Superfine or Superficial?

There’s a funny rule in fashion that no one will say out loud: Appropriation is only a problem if it’s affordable.

This year’s Met Gala theme, "Superfine:Tailoring Black Style," was supposedly a tribute to the legacy of Black dandyism, but let's be honest - what it turned into was a glossy, high-budget display of cultural cosplay...that no one dared to call out.

Because here’s the game: If you’re a non-Black woman walking into a grocery store with cornrows, social media will crucify you for “stealing culture.” But if you wear them at the Met Gala—alongside a custom gown inspired by African textiles—suddenly you’re “brave,” “elevated,” and “paying homage.”

It’s not the style they care about. It’s the setting.

Put black culture in a luxury box with a $40,000 seamstress and a press team, and it’s not appropriation anymore—it’s “fashion forward.” But do the same thing at Coachella? You’re trending for all the wrong reasons.

That’s the hypocrisy the media refuses to touch.

This year’s red carpet was a parade of non-Black celebrities borrowing Blackness like it was an accessory. Hairstyles, silhouettes, even gestures—dipped in just enough distance to feel “inspired,” not stolen. And somehow, no one batted an eye.

You could practically hear the discourse engine powering down the moment the cameras started clicking. Because appropriation, in the eyes of the press, only exists when it’s uncontrolled.

When a random person does it, it’s “disrespectful.” When a celebrity does it in couture? It’s art.

And the outlets that usually love screaming about “cultural sensitivity”?
They went dead silent. Suddenly, everyone was too busy praising “bold fashion choices” to ask whether any of it would’ve been acceptable in a different zip code, on a different budget, or—god forbid—on a different body.

This isn’t new. It’s just rarely this blatant.

One week, a Korean pop star wears box braids and gets dragged for “mimicking oppression.” The next, a red carpet darling debuts the same look with a teary-eyed quote about “channeling heritage,” and the media swoons.

The problem isn’t appropriation. It's who's allowed to do it, and where.

And the Met Gala has always been the safehouse for hypocrisy. A place where culture can be borrowed, stripped of meaning, dipped in luxury, and paraded under the lights—guilt-free.

This year, that spotlight turned toward Black style. But what it really illuminated was the fact that the outrage isn’t about protecting culture. It’s about gatekeeping optics.

It’s about who gets the pass— and how much they paid for it.

And until that double standard is addressed, “tribute” will just keep being a costume that fits a little too well under a designer label.