while The devil wears prada 2 This weekend’s opening is sure to be the biggest costume drama at the box office, and Monday night’s Met Ball will have plenty of its own. Its ‘fashion is art’ theme certainly rings true – but lest we forget, it’s also business.
Monday’s Met Gala — “fashion’s biggest night of the year,” as the saying goes — will feature theatrical looks, with Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams and, of course, Vogue’s Anna Wintour as co-chairs, and a host panel that includes Saint Laurent’s Anthony Vaccarello, Doja Cat, Elizabeth Debicki, Teyana Taylor, Lena Dunham, and Zoë Kravitz. But the intrigue on the red carpet is no less heated, with billionaires Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez Bezos as co-chairmen and Amazon as title sponsor. This is the business part. Online Bezos duo are accused of ‘buying their way into culture’. Whatever works No doubt their feelings.
The first question: Will Amazon’s involvement alienate celebrities? With the anti-oligarch/anti-tech activist group Everybody Hates Elon (@everyonehateselon) blanketing New York over the past month with a “Boycott the Bezos Met Ball” campaign — and social media speculation that celebrities attending might be included on Bezos’ list — the pressure is real. Of course, some famous faces never needed a political reason to skip: Jennifer Aniston, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Ryan Gosling, and The Rock never attended. But Zendaya, after seven straight years as a Met Ball star, is sitting there. Is it a political boycott? Or does she simply feel a little vulnerable, with four films due out in 2026? Lady Gaga’s name has not yet appeared on any confirmed list.
The biggest name not attending is Meryl Streep, Wintour’s on-screen lookalike, who was scheduled to take over as co-chairman several years ago, before backing out. She has reportedly been invited to co-president again this year, and her well-documented friendship with Wintour certainly seems to indicate that an offer has been made. But Amy O’Dell — who wrote the book on Anna Wintour, literally — and many social media commentators believe Streep is categorically opposed to Bezos’ involvement, and has taken up Wintour’s call. Since she’s never set foot in the place, it’s hard to say. One thing we know is that Streep has never been shy about her politics.
There are some rumors circulating: Emily Blunt will attend the ceremony, although her husband, John Krasinski, will be absent. Krasinski was supposed to dress an important menswear designer in Los Angeles, as was Seth Meyers, who would also be attending. Blunt is said to be sitting down with the evening’s potential guest outside of Beyoncé: Tom Ford, in a rare public appearance since selling his brand. So naturally, she’s wearing an original Tom Ford — not designed by Haider Ackermann, his recently appointed successor — a runway sample that was never produced.
Many of the brand allegiances will come as no surprise: Kidman is under contract with Chanel, Kravitz with Saint Laurent, and Anne Hathaway with Prada — and with Vaccarello as one of the hosts, we expect more from Saint Laurent on the red carpet than at any Met Ball in recent memory.
Will celebrities wear clothes in homage to the art world’s fashion history: a surreal number by Elsa Schiaparelli? A Mondrian-inspired YSL dress? A Versace/Warhol collaboration? “Fashion is art” is open to many interpretations. As for the tech bros: Mark Zuckerberg and his wife attended the recent Prada show; Silicon Valley billionaire Brian Johnson attended the Paris shows — expect a group of their peers on Monday night. Not in the usual jeans and jackets, but in whatever Anna Wintour chose for them. Despite being world royalty, in this world, Anna still reigns supreme.
