Met Gala 2026: The Bezos Backlash, Devil Wears Prada 2, and What It All Means for Anna Wintour

The 2026 Met Gala has three storylines running at once: Jeff and Lauren Bezos as lead sponsors, The Devil Wears Prada 2 opening the Friday before, and Anna Wintour doing more press than she has in years. Amy sits down with Chantal Fernandez of The Cut to break down all of it — plus predictions for the night. 0:00 Intro — Why This Met Gala Is Different 1:14 - Meet Chantal Fernandez 5:42 The Theme: "Costume Art" & What It Actually Means 8:01 - The Real Story Nobody's Covering: The New Costume Institute Galleries 10:17 - How Met Gala Exhibitions Became Museum Blockbusters 12:35 - How Themes Actually Get Chosen (and Who Funds Them) 14:02 - Anna's Role: Making Exhibitions Commercial 19:00 - Why the Met Gala Gets More Criticism Than the Oscars 21:14 - What Brands Actually Get Out of Spending $350K on a Table 24:26 - Can You Even Boycott the Met Gala? 28:06 - Lauren Sanchez, Schiaparelli & the New Ultra-Rich Aesthetic 30:16 - Breaking Down the NYT Lauren Sanchez Profile 32:56 - Graydon Carter's Perfect Quote 40:14 - Fashion Is Losing Power — and the Bezoses Are a Symptom 44:01 - Anna's Devil Wears Prada 2 Marketing Blitz: Smart or a Mistake? 49:19 - Predictions for Met Gala Night 52:49 - Will Devil Wears Prada 2 Be Any Good? 54:10 - Outro Partner message: Go here: https://beehiiv.link/8yrisv and use the code AMY30 to get 30 percent off a subscription to beehiiv. Links & Resources 📰 Back Row Newsletter: https://www.backrow.net/  📸 Amy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/instamyodell/ Mentioned in this episode:  ↳ Chantal's VIC story ↳ Amy’s recent Met Gala reporting  ↳ NYT profile of Lauren Sanchez by Amy Chozick ↳ Chantal’s 2024 Met Gala story  ↳ Charlotte Cowles’s story asking Anna if she’s retiring Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices