Lauren Sánchez was the belle of the ball at the Met Gala on Monday night in a custom Schiaparelli couture dress designed by creative director Daniel Roseberry.
The 56-year-old showcased her hourglass figure in the navy gown, which featured a plunging neckline, a train trailing behind her, and two embellished straps adorned with pearls and crystals.
While one strap sat on her shoulder as usual, the other fell down her arm, as a direct reference to John Singer Sargent’s famous 1884 painting, Madame X, now part of the Met collection.
The portrait originally featured French socialite Madame Pierre Gautreau in a black gown with a single strap falling down her shoulder, yet this was deemed too scandalous by society at the time, and Sargent was forced to repaint the strap sitting firmly on her shoulder.
The artist hid his work away for decades before finally selling it to the Met Museum. Speaking to Vogue, Lauren shared that she was drawn to the piece of art history, “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,” she continued. “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.”
© Penske Media via Getty ImagesAs for her decision to be dressed by Schiaparelli, the mother of three explained that the fashion house understood her vision. “The theme is Costume Art, and that’s exactly what Elsa Schiaparelli was doing 100 years ago,” she told Vogue. “She wasn’t just decorating bodies – she was making art on bodies.“
See Lauren’s Schiaparelli gown below…
Lauren added that Daniel Roseberry molded it perfectly to fit both her personality and the theme. “Daniel took the spirit of the gown painted by Sargent and made something entirely his own,” she said.
“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.” Lauren, who is the honorary co-chair at the 2026 Met Gala, walked the green carpet without her billionaire husband, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, by her side.
© Corbis via Getty ImagesShe added Lorraine Schwartz jewels to complete her stunning look and wore her brunette locks down in a bombshell blowout.
© Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for TheThe Emmy winner and her husband are the primary donors for the Met Gala, and also announced their initiative with the Bezos Earth Fund to award $34 million in grants to institutions developing materials to replace polyester and cotton with more environmentally-friendly alternatives.
Fashion’s night of nights is also co-chaired by Nicole Kidman, Beyoncé, Venus Williams and Anna Wintour, and follows the dress code ‘Fashion Is Art‘.
Read the full article here
