Zohran Mamdani Spotlights Six New Yorkers In A Counter–Met Gala Portrait Series

The Met Gala, the Costume Institute’s annual fundraiser, remains fashion’s most visible performance of wealth and imagination. As New York prepared for the annual fundraiser at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, alongside his wife Rama Duwaji, chose to sit out the event—breaking a long-standing mayoral tradition. In an April 2026 conversation with Hell Gate, he made his position clear: the extravagance of the gala sits uneasily with a political focus rooted in affordability and economic disparity.

The decision gained sharper edges given the presence of honorary chairs such as Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos, whose association drew criticism tied to labour concerns at Amazon warehouses. Protests gathered momentum outside the gala. Amazon Union Leader Chris Smalls was also reportedly arrested later. Online, the event drew criticism, with users dubbing it the “Amazon Prime Gala” and “Bezos Ball.” A viral video showed activists placing bottles around the Metropolitan Museum of Art, described as symbolic “piss bottles” referencing past allegations about Amazon’s working conditions—claims the company has denied. In parallel, a counter-event unfolded in Manhattan, where the collective Labor is Art staged a small fashion show to assert that workers, too, can author their own narratives.

Alongside all this, Mayor Mamdani’s office released a fashion portfolio via i-D as a quiet counter-programming move. Shot by New York-based photographer Kara McCurdy, the series highlights six local fashion industry professionals whose work intersects craft and labour advocacy.

Below are the six individuals featured:

A master tailor at Saks Fifth Avenue and union organiser who encourages colleagues and younger workers to fight for equality.

A Macy’s employee of nearly four decades and union organiser who supports workplace equity among peers.

A tailor who sends financial support to unmarried women and teenagers in Sialkot, Pakistan through her work.

An immigrant from Mexico who runs a free tailoring school in her Brooklyn basement for mothers of disabled children, with a waitlist of hundreds.

A former Amazon delivery driver and Delivery Protection Act activist who organised with the Teamsters Union.

A former Amazon delivery driver and Delivery Protection Act activist who organised alongside partner Latrice Johnson.