Let’s Talk About Met, Baby
The Met Gala is my Super Bowl, my Roman Empire, my (insert topical meme here.) And for the last, I wanna say, 5 years I’ve spent time researching it, learning it, becoming it. I could answer any Met Gala-related question. Who created it? Publicist Eleanor Lambert, of course. What year did it start? 1962, duh. Who introduced the themes for it? Diana Vreeland. In what year? 1973. And what was the theme? The World of Balenciaga! I can even tell you the moment it became a capital E, Event, for those of us in the fashion scene.
It was in 2004, the theme was “Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th Century,” and model/actress Amber Valletta wore a Marie Antoinette-meets-punk rock look with a nude corset by Maggis Norris Couture and a skirt by John Galliano that was such a capital L Look that 7 year old me felt the that the earth had shifted all the way in Northern California.
But this year, it seems that they plan to massacre my boy. Massacre it!
Amber Valletta in a corset by Maggis Norris Couture and a skirt by John Galliano at the 2004 Met Gala
The Billionaire in the Room
It’s not news that money can buy you everything. Maybe I’m the foolish one for expecting more from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but at the end of the day, museums need funding. And who has money to spare? Actual Gumby come to life, Jeff Bezos (I’m sorry, Gumby girl, you’re so much better than him.)
Just last summer, Bezos married his current wife, Lauren Sanchez-Bezos, a TV journalist who is better known for having an affair with Bezos while he was married to his previous wife, Mackenzie. Since their nuptials, Sanchez-Bezos and her husband have been doing the ‘Let’s Get This Housewife Famous’ rounds.
First, Bezos sent his now-wife to space along with five other women, most notably Katy Perry and Gayle King, which led Sanchez-Bezos to pen a children’s book, “The Fly Who Flew to Space,” which made the New York Times’ bestseller list (money really can buy you anything). And in the latest news, the Bezoses were unveiled as the lead sponsors of the 2026 Met Gala.
This was a shock to many, as the lead sponsor role had previously been given only to fashion houses, such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci. Since they're footing most of the bill, there’s speculation that this could allow the couple to appoint the gala's co-chairs. Many people are assuming Sanchez-Bezos will appoint her long-time friend, Kim Kardashian.
Kardashian is no stranger to Sanchez-Bezos’ playbook. Kardashian also bought her way into the Met Gala by donating a sizeable amount to the museum in 2013 and serving as the plus-one of her then-husband, Kanye West, who, as much as we might dislike him now, can be credited with ushering the whole Kardashian family into the fashion world.
The Gala’s Theme
The theme for the 2026 Met Gala is “Costume Art,” celebrating the connection between fashion and the human body. The exhibit will feature garments staged with paintings or sculptures. The Bezos, as previously mentioned, are lead sponsors alongside secondary sponsors Saint Laurent and Conde Nast. I find this theme interesting, and, as every year, I can only speculate about how it will actually turn out. I was pleasantly surprised by the looks we saw at 2025’s Met Gala, whose theme was “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” which has been my favorite of recent years.
Though Anna Wintour stepped down as editor-in-chief of Vogue earlier this year, she still holds the titles of Global Editorial Director and Chief Content Officer and will therefore oversee the Met Gala. Commenting on the lead sponsorship of the Bezos, Wintour said, “I think Lauren is going to be a wonderful asset to the museum and to the event. I’m very grateful for her incredible generosity, and she’s a great lover of costume and obviously of fashion, so we’re thrilled she’s a part of the night.” Which reminds me of something I said when a man I went on a date with asked if I liked his outfit after dropping $200 on dinner.
Under a video posted to the Met’s official Instagram, one user wrote, “So they've bought Vogue, and now they've bought the Met, but still can't buy class.” Another user commented,
“Stop platforming Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez with art and fashion, two places that these two awful, unfettered capitalists will never belong in, no matter how much money they want to throw around to buy culture they have never cultivated and will never inhabit.”
The State of the Union
Despite public outrage over Bezos's appointment as lead sponsor, I have struggled to find a single news outlet willing to acknowledge this disappointment. I had a professor tell me that great journalism wasn’t opinionated, to which I strongly disagree. If you want to get a neutral take on the news of the day, there are plenty of outlets out there for you. An ever-growing number, given the willingness of journalists to purse their lips together and pucker up to kiss Donald Trump’s butt. However, if neutrality is what you’re looking for, this is not the blog for you. I have absolutely no hesitation in stating my hatred for the Bezos and Trump.
Let’s not forget that Amazon published a book entitled “The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure: A Child-lover's Code of Conduct” in 2010, and refused to take it down for years, citing that they would not ‘censor’ the website. Yet in 2022, the books My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness, Bad Feminist, and Gender Queer: A Memoir were removed, along with other queer novels and pro-LBGTQIA+ merchandise.
That’s not even getting into the many human rights violations Amazon has been charged with for the conditions the company puts its workers in daily. None of this is a surprise, however, given the Bezos’ relationship with rapist and pedophile Donald Trump. Amazon paid for a documentary by Melania Trump and Bezos, and Sanchez-Bezos attended Trump’s 2025 inauguration. Trump himself has described Bezos as a “terrific” and “good guy.”
This isn’t the first time Bezos has stuck his abnormally shaped head into the business of the Met Gala. In 2012, Amazon sponsored the Gala, and Bezos served as honorary chair and attended with his then-wife, Mackenzie. However, it does seem to speak to the current state of the union: one that praises money and greed above all else. Everything can be bought; nothing is sacred. It seems that people with money are more than happy to cover up others' crimes to maintain their wealth. Likely because they have their own secrets they’d rather not get out. People who used to disapprove outspokenly of Trump, including Jeff Bezos himself, are now praising him and giving him money to release his wife’s documentary. There are obviously bigger fish to fry in the world we live in, but the invasion of art and culture is just another territory these billionaires are taking over.
And I, for one, will not let them do it quietly.
