Lewis Hamilton’s fashion instincts are layered with undertones of what he has had to go through as a black athlete dreaming to make it into F1. All his life, and particularly in his junior racing career, the seven-time world champion has had to battle against marginalization and racism. At the unveiling of the 2025 Met Gala recently, he took the opportunity to reflect on the same.
Hamilton is all set to co-chair the 2025 Met Gala which is scheduled to be held on the 5th of May next year. Being an avid fashion enthusiast, the 39-year-old spoke about how fashion and racing became his tools to overcome the gremlins of his youth.
He was quoted (on X (formerly Twitter)) as saying, “My routine was very rigid, and I was the only black kid on the race track, so there was no one really like me to look up to. It wasn’t until later in my career that I found the courage to push beyond the boundaries that I’d been confined to for such a long time.”
Lewis: “My routine was very rigid, and I was the only black kid on the race track, so there was no one really like me to look up to. It wasn’t until later in my career that I found the courage to push beyond the boundaries that I’d been confined to for such a long time…[1/2] pic.twitter.com/J2G0SwhJoD
— Sir Lewis Updates (@LH44updates) October 10, 2024
Back in 2021, Hamilton provided deserving black designers a place on his Met Gala table. He told Vogue that he viewed the Met Gala as a platform to promote groundbreaking designers and shout the slogan of diversity.
Last year, the #44 driver’s look at the Met Gala was inspired by UK’s first-ever black gardener. Paying homage to John Ystumllyn, Hamilton said, “Through adversity, he really triumphed.”
This year as well, the event — which is hosted traditionally at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City — will see a host of prominent black personalities co-host. Alongside Hamilton expect to see the likes of Pharrell Williams, A$AP Rocky, Colman Domingo, and LeBron James who will be the honorary co-chair.
