You wouldn’t have believed that this was Colman Domingo’s first time at the Met Gala. The 54-year-old actor has long pulled together dapper looks, and after stylistically dominating the carpets throughout 2024, his place among the best-dressed on fashion's biggest night felt as natural as breathing.

Wearing burgeoning New York designer Willy Chavarria, Domingo took to the carpet in a tailored suit inspired by Chavarria’s deep Latin stylistic cues and modern oversized appeal.

“It’s Willy’s quintessential style,” Domingo enthused in conversation with LaLa Anthony. “Great strong shoulders, references to the 1940s, and Chicano culture. All of it feels hot and street and sexy.”

Sexy indeed. Underneath a caped blazer adorned with generous fabric calla lilies made by CHRISHABANA, Domingo graced viewers with a deeply plunged top that felt, as he puts it, “romantic and relaxed.”

As if Met Gala spectators would have it any other way.

“I always want to feel very relaxed. I want to feel effortless,” he added. 

However, his suit was far from just visual appeal.

Chavarria and Domingo share a love for referencing historic codes, often pulling iconography from queer and POC icons that have shaped fashion in the broader diaspora of culture.

“All the references are pulled from the many men I admire, whether it’s André Leon Tally or Chadwick Boseman,” Domingo confesses, referencing the suited cape that trailed behind his every step.

The nods make sense: some might recall Boseman’s Versace suit, which he wore to the 2018 Met Gala, sporting a similar cape, or Talley’s history of suit-and-cape combos, typically cut generous and flowing.  

“I wanted to make sure I collaborated with someone special, like Willy,” Domingo gushed in reverence. "I’ve had such an exceptional year. It’s been magical. And then, to be invited here, I didn’t take this lightly."