When Pharrell Williams joined Louis Vuitton as the men’s creative director, he teamed up with multidisciplinary artist Henry Taylor for his debut collection. Taylor had a pre-existing relationship with the fashion house, which printed his 2017 portrait “A Young Master” on their Capucines bag in 2020. But working with Williams brought Taylor’s art to the 2025 Met Gala — then it inadvertently placed him at the center of controversy with posts spread across social media asking why an outline of Rosa Parks was printed on the singer Lisa‘s undergarments.
The short answer is that it wasn’t. “The faces seen on this look, as well as on previous LV garments featuring Taylor’s artwork, are all drawn from his personal life — family members, friends, and neighbors,” a representative for Taylor told Vulture. “These figures come directly from Henry’s existing artworks, which he provided to LVMH for Pharrell’s debut collection with Louis Vuitton in 2023. None of the individuals depicted in any of the garments are Rosa Parks or other well-known figures from Black cultural history. They are all people from Henry’s own life.”
On Monday, when the Blackpink singer walked the Met Gala carpet, social media users were already in critique-mode as they are every year. This year’s theme was “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” inspired by the 2009 book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity by Monica Miller, who curated the accompanying Costume Institute exhibit. Williams served as co-chair alongside Colman Domingo, A$AP Rocky, and Lewis Hamilton.
In recent years, misinformation has complicated the consumption of Met Gala content. AI images of celebrities often spread before they’ve even hit the carpet, if they end up attending at all. The mystique of the event lends itself to this, in some ways. No one knows for sure who’s going to show up or what they’re going to wear until it happens. But while users were concerned about attendees misinterpreting the theme, or playing it safe by wearing something utterly boring, many took what came across their timeline and ran with it.
“So you get exposed for saying nigga, don’t acknowledge it and then pop up to a black people themed event with rosa parks on your moose knuckle?” one viral X post with 28,000 likes reads. The user here seemingly references recently resurfaced videos from Blackpink’s trainee days that showed Lisa, Jennie, and Rosé singing and rapping the n-word during song covers. None of the group’s members have addressed the controversy, but Lisa recently told Variety they reunited “in the studio a few days ago.”
Lisa wasn’t the only target of criticism over her outfit, which paired an intricately detailed blazer with tights printed with the Louis Vuitton logo and a bodysuit embroidered with portraits. “I still can’t believe anyone thought it was appropriate to weave Rosa Parks face into a pair of panties. I never thought I would say that lmao,” another post read, while another with 81,000 likes read: “Pharrell a weirdo too cause he the one who put rosa parks on the panties!!!!!”
On Instagram, Lisa shared images from the event with the caption: “I was so honored to attend my first MET with @louisvuitton celebrating the incredible art by Henry Taylor and @pharrell. Thank you to the entire team who made my custom tailored look a reality. And special thank you to Anna Wintour @voguemagazine.” In a behind-the-scenes video, Pharrell told her: “You’re wearing art.”
