BLACKPINK Lisa's First Met Gala Appearance Stirs Controversy Over Rosa Parks Underwear Embroidery

BLACKPINK's Lisa turned heads with a questionable outfit for the 2025 Met Gala.

The chart-topping star, famous for her stylish outfits and swanky performances, sported a black look for her first attendance at the sparkling event.

Though the ensemble was initially met with delight from fans over the striking black blazer accented with sheer panels, it soon became the center of an online controversy when fans noticed the embroidered faces on her lingerie — with some taking to social media to speculate that one of the embroidered faces bore a resemblance to a civil rights activist.

Met Gala Look Stuns Crowd for Entirely Wrong Reasons

Louis Vuitton dressed the 28-year-old K-Pop sensation for the Met Gala, which took place on May 5, 2025, in New York and followed the theme "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style."

The look consisted of a tightly fitted black blazer, which featured sheer panels, and a pair of black tights with the Louis Vuitton logo strewn all over them. But it was the lace bodysuit beneath that was the attention-grabber. The embroidered portraits on the underwear, which appeared to be of faces stitched into the fabric, caused speculation about one portrait being of Rosa Parks.

The backlash was swift. One social media user wrote:

Another user seconded their thoughts:

The third user raised concern too and asked why such a design on the carpet of the Met Gala, which clearly isn't in good taste:

Louis Vuitton Explains the Design's Meaning

The debate about Lisa's ensemble had many questions about whether the faces stitched into her bodysuit were, in fact, intended to be images of Parks.

In response to the outcry, Louis Vuitton explained the design further. A spokesperson for the fashion house confirmed the embroidered faces had been designed by artist Henry Taylor, who had previously collaborated with the brand on the Men's Spring-Summer 2024 collection presentation. Taylor's work — a series of portraits of important people in his life, like Fern Fordham and Tom of Finland — was integrated into Lisa's look, which was intended as a larger artistic statement.

Louis Vuitton said the work had featured a "portraits of figures who have been a part of the artist's life," while declining to confirm whether it was that of Parks. In this case, the image may have been a nod to cultural and historical figures in fashion, given it occurred within the context of the Met Gala's theme, "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style," which among Black dandyism also encompasses a history of Black style, — but it sent mixed reactions online.

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