Innovation

Bezos' passion for fashion grows: he sponsors the Met Gala and invests 34 million in sustainable textiles

Funds from the entrepreneur's Earth Fund will finance three US universities, with the aim of studying more sustainable textile materials, a growing business worldwide

by Chiara Beghelli

4 May 2026

Jeff e Lauren Bezos al Met Gala del 2024

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

According to Fibral - Global Plant Fibre Association, by 2035 the production of fibres derived from plant alternatives to cotton could grow by more than 30%, but only on one condition: that sufficient investment is raised to drive research and conduct these productions on an industrial scale.

Some of the many start-ups engaged in textile innovation have succeeded in doing so: Galy, for example, grows cotton fibre in the lab from cells fermented in sugar and has attracted capital from H&M, Inditex and Sam Altman, patron of OpenAI; Amsilk, on the other hand, which produces yarn from proteins made from spider webs, has raised around $190 million in funding and debuted in the Balenciaga S/S 2026 collection.

Giving a decisive boost to investment in this sector was Jeff Bezos, who in recent days allocated USD 34 million through his Earth Fund to develop new and more sustainable textile materials.

Of this amount, 11.5 million will go to Columbia University to develop, together with the Fashion Institute of Technology, a textile fibre derived from bacteria fed on agricultural waste, 10 million to the University of California at Berkeley to work on a strong, biodegradable fibre such as spider's web, 11 million to Clemson University to develop new varieties of cotton coloured right from the plant; finally, 1.5 million to The Cotton Foundation to organise a cotton seed bank to identify and develop more durable and environmentally friendly varieties.

Although Bezos's began as a donation, it shows that there is a promising business in new textile materials.

Not only that: Bezos thus reaffirms his interest in the fashion industry, which is also well expressed by his sponsorship (estimated at $10 million) of the Met Gala to be celebrated tonight in New York.

Last year the event, created in 1948 to fund the museum's Costume Institute, had raised $31 million.

This year, the presence of Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez, whom Anna Wintour, organiser of the event, wanted as co-chairmen, turned the noses up at many critics of Bezos's business model but also of the narrative, judged excessive, of his wealth, as of his political choices, judged too close to President Trump.

The mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, for example, has made it known that he will not be attending the Gala, like Zendaya and Meryl Streep, who are currently in cinemas around the world with The Devil Wears Prada 2, even if, as the US press reports, Wintour (protagonsita with Meryl Streep of a memorable cover of Vogue USA, dedicated to the film that she inspired) would have offered her the role of honorary co-chair.

Also in doubt is the participation of Lady Gaga, another star of David Frankel's film, in which a tech entrepreneur comes close to taking over the magazine "Runway", evoking rumours that Jeff and Lauren Bezos might invest again but in a different way in fashion: by becoming the next owners of Condé Nast, the publisher of Vogue.

Chiara BeghelliRedattore
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Luogo: Roma
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Argomenti: moda, lifestyle, lusso
Premi: Premio Penna Arcobaleno (2011) - Premio Stampa Moda Movie (2019) - Premio Casato Prime Donne (2022)
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