Sarah Paulson Wore a Gown Named “The 1%” from a Label Called “Fecal Matters” to the Met Gala; NYC Mayor Mamdani Declined His Invitation

Sarah Paulson, 51, walked the 2026 Met Gala carpet in a custom red-grey tulle ball gown by Matières Fécales, the indie label whose name translates to “Fecal Matters.” Their Fall/Winter 2026 collection is called “The ONE Percent” and caricatures the ultra-wealthy. Paulson named her look on the carpet: “The 1%.” She finished it with white opera gloves, Boucheron diamonds, and a U.S. dollar bill taped across her eyes. The dollar-bill blindfold has a designer-stated meaning: blinded by money.

This year’s Met Gala theme was “Costume Art” with a dress code of “Fashion Is Art.” It also happened at the most expensive Met Gala on record. Tickets ran roughly $100,000, up from $75,000 last year. Tables started at $350,000. Honorary chairs Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez reportedly contributed at least $10 million as primary sponsors.

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani publicly declined his invitation, citing affordability. State Senator Cynthia Nixon called out the Bezos sponsorship publicly. Protesters gathered outside the venue under the banner “Resistance Red Carpet.”

The look drew immediate comparisons to AOC’s 2021 “Tax the Rich” gown, which was praised by some as bold and dismissed by others as performative activism. Former Levi’s brand president Jennifer Sey wrote that protesting the 1% from inside a $100,000-ticket event isn’t protest. Paulson has talked publicly about wealth concentration and recently asked in an interview whether America needs “a revolution.”