“The figure featured in Lisa’s Louis Vuitton look is not Rosa Parks, but one of Henry’s neighbors,” a rep for artist Henry Taylor said in a statement
Lisa Manobal’s Louis Vuitton number at the 2025 Met Gala did not feature Rosa Parks’ likeness, according to the artist
A rep for Henry Taylor told Vulture that instead, “The figure featured in Lisa’s Louis Vuitton look is not Rosa Parks, but one of Henry’s neighbors”
This year marked the BLACKPINK singer and White Lotus actress’s Met Gala debut
Rosa Parks did not make an appearance on Lisa Manobal’s underwear at the 2025 Met Gala.
The K-Pop star caused quite a stir in New York City earlier this week, when she made her debut at fashion’s biggest night in a lingerie-style ensemble that appeared to some to have late civil-rights activist Parks’ face embroidered on the panties.
But in a statement to Vulture, a representative for artist Henry Taylor, who collaborated on Lisa’s look with Pharrell Williams, said, “The figure featured in Lisa’s Louis Vuitton look is not Rosa Parks, but one of Henry’s neighbors.”
“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,” the rep continued. “These figures come directly from Henry’s existing artworks, which he provided to LVMH for Pharrell’s debut collection with Louis Vuitton in 2023.”
They concluded, “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.”
The internet was set ablaze on Monday, May 5, after BLACKPINK member and White Lotus star Lisa, 28, arrived at the Met Gala in a pair of black tights and cheeky undies. From afar, the look appeared normal, but zooming in, faces designed into the lace bodysuit could be seen.
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Vogue previously reported that Taylor embroidered portraits into her ensemble. According to a statement by Louis Vuitton, the lace depicts “portraits of figures who have been a part of the artist’s life,” though it did not clarify if any famous faces were included.
Lisa’s entire outfit included a form-fitting black blazer with sheer panels. She accessorized with a black Louis Vuitton purse, black pumps and a pearl chain attached to the bottom of her jacket. Her blonde hair was kept in a voluminous updo with soft and simple makeup to complement.
Held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in N.Y.C. on the first Monday in May annually, the Met Gala is a fundraiser for The Costume Institute. This year’s event spotlighted the museum’s spring 2025 exhibition, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” the theme for the gala.
Curator in Charge Andrew Bolton said that the exhibit, which is inspired by guest curator Monica L. Miller’s 2009 book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity, explores “the Black dandy as both a concept and an identity signifier.”
The exhibit “presents a cultural and historical examination of Black style from the 18th century to the present through an exploration of the concept of dandyism,” according to a post on the museum’s Instagram.
