Lauren Sanchez is gearing up to serve as an honorary co-chair at the upcoming Met Gala, and on Thursday, she offered fans a glimpse of what to expect by stepping out in a chic ensemble as she left her New York City hotel.
The 56-year-old wife of billionaire Jeff Bezos showcased her tiny waist in a pair of brown pleated trousers paired with a tight white shirt, which she tucked into a nude corset. She completed the look with cream-colored platform stilettos as she exited the establishment.
Both Sanchez and Bezos are serving as lead sponsors and honorary co-chairs for this year's Met Gala. However, their involvement has stirred controversy among fashion industry insiders. One source told Daily Mail that making the Trump-friendly couple the face of the event is 'hurtful and very disturbing.'
Additionally, anti-Bezos posters have begun appearing across New York, urging a boycott of the gala. One poster, spotted on the boarded-up entrance of the now-closed Daona Deli, reads: 'Boycott the Bezos Met Gala.' Below, in smaller font, it states: 'There's no dressing it up. Met Gala chair Jeff Bezos avoids tax, enables ICE, and backs Trump. Don't let him get away with it.'
Last year, Anna Wintour addressed the criticism surrounding Sanchez and Bezos's sponsorship. In an interview with CNN, the 76-year-old Vogue editor-in-chief described Sanchez as a 'great lover of costume and obviously of fashion' and expressed belief that she would be a 'wonderful asset to the museum and the event.' Wintour added: 'We're very grateful for her incredible generosity. So we're thrilled she's part of the night.'
In December, the Met Gala announced its 2026 co-chair lineup, which includes megastar Beyoncé, Hollywood royalty Nicole Kidman, and tennis superstar Venus Williams. This marks Williams's first time co-chairing the gala, while Kidman previously co-chaired in 2003 and 2005, and Beyoncé served as an honorary chair in 2013. Beyoncé's appearance will be her first at the event since 2016.
The 2026 Met Gala Host Committee will feature Anthony Vaccarello and Zoë Kravitz, along with Sabrina Carpenter, Doja Cat, Gwendoline Christie, Alex Consani, Misty Copeland, Elizabeth Debicki, Lena Dunham, Sam Smith, and Teyana Taylor.
In November, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Vogue announced that 'Costume Art' will be the theme for the spring 2026 exhibition at the Costume Institute. The exhibition will pair historical and contemporary garments from the institute, loosely divided into three categories. Curator Andrew Bolton explained that he aims to explore the relationship between clothing and the body, with thematic sections such as 'Naked Body,' 'Pregnant Body,' and 'Aging Body.' Bolton stated: 'I wanted to focus on the centrality of the dressed body within the museum, connecting artistic representations of the body with fashion as an embodied art form. Rather than prioritizing fashion's visuality, which often comes at the expense of the corporeal, "Costume Art" privileges its materiality and the indivisible connection between our bodies and the clothes we wear.'
