The Met Gala theme and dress code are inspired by the 2009 book "Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity."

When the email came from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Jacques Agbobly at first didn’t quite believe it. The Brooklyn-based fashion designer had only been in the business for five years. Now, one of the world’s top museums was asking for two of his designs to be shown in “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,