For decades, the first Monday in May has marked one of fashion‘s biggest nights as A-listers from around the world descend upon the Metropolitan Museum of Art to attend the Met Gala. Since 2021, the first gala post-pandemic, its prestigious crown has started to slip.
A wave of influencer integration in the 2021 and 2022 editions saw the gala transition from one of prestige and exclusivity to TikTok fodder. As influencers lost their footing at the gala, however, a new fear started to emerge: corporations (and the moguls running them) rising to the fore.
In February, it was announced that Jeff Bezos, the founder, ex-CEO, and current executive chairman of Amazon, and his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, would serve as honorary chairs for the evening. It was later reported by Page Six that they’d spent “at least” $10 million to sponsor the event and earn the uber-wealthy couple that coveted title. The Met’s website also prominently highlights how this year’s exhibition and gala have been “made possible” by the couple.
Critics were quick to point out the sheer irony of their involvement, given that Amazon was at the forefront of the modern fast fashion industry, and its presence in the marketplace led to a rapid decline in clothing quality, with consumers — as a result of broader economic strains — being forced to prioritize low price points over fashion (and ethics). The Bezos’s (Jeff directly, and Lauren by association) have directly harmed the artists and artisans they’ve paid a pretty penny to stand alongside. To add fuel to the fire, the plot of “The Devil Wears Prada 2” echoes longstanding rumors that the couple wishes to acquire Condé Nast, the parent company of several major publications, including Vogue. Despite all this, the Costume Institute, Anna Wintour, and Condé Nast have thus far been willing to overlook everything in the name of staying afloat.
The fashion also left much to be desired. The theme, “Fashion is Art,” invited guests to “express their own relationship to fashion as an embodied art form and celebrate the countless depictions of the dressed body throughout art history.” In a similar vein, the exhibit itself, themed “Costume Art,” explores “the centrality of the dressed body” through different body types, including the naked, classical, pregnant and aging bodies – among others.
But the red carpet, at any given moment, looked like a poorly constructed collage. A general rule of thumb for the Met Gala: if you can (comfortably) wear it to the Oscars, you should probably try a little harder. That message doesn’t seem to have been conveyed.
The references (of which there were many) were to be expected, and it’s here where Hollywood’s growing lack of creativity began to seep through. With thousands of famous pieces of art to reference, it’s incredible that there were three separate iterations of “The Portrait of Madame X” from Lauren Sánchez Bezos (Schiaparelli), Claire Foy (Erdem), and Julianne Moore (Bottega Veneta). Statues were also omnipresent, with upwards of 15 stars, including the Jenner sisters (GapStudio and Schiaparelli), Heidi Klum (Mike Marino), and Doja Cat (Saint Laurent), all showing up as some iteration of a famous sculpture.
As the night wore on, the homogeneity was disrupted by several major arrivals, including Bad Bunny (in arresting old-man makeup), Madonna (in a Saint Laurent look inspired by Lenora Carrington’s “The Temptation of St. Anthony”), and Beyoncé (in Olivier Rousteing, who reimagined Caroline Durieux’s “The Visitor”). This trio, among the best dressed of the evening, had done the research necessary to create a look that was both on theme and unique. They stood out from a crowd whose preparation for the night appeared to be the result of a single Google search for “famous piece of art.”
Gilbert Flores
The Met Gala stands on solid financial ground, with the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute confirming this year’s record-breaking fundraiser of $42 million, up $11 million from last year — a boost that can be largely attributed to the Bezos’s hefty contribution.
