Lauren Sanchez looked somewhat subdued as she stepped out alongside Anna Wintour ahead of fashion's biggest night.

Sanchez, 56, stuck close to the former Vogue editor, 76, as they attended a press conference on Monday morning for the 2026 Met Gala.

Wintour looked striking in an emerald green jacket, which she paired with a marigold and lilac floral skirt, along with a heeled boot.

She finished the springtime ensemble with her signature sleek bob and sunglasses as she led Sanchez to their seats.

Sanchez looked unusually somber as she walked behind Wintour, wearing her hair in a sculpted updo with diamond earrings, and a John Galliano gray houndstooth dress with black pumps.

The dress, which showed off Sanchez's svelte figure, is from the 1995 spring collection.

At the event, Wintour called Sanchez a 'force for joy' and 'generosity,' saying: 'She and her husband, Jeff, have shown with this event that they genuinely, genuinely care about giving back.' 

The fashion icon said Sanchez was 'full of ideas,' adding: 'Lauren is willing to shake up society with risk-taking and an upbeat spirit that is as boundless as her energy.'

Once she took to the stage, Sanchez appeared more upbeat, thanking Wintour for 'elevating fashion as an art form' and creating the 'respect it deserves.' 

'Thank you, Anna,' the honorary chair gushed in a clip shared on X, formerly Twitter. 'I'd like to say how grateful I am to be in this room.'

'The Met always understood something the rest of the world is catching up to,' the former journalist continued. 'Fashion is art.'

She continued, saying the 'future of the art' in the Costume Institute at the Met 'deserves investment.'

'Which is why the Bezos Earth Fund is backing scientists, reimagining what fabric can be,' she said.

Last week, the Bezos Earth Fund announced $34 million to advance breakthrough materials for the fashion and textile industry. 

Last night, Jeff Bezos, 62, and his wife were spotted arriving at the pre-Met Gala party in New York City.

The Amazon founder and former journalist looked stylish as they stepped out of a black Cadillac SUV ahead of fashion's biggest night.

It comes amid claims the couple shelled out $10 million to co-chair the annual gala alongside Wintour, who remains Chief Content Officer for Condé Nast and Global Editorial Director of Vogue, with Chloe Malle taking over day-to-day editorial and creative operations of Vogue. 

From the moment their involvement in this year's Met Gala was revealed, the couple was met with instant backlash.

The Amazon tycoon, who is worth an estimated $224.2 billion, and his wife are footing most of the bill for the May 4 event.

In response, posters created by anti-capitalist groups have been plastered on lampposts and billboards in the Manhattan streets near the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They sport scathing messages calling for a 'boycott' of 'The Bezos Met Gala... brought to you by worker exploitation.'

Vogue grande Dame Anna Wintour, who has overseen fashion's biggest annual event for 30 years, had previously attempted to quiet the growing furor by gushing in an interview about the couple and insisting that Sanchez would be a 'wonderful asset to the museum and the event.'

'We are very grateful for her incredible generosity,' Wintour told CNN of Sanchez in November. 'So we are thrilled she's part of the night.' 

Sadly, those efforts appear to have done little to quell public outcry, with some stars boycotting the event.

Bella Hadid hit out at stars set to attend the Met Gala over the Amazon boss's position as co-chairman of the event.

The supermodel, 29, who has attended the gala five times, liked a video by internet personality Meredith Lynch on Instagram stating: 'You cannot wear the ICE out pin to the Jeff Bezos-backed MET Gala. Jeff Bezos is part of the reason we're in this mess.' 

The comment was in reference to the controversy surrounding the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)'s expanded mass deportation initiative under the Trump administration earlier this year.

Hadid is joined in her sentiments by stars including Zendaya, who is snubbing the fashion world's biggest event, and Meryl Streep, who pulled out as co-chair. 

However, the couple is used to controversy.

Their lavish June 2025 Venice wedding was met with protests, while the Bezos-owned privatized space endeavor, Blue Origin, which saw Sanchez Bezos go to space with an all-female crew in April 2025, was derided as 'gluttonous.'

The theme for this year's Met Gala is Costume Art, while the dress code is Fashion Is Art.

The co-chairmen additionally include Beyonce, Venus Williams, Nicole Kidman and also Wintour.