Beyoncé may have brought her family and a silver and crystal suit, like a skeleton, in her first appearance in 10 years at the Met Gala. Or Bad Bunny may have looked like a venerable old man dressed in Zara. The Kardashians may have brought out the heavy artillery, and corsets, for the most famous staircase in the world. But this year, beyond celebrities, beautiful dresses, much-needed inclusion, and messages about the conversation between art and fashion, the Metropolitan Museum of Art gala in New York will be remembered for another issue, one that seems even more important than highlighting body diversity, or how fashion itself is also art: how wealth, changing with each generation, can alter the narrative, take over culture, and make environments rarefied to the point of signaling a change of era.
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Yes, it was the first Monday of May and, as has been customary for eight decades, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York filled with celebrities, led by Anna Wintour, to celebrate its annual fashion exhibition, raise funds for it, and celebrate the unmistakable link between art and fashion. But this time there was something more: the presence of the Bezos, Jeff and Lauren, as personal sponsors of the event, with a contribution of between six and ten million dollars, changed everything. It is not the first time that tech companies finance the great event of philanthropy and global fashion. Nor the first time the couple attends. But it is the first time they seem to pay for their presence personally, and under Wintour’s seal of approval.
The Bezos have legitimized their access to the highest culture thanks to this gala, preceded by reports and even covers in Vogue, walks through fashion shows, and meetings with social and cultural representatives. Walls in New York have been plastered for days with protests against the fourth richest man in the world and his second wife, against Amazon’s labor policies, against their support for the Donald Trump Administration. However, their millions seem to have meant more to the ever-progressive Wintour and her beloved Met Fashion Institute, her great protégé.
It has not been a particular tantrum. The opposition has been as discreet as the luxury reflected in this event. There have been some, few but loud, protesters in front of the staircase. Even the new mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, has refused to attend. But Wintour has legitimized her protégés in every possible way. On Monday morning itself, at the press presentation of the exhibition at the museum, the owner and lady of the gala made an unprecedented gesture: after decades leading the event, she spoke to the press for the first time. And without sunglasses, a milestone.
The former Vogue editor spoke, in a play on words, that the exhibition was “for everyone, for all bodies” and praised the co-hosts, Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, and Venus Williams. But especially Lauren S. Bezos, present there alongside her. She did not hesitate to explain extensively how the donor attended “every important meeting full of enthusiasm and ideas.” Of her and the three celebrities, she said they “have a desire to change things when we all agree that changes are necessary.” Then she invited Bezos herself to speak, whom she called “a great friend and great support of the museum.” In the afternoon, at the gala, they entered together, the first ones.
Even the institution’s director was asked about the matter. After the morning’s press conference, Max Hollein answered questions from several Spanish media, including EL PAÍS, about this gala and the controversial presence of the Bezos, and about a possible boycott. The guest list is never confirmed, so it is never known for sure who will be absent. But this year some celebrities have missed it, who knows if due to commitments or the uncomfortable presence of the magnates. “We are celebrating the museum, celebrating fashion,” Hollein explained. “We celebrate what we can offer to millions and millions of visitors. This is an institution that depends on the generosity and support of our donors and philanthropists. And that is precisely what this exhibition has represented for many years and we will continue to do so,” he said, evasively.
For now, media attention remains immense. Dozens of celebrities pass through the famous staircase and, this year, they had to adhere to the theme Fashion is art, closely linked to the exhibition’s theme, Costume Art, the art of dressing (which can be seen from May 10). Hence, there has been much purely artistic inspiration, from paintings, pictures, sculptures, in jackets and dresses, from arty to Greco-Roman: singer Sabrina Carpenter’s Dior dress was made of film reels; model Paloma Elsesser’s was covered in paint stains and splashes; Blake Lively’s infinite Versace tulle was multicolored; actress Anne Hathaway’s Michael Kors dress contained Greco-Roman drawings; even wings on the head were worn by performers Elizabeth Debicki and Suki Waterhouse, or a ship as a hat by singer Madonna. Many garments showed semi-naked torsos and backsides, like the dresses of Gigi Hadid, Kate Moss, Simone Ashley.
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There have been sculptural moments, among them some of the Kardashian sisters: Kim’s orange plastic body with pointed breasts; Kylie Jenner’s corset, with an unbuttoned Schiaparelli dress that showed her supposed skin, with nipples and navel falsely marked; Kendall’s draped dress, also with a naked breast trompe-l’œil. They also played with art inspiration the golden bustier with blue skirt of Hailey Bieber (without Justin), Margot Robbie’s Chanel dress rolled over her body, and Olivia Wilde’s Degas-style ballerina bustle. There were covered faces, like Katy Perry’s, Rachel Zegler’s, or Gwendoline Christie’s, with a mask imitating her own face, but few played with appearance like Bad Bunny, unrecognizable as an old man, in a nod more to the exhibition’s theme than the gala’s.
The Puerto Rican wore Zara, with a look designed ad hoc by the Galician brand and its team — as he did in his acclaimed Super Bowl halftime show. There was a good dose of Spanish brand fashion, because singer Stevie Nicks’ velvet dress with top hat, in her first Met Gala at 77 years old, was also from Inditex, specifically created in line with Zara’s upcoming collection by John Galliano, which will arrive in September. The president of the Galician textile firm, Marta Ortega, and her husband, Carlos Torretta, also walked the red carpet, in what is officially their first Met Gala. She, in dark blue, was also wearing Zara by Galliano; he, Zara. Also, Luke Evans’ erotic-cut leather suit was created by Palomo Spain.
For her part, Lauren Sánchez Bezos wore a midnight blue corset dress by Schiaparelli, clearly inspired by the painting Madame X by John Singer Sargent, the portrait hanging at the Met of the wife of a wealthy French banker from the late 19th century. In case there was any doubt about the inspiration. The strap game was repeated in actresses like Julianne Moore and Claire Foy. Curiously, despite the hefty check, Jeff Bezos did not appear on the carpet.
When the staircase emptied, after almost five hours of endless walking, the guests went inside the museum to dine. Each ticket costs around $100,000 per person (prices are not public). The general public does not have access to the gala, at most, they can peek through a gap in front of its entrance on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue. The accredited press, very few, only reach the staircase, crowded by hundreds of photographers who wobble with their cameras in a tiny space.
In reality, the Met Gala in recent years, especially the last two decades, has become an increasingly inflated bubble. The ultimate reason is philanthropy, but this relentless pursuit of money could end up being the event’s tomb and who knows if the exhibition space’s as well. If the Fashion Institute becomes sustainable on its own, beyond the party — according to The New York Times it has had a surplus for about a decade and is saving for the future, and could fly solo in two to four years — and Wintour’s figure fades, perhaps the event itself will also fade, or at least its nature will change. For now, the Bezos appearance seems more like the hinge to a new era of billionaires seeking visibility and public power, and a reflection. But the Met Gala remains very much alive.
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