But who really wanted Lauren Sanchez at Paris Haute Couture? People are known by the company they keep

Beyond the images of the looks, during Paris Haute Couture Week the content that has circulated the most online has been that of Lauren Sanchez, Jeff Bezos' wife, who was attending all the major shows together with Anna Wintour and with a wardrobe styled by the king of stylists, Law Roach.

In this context, the contradiction of the fashion system has emerged in full light. On one hand, an industry designed for the powerful of the Earth that inevitably ends up having to flatter and court them; on the other, a cultural ecosystem built around that same industry which is instead by nature hyper-liberal if not strongly idealist. In between them, an unknown god: money, which can do and move everything. The debate has thus ignited: are plutocrats and oligarchs unwelcome presences in the temples of fashion? Or is fashion an inherently amoral system that cannot avoid genuflecting to the powerful of the moment? But let's proceed in order.

Servants, clients, hostages

«This is all disgusting. Corporate fashion is a complete sham; it's all been bought. I don't understand how people can be part of this fiasco in these chaotic times. Shame on the creative servants», wrote yesterday on Instagram the beloved independent designer Miguel Adrover referring to the group photo featuring Bezos and Sanchez posing with Jonathan Anderson and Delphine Arnault at the end of the latest Dior show. Many have rightly defended Anderson: regardless of his personal ideas, the designer works for a company that is part of a mega-conglomerate. Whether he likes it or not, posing with Sanchez and Bezos was not an option.

The same cannot be said for Anna Wintour and Law Roach. Sanchez arrived with Anna Wintour at the Schiaparelli show and visited the atelier with Law Roach, who then revealed via his social media that he had styled Sanchez's wardrobe with archive pieces such as a 2004 Versace and Dior suit, Jimmy Choo shoes, and so on.

Louis Pisano posted an old video of Law Roach in which the stylist talks about the power of fashion to make political statements and speak about the causes we support or not. Others, however, pointed out that when Roach had announced his pseudo-retirement from the scene as a stylist (which never actually happened), he had precisely cited among the reasons for his farewell «the politics, the lies, the false narratives». Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, instead, condemned the association without mincing words and let's say without problems that everyone in the industry thinks like her.

Others, more impartial, noted that if a person is queer and works in fashion, it does not necessarily imply maintaining a progressive political alignment. In short, Roach is a professional who does his job, which also involves necessary media exposure and requires him, in short, to associate even in journalists' photos with extremely high-profile clients such as, for example, Lauren Sanchez. It remains clear, however, that the choice to associate with a character amounts to endorsing their conduct and cultural role.

Why are Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez so unpopular?

The couple's presence was unwelcome by the public due to Jeff Bezos' political closeness to Donald Trump and all the monetary help the world's richest man has given him. Bezos in fact donated one million for his inauguration, spending another twenty-eight million to distribute a documentary on Melania Trump that no one will ever watch.

In addition to the multi-billion government contracts that tie his companies to the Trump presidency, Bezos also favored him by purchasing the Washington Post, gutting its newsroom, dissolving its independence and pushing hundreds of employees to organize a campaign on X based on the hashtag #SaveThePost.

In a political moment in which democracy is at risk, social divisions are increasing, public opinion is manipulated and all normal people in the world fear being crushed between the gears of a history driven by the base interests of corrupt politicians and sinister plutocrats, Bezos is effectively one of the faces of the dystopia and, together with his wife, the couple is the silicone-enhanced incarnation of capitalist overreach bent in service of one of the world's most despised authoritarian political forces. It doesn't help that the two have waged a real conquest war on the fashion world.

If the doors don't open, just kick it down

It is no mystery that Lauren Sanchez wants at all costs to sit in the Olympus of fashion together with its deities, yet she is perhaps the most mocked fashion wannabe on the planet. Her attempts to enter the fashion world have had the same subtlety as a large SUV crashing into a store by smashing through the windows at full speed.

In 2024, together with Bezos, Sanchez wore an Oscar de la Renta dress at the Met Gala, attracting the first of many criticisms of her ostentatious and kitsch personal style. Their presence marked the beginning of their entry into the fashion world, with sporadic appearances at events that fueled speculation about further interests, extending also to business. In January 2025, Bezos and Sanchez attended Donald Trump's presidential inauguration together with the Arnault family.

Their wedding in June 2025, a three-day celebration in Venice, represented a new step forward: Sanchez wore custom outfits by Dolce&Gabbana and Schiaparelli, with a much-hated cover story on Vogue. The following fall Sanchez was at the Balenciaga and Chanel shows: one foot was inside the door. Rumors began circulating, increasingly concrete, of Bezos' interest in Condé Nast, a company to buy as a wedding gift for his wife, for whom a position as executive at Vogue had apparently already been arranged.

Last November came the announcement that Bezos and Sanchez would also be the main sponsors of the Met Gala 2026, funding the event and the Costume Art exhibition alongside Saint Laurent and Condé Nast. The news sparked further controversy given that their entry into the system, at least on an institutional level, now seems an inevitable thing. The problem, however, is that Vogue and the mega-institutional ultra-luxury brands are the only part of fashion whose doors can be broken down with the force of hard cash. But the issue has nonetheless been posed: do Bezos and Sanchez represent the dark side of luxury or its most sincere representation? To quote the mocking nursery rhyme of the banker Enrico Cuccia: «Article five: whoever has the money has won».