This week, I checked in on how beauty brands showed up around the Met Gala. Additionally, beauty’s CEO landscape gets a major shakeup, and Coty is in hot water over its management of David Beckham’s fragrance brand.
Why big beauty names like Estée Lauder Companies wanted in on this year’s Met Gala
On Monday, the Metropolitan Museum of Art opened its doors to the annual Met Gala. The event celebrates the opening of the 2026 Costume Institute exhibition “Costume Art,” which “explores depictions of the dressed body across The Met’s vast collection,” per the museum’s description.
Each year, the Met Gala not only drives interest in the accompanying exhibition but also serves as a valuable red-carpet showcase for brands. And even amid increasing controversy around the event, it’s not only fashion brands making show-stopping gowns that are looking for a coveted spot on the red carpet — it’s beauty, as well.
Per press releases, at the 2026 event, Valentino Beauty appeared on singer-songwriter Tyla, who also wore Initio Parfums Privés hair and body perfume. Charli XCX also wore Initio hair perfume. Actress and Met Gala Committee co-chair Elizabeth Debicki used Rodan + Fields skin-care products as part of her red-carpet glam. Tennis star Naomi Osaka had her skin prepped with Tatcha, while ballerina Misty Copeland and director Greta Gerwig wore Merit.
Ahead of the event on Sunday and Monday, the Estée Lauder Companies took participation a step further by hosting a gifting suite at The Carlyle Hotel — the preferred hotel for many celebrities to get ready for the Met Gala red carpet. The conglomerate invited some 200 makeup artists, influencers and editors to visit the suite and stock up on products from ELC-owned brands like La Mer and MAC Cosmetics ahead of the big night. Estée Lauder global ambassadors like Karlie Kloss and Daisy Edgar-Jones attended the event, as did MAC ambassador and co-chair Doja Cat. MAC acted as the official backstage partner of the Gala.
“We are excited about the creative energy at the Met Gala this year, where fashion and beauty take center stage. We are inspired by this year’s theme and proud to support bringing these visions to life. It’s a moment we feel deeply connected to in spirit,” said Jane Hudis, evp and chief brand officer at the Estée Lauder Companies. “MAC is leading the artistry this year backstage. Our gifting suite extends that connection, featuring our best products from across the portfolio — including Estée Lauder, Clinique, La Mer and Bobbi Brown.”
There’s reason for brands to want their products associated with the event. According to Launchmetrics, the 2025 Met Gala generated $1.3 billion in media impact value, its proprietary metric of the monetary value of online visibility, in the first 48 hours following the event. That represented a 19% increase from 2024.
But while the Met Gala is one of fashion’s buzziest events, it has also in recent years drawn increased criticism for its displays of wealth, with some netizens likening its ostentatious outfits to the Capitol residents of the dystopian “Hunger Games” franchise. Proponents of the event point out that, at its core, the Gala is a fundraising event for the Met’s Costume Institute, whose collection includes more than 33,000 items of fashion spanning seven centuries. The 2025 event raised a record $31 million.
The 2026 Gala has drawn particular ire, however, for the involvement of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sánchez Bezos, who, as the honorary chairs, provided much of the funding for the exhibition and event. Sánchez Bezos’ entry into high fashion, such as her appearance on the June cover of Vogue, has already proved contentious. Bezos, whose ties to the Met Gala go back to 2012, has drawn criticism for building his wealth off Amazon’s allegedly exploitative labor practices.
Numerous celebrities opted out of the 2026 Met Gala, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who chose not to attend the event and instead gave an interview to i-D to highlight the city’s garment workers. “New York is built by its workers, and the Mamdani administration believes they deserve to be seen with the same care and attention usually reserved for the red carpet,” Mamdani’s office stated in a press release.
According to the New York Times, the Costume Institute has been working to reduce its reliance on the Met Gala and may have enough funding set aside by 2028 to operate without a Gala at all. Whether brands will have accrued enough lasting value from the event by then remains to be seen.
Image credit: Greg Swales
Executive moves:
- Stila Cosmetics names Daniel M. Annese as CEO. Annese has served on the makeup brand’s board for three years and was previously at the Estée Lauder Companies, where he oversaw brands such as Tom Ford Beauty and Too Faced. He succeeds Michelle Kluz, who was appointed CEO in 2022.
- Former Stila CEO Michelle Kluz has joined MCo Beauty’s parent company, DBG Beauty, as global CEO. The Australian beauty brand is known for its dupes of high-end products from brands like Charlotte Tilbury and Sol de Janeiro.
- Sol de Janeiro promotes chief marketing and digital officer Jordan Saxemard to CEO. He succeeds founder Heela Yang, who will exit the L’Occitane-owned body-care brand. Saxemard joined Sol de Janeiro in 2025 after stints at Sonos, Dyson and Coty.
- Marc Chaya steps down as president and CEO of Maison Francis Kurkdjian. Chaya co-founded the fragrance brand with perfumer Francis Kurkdjian in 2009. The brand was acquired by LVMH in 2017. Chaya will remain on as a strategic advisor to Véronique Courtois, chairman and CEO of Parfums Christian Dior and LVMH’s Beauty Division.
News to know:
- Coty faces a lawsuit from David Beckham’s fragrance brand. DB Ventures, the company behind Beckham’s fragrance, alleges that Coty mismanaged the brand by allowing it to be sold in gas stations. DB Ventures is seeking damages of up to $41 million against the conglomerate, which has owned the brand license since 2005. Interparfums will acquire the license in 2028.
- Ulta Beauty and NielsenIQ announced a data-sharing partnership. The beauty retailer will provide sales data to NIQ’s upcoming Full View of Beauty channel, while Ulta will have access to NIQ data. NIQ announced a similar partnership with Sephora in June.
- Amazon opens its distribution and fulfillment service to outside businesses. The e-commerce giant launched the Amazon Supply Chain Services on Monday, letting outside companies access its freight, distribution, fulfillment and parcel shipping services. Procter & Gamble and American Eagle Outfitters have already signed up for the service.
Stat of the week:
According to data from Sampl, 51% of U.K. shoppers aged 18–24 are less willing to try new products than they were a year ago due to rising prices. Nearly half of 25– to 34-year-olds are less willing to try new products compared to a year ago. However, 62% of consumers said a free sample would make them more likely to try a new product.
In the headlines:
How is MAC Cosmetics doing at Sephora? Signature scent to scent stacking: The new men’s fragrance opportunity. Looking to regrow hair? New options are on the horizon. Is “freshly made” skin care “clean” beauty’s next phase?
Listen in:
L’Oréal Paris president Laura Branik joins the Glossy Beauty Podcast to talk about the brand’s partnership strategy around “The Devil Wears Prada 2” through TV ads, OOH advertising, social campaigns, consumer eventing and product placement in the film.
Need a Glossy recap?
Hypothesis used NIH grants to develop a proprietary acne ingredient for new skin-care range. The Estée Lauder Companies will reduce department store footprint as it focuses on ‘high-growth’ online channels. Why Refy handed creators full control — no approvals — for its latest launch campaign. Inside Thayers’ TikToker-led product development strategy, with Nina Pool and Shelby Ann Bell.
