Angel Reese will be representing the Chicago Sky on a different stage Monday night.
Reese was excused from Monday’s practice at Sachs Recreation Center in Deerfield to attend the Met Gala in New York City, the annual fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art that serves as one of the biggest nights in high fashion.
The organization named Reese to the 2025 Gala Host Committee in February alongside a slate of Black leaders in the arts, fashion, sports, music and film industries. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is an honorary chair of the committee, which is led by Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams and Anna Wintour.
Simone Biles and her husband — Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens — joined Reese on the 25-member committee, which also includes André 3000, Doechii, Spike Lee and Janelle Monáe. The committee helped craft the styling and messaging around this year’s theme: “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” which will focus on Black dandyism.
Reese has been notable for her looks off the court, as well as her rebounds on it. Her tunnel fits were quick to turn heads, including when the forward arrived to the Sky’s first preseason game Friday dressed head-to-toe in Thom Browne, one of her current favorite designers.
But fashion is more than just a hobby for Reese. After she was invited to last year’s Met Gala as a guest, this year’s inclusion on the host committee represents an evolving presence in the high fashion industry.
“A lot of people don’t understand that basketball does stop,” Reese said. “I have a life outside of basketball — and we all should. I wouldn’t be sane if I didn’t have a life outside this basketball stuff.”
This year’s theme marks the first Met Gala centered exclusively on Black design. And it will be the first time in two decades that the event will focus solely on menswear.
Black dandyism is a style with roots in the 18th century, although it became more widespread following the Civil War and was popularized during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s. The style is equal parts aesthetic and rebellion, a repurposing of high-luxury menswear that reflects both a reclamation of the society that Black people were excluded from and a subversion of those traditional styles.
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The foundation of this style is tailored suits layered with luxe accessories such as capes, canes, fedoras and pocket squares. But dandyism also requires a bold fusion of other styles and influences, such as elements of American streetwear and textiles from Africa and the Caribbean.
This is a departure from Reese’s typical style, which leans more toward high-feminine modern fashion. But it’s the type of challenge the young star embraces as she hopes to expand a future career in the industry.
Guests will begin arriving at the Met Gala at 5 p.m. Live broadcasts of the red carpet will be provided in a variety of locations, including a livestream on Vogue’s YouTube channel and a live broadcast on E! News.
