While Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez helped sponsor this year’s Met Gala, Zohran Mamdani used the same Monday to spotlight a very different side of the fashion industry, after confirming he would be skipping the event altogether over what was described as misaligned values.
Speaking to i-D, the mayor emphasized the often-overlooked workers who keep the industry running behind the scenes.
“The fashion industry is made possible by the thousands of workers behind the scenes—seamstresses, tailors, retail workers, delivery drivers—whose immense talent and dedication deserves to be celebrated,” he said.
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Zohran Mamdani Highlights Garment Workers After Skipping Met Gala
Mamdani had already confirmed in April that he and his wife would not attend the Met Gala, marking a break from the tradition of previous New York City mayors.
“My focus is also on affordability and making the most expensive city in the United States affordable, and that’s what I’m looking to spend a lot of my time focused on,” he told Hell Gate at the time.
Instead of attending the Met Gala, Mamdani’s office highlighted six New York City fashion industry workers in a portrait series. The group included tailor and union organizer Christopher Anderson; Macy’s employee and union organizer Earnestine Gay; tailor Hafeez Raza; former Amazon delivery workers and Delivery Protection Act activists Latrice Johnson and Lamont Hopewell; and tailor Sonia Castrejón.
On X, he echoed the sentiment, writing: “While the world’s eyes are on fashion’s biggest night, we’re turning ours to the garment, retail, and warehouse workers who keep the industry running. From true love found on the picket line to a free tailoring school out of a Brooklyn basement—meet the New Yorkers who make it all possible.”
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A source also told Page Six in April, “He’s not coming. And it would be foolish if he did… can you imagine? It goes against everything he believes in.”
This year’s Met Gala, themed “Fashion is Art,” was co-chaired and co-sponsored in part by Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez, who served as lead sponsors supporting the “Costume Art” exhibition.
It was also co-chaired by Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Vogue global editorial director Anna Wintour. Although the Amazon billionaire did not appear on the red carpet, his wife attended in a lace-up gown that drew mixed reactions from fashion critics online.
As of May 2026, Mamdani has taken aim at the ultra-wealthy through policy proposals that include a “pied-à-terre” tax on luxury second homes valued at over $5M.
