The Met Gala’s theme this year was “costume art.” The theme of the gala each year corresponds to the exhibit unveiled at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The exhibit this year, according to The Met, was “Asserting the central role of the dressed body in art throughout history, this volume presents fashion as an essential expression of creativity and identity.” The dress code for attendees was “fashion is art.” In the fashion industry, many designers believe that fashion is not art, and instead is its own sector entirely. Thus, this dress code invited the guests to take a stance and be inspired by artworks. Many attendees’ attire was directly inspired by famous works of art, spanning from the Venus de Milo statue to the modern PixCell-Deer.
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez Bezos sponsored the event. Jeff Bezos, the multi-billionaire owner of Amazon, drew heavy controversy to the event. During the red carpet, multiple protesters attempted to enter the event, and multiple protests happened near the event. Before the gala started, hundreds of small bottles of yellow liquid were hidden around the Met by protesters to signify the Amazon workers who testified they were not allowed bathroom breaks under Bezos’s company’s strict regulations (Los Angeles Times; New York Times).
The new mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, announced he would skip the event, saying affordability is his priority. The event’s $100,000 ticket price would not align with his beliefs. This event came at a financially turbulent time in New York City, where a new tax on the wealthiest in the city will be instated soon, led by Mamdani (New York Times).
The event is a fundraiser for The Met, and this year it raised a record amount of $42 million. This is largely due to the increase in ticket price, with both individual tickets and tables (for companies to purchase) going for hundreds of thousands of dollars. In 1948, the tickets were only $50, and New York socialites were the attendees (Fortune).
This event, while it is a fundraiser for The Met’s Costume Institute, feels extremely out of touch when one of the richest men in the world, whose company has countless allegations of mistreatment against it, is sponsoring the event. Multiple celebrities, such as Olivia Rodrigo and Bella Hadid, who were regular attendees before this year, seem to agree. They chose not to attend the Met Gala this year, presumably in protest of Bezos’s sponsorship. Next year, I hope the Met Gala will thoroughly think through who they allow to sponsor the event.
