Before her appearance tonight on the 2026 Met Gala’s garden-inspired carpet, honorary chair Lauren Sánchez Bezos had a packed weekend. Of course, there were the typical getting-ready appointments—a facial, a final fitting with Schiaparelli creative director Daniel Roseberry—but she also did something a little out of the ordinary.

“I went to visit the New York Fire Department and did their training,” Sánchez Bezos says. “It’s probably the most unique Met prep ever.” The routine included donning gear, crawling through a smoke-filled obstacle course, and practicing how to save a life. “It was bananas, but I loved it. I probably lost about two pounds doing it.”

Of course, other preparations for a Met Gala start months earlier. For Sánchez Bezos, it began when she selected Schiaparelli for her dress. “The theme is ‘Costume Art,’ and that’s exactly what Elsa Schiaparelli was doing 100 years ago,” Sánchez Bezos says. “She wasn’t just decorating bodies—she was making art on bodies.”

The final look was conceived following a casual conversation in Paris between Sánchez Bezos, Roseberry, and her stylist, Law Roach. “We discussed what I like to wear and my personality, and then Daniel molded it into the design.”

The dress is a reference to one of the most famous portraits in The Met’s collection: Madame X by John Singer Sargent. Sargent’s 1883 masterwork has a storied history: The portrait originally depicted French socialite Madame Pierre Gautreau in a black fitted gown, with one strap subtly slipping off her shoulder—a detail that caused such an uproar that Sargent repainted the strap upright. Sargent hid the painting for three decades because of its controversy, eventually selling it directly to The Met with a note of sadness: “I suppose it is the best thing I have done,” he said.

Sánchez Bezos says she was drawn to the story, “particularly how a small detail, like the fallen jeweled strap, once sparked such a strong public reaction. When you stand in front of it now, you see a beautiful woman. For me, the image represents how fashion and cultural standards can shift over time. Today, a strap is a strap, but back when Madame X was painted by Sargent, a strap was a scandal.”

As for the Schiaparelli interpretation, she says, “Daniel took the spirit of the gown painted by Sargent and made something entirely his own.” The strap is positioned off her shoulder—just like in Sargent’s original painting.“The silhouette nods to the painting, and the pearl-and-crystal straps are a quiet reference to the originals, but everything else is Daniel. His craftsmanship is breathtaking.”

Like many of Sánchez Bezos’s fashion choices, the look is body-conscious, highlighting her waist. “That might’ve been the one direction that I gave Daniel,” she says, adding that she worked with tailor Laura Basci. “I was like, ‘Let’s do a waist.’”

That means there’s a corset laced up tight behind the seams. “Just so you know—I can walk and sit down with ease,” she says, alluding to the viral moment of Tyla being carried up the stairs in a custom Balmain dress at the 2024 Met Gala. “I will definitely be able to walk up those stairs.”

When it comes to her glam, Sánchez Bezos is less precious. For the night, she recruited makeup artist Maria Vargas, hairstylist Rick Henry, and manicurist Thaisa. “I like to let them do their thing, and it always works out for me.”

It’s been a big fashion year for Sánchez Bezos. After her wedding to Jeff Bezos last June, the couple announced a partnership with the CFDA through the Bezos Earth Fund called The Next Thread Initiative. “I’m learning more and more about fashion every day,” Sánchez Bezos says. “One thing I’ve learned is that materials are everything. So we have teamed up with scientists who are growing fiber from bacteria. I know it sounds like something from Star Trek, but there are scientists engineering cotton that comes out of the ground already in color.”

The couple is the lead sponsor of tonight’s gala and exhibition, and to hear Sánchez Bezos tell it, The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds a special place in her heart. The first time she visited was while on assignment during her Extra television days. “While in New York, I decided to take the day to go to The Met,” she says, “and I remember standing in the galleries and thinking, Oh my gosh, somebody saved this. Somebody decided that this mattered.”

Since then, she’s been back many times and has especially loved taking her children. “I would always linger in the Costume Institute galleries because I really do believe that fashion is art,” Sánchez Bezos says. “The Met is one of the few places that really treats it that way. So it feels so special that this year I get to help in some small way.”

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