Artist Tanda Francis created the bespoke mannequin heads for the Costume Institute's spring 2025 exhibition "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The exhibition, organized by guest curator Monica L. Miller in collaboration with Andrew Bolton, explores how Black communities across the Atlantic diaspora have used fashion and suiting as tools of self-definition, resistance, and storytelling from the 18th century to today. Francis based her mannequin on Congolese political thinker André Matsoua, a figure associated with militant Black dandyism and the Sapeur movement.
The collaboration matters because it brings Francis's sculptural practice—typically focused on large-scale public artworks addressing Africanness in America—into the realm of fashion and museum display. Her mannequin heads, multiplied across the exhibition, give a cohesive visual identity to the show while grounding contemporary fashion in historical and political narratives. The exhibition also draws from Miller's influential 2009 book "Slaves to Fashion" and includes runway looks, historical garments, and newly commissioned works, underscoring the depth of Black sartorial expression at a major institution.