Tyler Mitchell’s London show explores the figure of the Black Dandy, ‘imagining what else masculinity could look like’

‘It was absolutely intentional,’ says Tyler Mitchell, clarifying his decision to show works from ‘Portrait of the Modern Dandy’ at Gagosian’s Burlington Arcade gallery. Indeed, Britain’s first department store, as it was initially intended, separates, by a few roads either side, the sartorial landmarks of Savile Row and Jermyn Street; just a short walk away is a statue of Beau Brummell. ‘The arcade itself was built as a kind of promenade for leisure and display,’ the American photographer continues, ‘which echoes the very values of dandyism. Figures like Olaudah Equiano and Julius Soubise were already moving through these streets centuries ago, using style to claim freedom, to self-fashion, and to push against social hierarchies.’

The photographs were originally conceived as part of a visual essay for the catalogue of the Met’s spring 2025 Costume Institute exhibition, ‘Superfine: Tailoring Black Style’ – curated by Monica L Miller, the show was primarily informed by her 2009 book, Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity. That they are being exhibited publicly for the first time in London, in an area charged with style-coded history, is particularly satisfying for Mitchell. ‘It’s about deliberately placing contemporary images of Black Dandy presence back into a lineage that, in many ways, began in England,’ he concurs.

Tyler Mitchell ‘Portrait of the Modern Dandy’ at Gagosian Burlington Arcade

Placing them here asks us to both review our understanding of dandy aesthetics and the context in which they exist, and in many ways tethers the images to other recent surveys of menswear and Black style in the city – thinking about Ekow Eshun’s ‘Made You Look: Dandyism and Black Masculinity’ for example, which opened at The Photographers’ Gallery in 2016, and the V&A’s 2022 exhibition, ‘Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear’. More streamlined by its very essence, Mitchell’s series is shaped by his own interpretation of the dandy and the intersection of style, race, society and culture.

‘I was definitely sensitive to dandyism before the project commenced,’ the photographer says. ‘I hadn't yet read Monica's book, but I understood the Black Dandy to be an archetype of masculinity that cleverly twisted conventions of male dress on its head. I always liked that idea, as growing up in Atlanta, I was always looking for alternative ways to express the way I felt in touch with my own male identity, which of course was intertwined with my Blackness.’

Widely celebrated for his world-building and considered scenes of a Black utopia that prioritises leisure as a tender pursuit – ideas showcased in his second monograph, Wish This Was Real, published by Aperture in tandem with the Burlington Arcade show – Mitchell typically uses fashion as a tool for storytelling. Moreover, his close collaborators include the designers Jonathan Anderson and Grace Wales Bonner (at the Met Gala in May, he wore a bespoke Wales Bonner look inspired by Larry Neal’s 1974 collection of poems, Hoodoo Hollerin’ Bebop Ghosts), while his 2018 American Vogue shoot with Beyoncé, lauded for its history-making (aged 23, he became the first Black photographer to shoot the magazine’s cover in its then 126-year history), was additionally notable for its presence in the September issue: a bona fide heavyweight in fashion media’s calendar.

In the Gagosian show, his protagonists are smartly dressed in varying suit styles and accessories; some wear looks from the Met exhibition, others are self-styled in vintage or wear pieces from their own wardrobe. In one image, The Dinner Party, a group of nine sit around a subtly dressed table, their sharp black suits adorned with top hats and bow ties; in Harlem Stoop, a cast of eight gather outside a Brownstone in a nod to the Harlem Renaissance – one gentleman wears a heavy tweed coat over a matching suit, another ties a jumper over his shoulders.

‘Monica understood from the outset that this Costume Institute project was unique: photography of Black dandies has often been the source material for how we understand dandyism,’ says Mitchell, reflecting on the project’s backstory. ‘She gave me a lot of room to play, but we were aligned in wanting to balance historical reference with a distinctly modern sensibility, while also imagining the future.’ Research meant immersing himself in her writing and revisiting other books and films, such as Isaac Julien’s Looking for Langston.

‘One moment that really stuck with me was finding an early portrait of Colman Domingo in Shantrelle P Lewis’s Dandy Lion: The Black Dandy and Street Style,’ he recalls. ‘It reminded me how layered and unexpected these histories can be: dandyism can be evoked through almost anything, as long as the attitude and wit are there.’

‘I approach all my work thinking of the pictures as fragments of a larger story, or even a film,’ he continues, speaking to the framework of his broader practice. ‘The work leans into beauty, but it also accepts that not every image has to be a singular masterpiece. There's meant to be fluidity.’ With ‘Portrait of the Modern Dandy’, he viewed the image-making as operating in dialogue with other photographers, entering a conversation with predecessors like James Van Der Zee, Carl Van Vechten, Seydou Keïta, and Malick Sidibé, he says. In London, he references contemporary figures Yinka Shonibare, Isaac Julien, Grace Wales Bonner, and Rotimi Fani-Kayode.

‘For me, the Black Dandy is a beacon of possibility, a way of imagining what else masculinity could look like.’

‘Portrait of The Modern Dandy’ is on view at Gagosian, Burlington Arcade, London until 3 October 2025. ‘Tyler Mitchell: Wish This Was Real’ opens at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie (MEP), Paris, on 15 October 2025.