South African businesswoman and philanthropist Precious Moloi-Motsepe will be among those attending the Met Gala in New York City tomorrow, representing African fashion at the event at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The CEO and founder of Africa Fashion International (AFI), attending for the first time, joins a growing presence of African voices at the event — including award-winning South African singer Tyla, who is on the host committee.
This year’s theme, “Superfine: tailoring black style”, was inspired by cultural leader Monica L Miller’s book, Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity.
The accompanying exhibition by the museum’s Costume Institute will showcase black designers globally, with a strong African influence. The dress code, “tailored for you”, calls for guests to embrace fine tailoring and menswear in their own personal interpretation.
“For us, and for AFI, it is really a big moment,” Moloi-Motsepe, 62, told the Sunday Times. “From the very beginning, our tagline has been ‘taking African fashion to the world’. We have incredible designers on the continent who deserve to be globally recognised. African fashion needs a voice within the broader fashion discourse, and now we have it.”
Moloi-Motsepe’s involvement in the Met Gala follows years of building international relationships through AFI’s initiatives. The fashion marketing, retail and development platform, launched 17 years ago, has since created a R6bn industry.
AFI hosted the 2019 Condé Nast International Luxury Conference in Cape Town, where Vogue Magazine editors were introduced to South African design talent.
“That moment planted the seed,” Moloi-Motsepe said. “When they thought about this year’s theme, they reached out to us, knowing how important it was to have an African perspective.”
The Soweto-born fashion entrepreneur, who is married to mogul Patrice Motsepe, believes the story of “Afro-dandyism” would be incomplete without an African perspective.
“Sunday was seen as the most special day [of the week]. Many in those days were working menial jobs so on Sunday, you dressed up to go to church and reclaimed your pride and identity.
“Whether it was during the apartheid era in South Africa or the civil rights movement in America, the politics of dress played a powerful role,” she said.
“If one looks at our leaders like Nelson Mandela ... and how he used the power of dress — to represent himself and to represent his people, and at the same time, pushing back, resisting apartheid.
“If you look at Martin Luther King jnr, he did the same. Because, whether we like it or not, how we dress speaks very, very loudly about us ... So the politics of dress is very important when we look at Afro-dandyism.”
Several African designers will be showcased in the Costume Institute exhibition, including South Africa’s Thebe Magugu, a 2019 LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) Prize winner and a 2015 graduate of AFI’s fastrack programme, an initiative launched in 2011 to mentor emerging African fashion designers.
“Thebe grew up at AFI. To see Thebe at the Met is deeply meaningful and is for me, a success story,” Moloi-Motsepe said.
“It tells the story of how we have developed some of the designers ... to the level where our African talent can shine on the world’s most prestigious platforms.”
The Met Gala raises funds for the Costume Institute. Single tickets cost $75,000 (R1.4m) and a 10-seat table $300,000. According to Associated Press, last year’s event raised a record $26m.
Guests also have to be approved by Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine, who is co-chair of the Met Gala.
The growing African influence at the Met Gala has been propelled by Johannesburg-born Tyla, 23, who made headlines last year in a stunning sand-textured gown by Olivier Rousteing of Balmain. The dress was so delicate that she needed the help of four male ushers to carry her up the stairs.
Tomorrow, Moloi-Motsepe will wear an ensemble by a South African designer, although she has kept her final choices secret. “I’ve asked a few designers to create something respectful of the theme,” she said. “We also have our own in-house designers, and a brand called House of Nala. We’ll see what fits on the day,” she laughed.
Her husband will accompany her to the Met Gala.
Moloi-Motsepe said participating in the Met Gala was a lot of hard work for AFI, “but it’s worth it”.
“We have our marketing team on the ground. We’ve got a team in New York when we did a fashion show during the UN General Assembly, so we have our logistics in place.”
Reflecting on the significance of her participation, she said: “This is not just about fashion. It’s about visibility, pride, and opportunity. My hope is that African creativity will be celebrated, that we will tell our own stories, and that we will be seen — not as a trend, but as a vital, enduring force in global culture.”
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