A celebration of Black dandyism nine months in the making, Vogue’s May issue features four cover stars—each 2025 Met Gala co-chair—and a suiting portfolio featuring Black talent across fashion, entertainment, sports, and fine art. “This issue is a historic moment in the life of Vogue,” says Colman Domingo, a May cover star, and one of several talents captured for “The Making of the May Issue.”

“The kind of dictionary definition of dandyism is somebody who studies, above all else, to dress elegantly and fashionably,” explains Monica Miller, professor and chair of Africana studies at Barnard College, and guest curator of the forthcoming Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Exhibition, Superfine: Tailoring Black Style. “When the dandy is black, we get to see the dandy as a figure that really encapsulates a kind of matrix of identity, race, gender, class, sexuality, and sometimes nation.”

What comes to mind when those photographed by Tyler Mitchell for the suiting portfolio hear the word “dandy?” Between shots on location in LA, Janelle Monáe points to “individuality,” Lakeith Stanfield notes “freedom,” and Yseult proclaims “elegance.” André Leon Talley, figures from the Harlem Renaissance, and those donning their Sunday best at Black churches served as reference points for an issue that saw Domingo photographed by Iké Udé, Law Roach style A$AP Rocky, and Henry Taylor paint a portrait of Pharrell Williams, who was interviewed at the Louis Vuitton’s Paris headquarters. In London, Lewis Hamilton pored over dandy-esque pieces selected by Ib Kamara and Eric McNeal, before being photographed by Malick Bodian.

The May issue explores the indelible links between Black history, identity, and style, as well as the joyful—and powerful—act of dressing. Across sets and time zones, and amongstdesigner blazers and shimmering brooches, there was a shared sentiment that now, more than ever, is a time to celebrate that.

“This moment—especially [with] what’s going on in the world and in our country—this moment seems so important,” says Roach. “This is bigger than us as individuals. This is bigger than us as actors or actresses or models. It’s the combination of all of us coming together to create something beautiful—for present and for future.”

Here, watch “The Making of the May Issue.”