The Met Gala, organized by Vogue and themed around "costume art," was accompanied by an exhibition of the same name at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art opening May 10, focusing on the dressed body. While the exhibition has been praised for using inclusive mannequins representing diverse body types—including variously abled, fat, thin, and pregnant forms—the red carpet was criticized for its overwhelming thinness and the involvement of honorary chairs Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos, who reportedly sponsored the event for $10 million, sparking boycott calls. Fashion commentators like Diet Prada noted the Gala was more poorly received than ever, with some celebrities absent.
The controversy matters because it highlights a clash between the exhibition's body-positive message and the Gala's real-world contradictions, including its association with billionaire sponsors and the prevalence of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic. Curated by Andrew Bolton, the exhibition features mannequins by sculptor Frank Benson that will enter the Costume Institute's permanent collection, using mirrored masks to encourage viewer identification. This tension raises broader questions about artwashing, capitalism, and the future of body positivity in fashion and art, as the exhibition's celebration of diverse bodies may be seen as a distraction from the event's elitist and commercial underpinnings.