can always have style, baby. Style doesn’t have to cost too much,’” Domingo said.
He also shouted out famous Black dandies in history, including James Baldwin, Harry Belafonte, and West Chester-raised civil rights activist Bayard Rustin (whom Domingo played in the 2023 biopic).
The speech concluded with Domingo’s favorite quote from Rustin director George C. Wolfe: “God created Black people, and Black people created style.”
The main event
Domingo delivered not one but two outfits on the red carpet during the rainy evening. In a nod to Black fashion icon Andre Leon Talley, he first wore a deep blue cape with a large, extravagant chest piece accessory. Then he revealed a black-and-white suit underneath with a checkered blazer, polka dot cravat, and matching polka dot floral brooch. His husband, Raúl Domingo, also wore a cravat with his bejeweled all-purple suit.
Other dapper guests from Philly attended, including Eagles stars Saquon Barkley (in Thom Browne) and Jalen Hurts with his wife, Bryonna Burrows, (both in custom Burberry).
Like Domingo, Questlove honored his father, singer Lee Andrews, wearing a Gabriela Hearst pinstripe suit embroidered with more than 30,000 freshwater pearls.
As a kid, Questlove was tasked with caring for Andrews’ wardrobe, steaming his suits and going to the dry cleaners.
“Coming from a family of uncles and a dad who wore nothing but tailored zoot suits in the 1950s and 1960s — I used to make fun of their photos hanging in my grandma’s house all the time — the irony isn’t lost on me that now I get to follow in their footsteps and having fun while doing it,” Questlove told Vogue.
Also in pinstripes was Abbott Elementary star and showrunner Quinta Brunson. The West Philly-raised comedian wore a stunning white dress-suit by Sergio Hudson and styled her hair like singer-activist Josephine Baker.