The 2026 Met Gala, themed around Costume Art, drew sharp criticism as tech billionaires Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos served as honorary co-chairs, donating $10 million to the event. Protests erupted outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art, with activists highlighting Amazon workers' poor conditions and soaring inequality. The group Everyone Hates Elon projected interviews with disgruntled employees onto Bezos's penthouse and distributed fake urine containers to symbolise drivers' struggles.
Fashion insiders also pushed back. Former US Vogue editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson co-hosted a rival 'Ball Without Billionaires', featuring Amazon workers on the catwalk, and boycotted the gala. She wrote on Substack: 'Fashion has always had a talent for laundering. In these moments, it wraps the most sinister individuals in silk... But I have my limits.'
Criticism even emerged from the film The Devil Wears Prada 2, whose plot involves a tech baron attempting to buy a fashion magazine. Screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna said the similarity to real-world rumours was coincidental, but the film reflects a growing cultural backlash against Silicon Valley's influence on fashion.
The gala raised $42 million, with tickets priced at $100,000, up from $35,000 in 2022. The guestlist included Google co-founder Sergey Brin, underscoring the increasing presence of tech figures at the event. Anna Wintour defended the Bezoses' involvement, calling Lauren Sánchez Bezos a 'force for joy', but the controversy has raised questions about fashion's relationship with tech billionaires.
