Beyoncé Returns to Met Gala as Co-Chair Amid Bezos Sponsorship Controversy

Key facts

• Beyoncé co-chairs the Met Gala for the first time since 2016.
• The event takes place on May 4, 2026, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
• The exhibition 'Costume Art' pairs 200 garments with 200 artworks from the Met's collection.
• The gala's dress code is 'Fashion Is Art'.
• Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos sponsor the event, sparking protests.
• The Costume Institute's new 12,000 sq ft Condé M Nast Galleries debuts.
• Around 450 A-list guests are expected to attend.
• The livestream on Vogue's platforms begins at 6:00 pm EDT.

A Night of High Fashion and Higher Stakes

The 2026 Met Gala descends upon New York this evening, with Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman and Venus Williams serving as co-chairs for fashion's most anticipated fundraiser. The event, which raises money for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, marks Beyoncé's return to the red carpet after a decade-long absence — she last attended in 2016, wearing a futuristic ensemble for the technology-themed gala. But this year's edition arrives under a cloud of controversy. Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos's sponsorship has drawn protests, with activists papering the city with posters urging a boycott. Anna Wintour, the gala's chair, defended the partnership, describing Sánchez Bezos as a "force for joy, a force for generosity" and emphasizing the event's economic ripple effect across New York, which she said drives trade to countless local businesses.

The Exhibition: 'Costume Art' and the Body

The gala formally opens the Costume Institute's spring exhibition, 'Costume Art', which runs until January 2027. Curated by Andrew Bolton, the show pairs 200 garments and accessories with 200 artworks from the Met's collection, spanning 5,000 years. Bolton said the aim is to "reconsider longstanding hierarchies" and place fashion on equal footing with fine art. The exhibition is organized into 13 "thematic body types", beginning with the Naked and Nude body. Highlights include a Walter van Beirendonck spandex suit with trompe l'oeil musculature paired with a Marcantonio Raimondi engraving, and a section on the Corpulent Body featuring Michaela Stark's corsets alongside a Cycladic marble figure from 4500-4000 BCE.

Diversity and the Dressed Body

Bolton devoted significant space to bodies that have been "undercelebrated" in fashion and Western culture. The Disabled Body section includes a mannequin styled after activist Sinéad Burke, wearing a Burberry trenchcoat modified for her small stature by photographer Tim Walker. All mannequins in this section are placed on high podiums, deliberately "pedestalised" to foreground diversity. Other sections explore the Abstracted Body with Comme des Garçons dresses paired with sculptures by Max Weber and Henry Moore, and the Aging Body featuring a Batsheva jumper emblazoned with "Hag" next to George Luks's painting 'The Old Duchess'. The show's emphasis, Bolton said, is on strangeness and surprise rather than conventional beauty.

The Host Committee and Livestream Details

The host committee includes Sabrina Carpenter, Doja Cat, Teyana Taylor, Lisa from Blackpink, Elizabeth Debicki and Lena Dunham, headed by Anthony Vaccarello and Zoë Kravitz. The dress code, "Fashion Is Art", invites guests to explore fashion as an embodied art form, with possible references to Baroque, Impressionist or Renaissance movements. Vogue will livestream the red carpet exclusively on YouTube and TikTok starting at 6:00 pm EDT. Hosts Ashley Graham, La La Anthony and Cara Delevingne will guide viewers, with Emma Chamberlain reprising her role as Red Carpet Correspondent. Partners include Full Day Productions, Feed the Animals and Dream Machine, with director Micah Bickham.

A New Home for the Costume Institute

The exhibition inaugurates the Costume Institute's new 12,000 sq ft space, the Condé M Nast Galleries, located off the museum's Great Hall. Three times the size of the institute's previous basement home, the gallery acknowledges the popularity of fashion exhibitions, which are among the Met's most visited shows. The expanded space allowed Bolton to explore his subject in depth, with 400 outfits and objects on display. Wintour described the first Monday in May as her "favourite day of the year, and also my most terrifying one" — a sentiment amplified this year by the controversy and the high-profile move. The gala's proceeds fund the Costume Institute's operations, and the exhibition is expected to draw significant crowds.

Protests and the Politics of Patronage

The Bezos sponsorship has galvanized protesters who argue that the event's association with the Amazon founder contradicts the museum's values. Sánchez Bezos attended the press preview in a shimmering bronze dress, while Wintour underscored the necessity of private funding for art. "The Met Gala has a ripple effect across New York," she said, citing the many hairdressers and local businesses that benefit. The controversy highlights the tension between fashion's glamour and the ethical questions surrounding its patrons. As the gala proceeds, the red carpet will be watched not only for its looks but for any signs of protest or solidarity among the 450 A-list guests.

The bottom line

• Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman and Venus Williams co-chair the 2026 Met Gala, with Beyoncé attending for the first time since 2016.
• The exhibition 'Costume Art' features 400 items across 13 thematic body types, challenging traditional hierarchies between fashion and art.
• Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos's sponsorship has sparked protests, with Wintour defending the partnership as economically vital.
• The Costume Institute's new Condé M Nast Galleries, three times larger than its previous space, debuts with the exhibition.
• The gala's dress code 'Fashion Is Art' encourages interpretations referencing art historical movements from Baroque to Renaissance.
• Vogue's exclusive livestream begins at 6:00 pm EDT on YouTube and TikTok, hosted by Ashley Graham, La La Anthony and Cara Delevingne.