Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez continue to climb the fashion world’s biggest ladders.
Amazon’s founding couple have been named honorary co-chairs of the 2026 Met Gala, adding new titles to their increasingly elevated roles at fashion’s most exclusive event. The designation will put them in line to receive their benefits on the evening of May 4, alongside co-chairs Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams and Anna Wintour.
The couple had already been announced as lead sponsors of the Costume Art gala and exhibition in November, but when Vogue revealed the rest of the organizing committee in December, it did not mention the promotion of co-chairs. Instead, the news was posted near the bottom of the evening’s dress code, “Fashion is Art,” announced on February 23rd, and added to the list of eight newly added host committee members.
But Sanchez didn’t fill in for Lede himself. Appearing on the Today show on Tuesday, she said the offer also included the title of co-chairman from Jump.
“Anna called me and said, ‘Would you like to be co-chair and sponsor of the Metropolitan Museum of Art?’ It was such an honor,” she said. “And she mentioned to me the theme that fashion is art. These designers are true artists.[Elsa]Schiaparelli was close friends with Salvador Dali. His medium was canvas, her medium was clothes.”
“It’s going to be incredible to see what everyone is wearing and pay homage to all these designers,” she added. “I can’t wait.”
There is precedent for a married couple to serve as both sponsors and honorary presidents. Blackstone CEO Stephen A. Schwarzman and his wife, Christine, also served as chair emeritus when the company was the lead sponsor of the 2018 Celestial: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination exhibit. This exhibition later became the most visited exhibition in the history of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, attracting more than 1.6 million visitors.
Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, was named honorary co-chair in 2022 when the social media platform took over the event.
Still, Mr. Bezoses’ footprint on fashion’s biggest night continues to grow, drawing harsh criticism. When their sponsorship was first announced in November, Instagram users flooded the Met’s post with accusations that the couple was trying to buy cultural legitimacy.
“This is such an iconic theme and it’s very, very sad to see it watered down and trashed by sponsorship choices,” one commenter wrote.
Wintour pushed back against the backlash, telling CNN in November, “Lauren will be a great addition to our museum and our events. We are extremely grateful for her incredible generosity.”
Mr. Bezos has attended the gala before, serving as honorary chairman in 2012 when Amazon sponsored the event, and attending the Camp: Notes on Fashion extravaganza alone in 2019 — while Mr. Sanchez has only attended once, making his debut in 2024.
