The Met Gala has always been about style icons—and the world of art and fashion they illuminated with their presence. But this year, the light from these celestial bodies had been outshined by a different glimmer: the dull brightness of a pocket size screen, brought to us by tech companies.

From social media discourse to opinion pieces dissecting the guests list, Met Gala attendees like Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Snap co-founder Evan Spiegel, and Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg have enjoyed so much public attention on one of the fashion industry’s most prestigious events that the internet called it the “Tech Gala.” By the end of the night, the tech giants had arguably eclipsed the stars that graced the Metropolitan of Art’s famous stairs.

This shouldn’t have been a surprise—the night was sponsored by one of the richest (and controversial) men in the world, Jeff Bezos, billionaire founder of e-commerce giant Amazon, and his wife Lauren Sánchez Bezos.

Silicon Valley had involved itself in the Met Gala before. Amazon started this trend when the company sponsored the fundraiser in 2012, followed by other tech firms over the years such as Apple, Instagram, and TikTok.

This, however, is different. Not only was the event sponsored by a tech billionaire (as opposed to a tech company), but it was also Silicon Valley that largely bankrolled the night: from tables that are reportedly worth $350,000 each to a record breaking $42 million raised for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. It underscored how deeply Big Tech has embedded itself within cultural institutions such as The Met.

It also magnified technology’s influence on fashion. While seeing “tech bros” pose on the red carpet may be new to some, their companies have long been been part of the industry’s landscape—from AI-powered virtual try-ons to in-app shopping experiences.

Gone are the days of tech bros in turtlenecks and plain white shirts. Here’s a look at the tech leaders who attended the Met Gala and how their companies are shaping the way you shop for fashion.

Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and executive chairman

Jeff Bezos, the fourth richest person in the world, whose net worth reached $224 billion in 2026, according to Forbes’ estimates, founded Amazon in 1994 as an online bookstore. Three decades later, Amazon is now considered the largest retailer in apparel and footwear in the U.S. in terms of market share, overtaking Walmart since 2018, according to CNBC.

Amazon’s speed and free shipping for Amazon Prime members has changed the way consumers perceive online shopping. Additionally, Amazon has its own line of fashion brands, including Amazon Essentials, which target budget-conscious shoppers looking for functional clothing staples like shirts, pants, and shoes.

While Amazon has successfully courted high fashion brands over the years like Coach, there were a few bumps on the road.

In 2025, Amazon launched a partnership with Saks Fifth Avenue to bring its highly curated luxury merchandise to the e-commerce site. A year later, they ended their partnership, after reportedly seeing “limited brand participation” as Saks Global filed for bankruptcy.

Sergey Brin, Google co-founder and board member

Sergey Brin, who co-founded Google in 1998, used to be the president of Alphabet, the search engine’s parent company, until he took a step back and remained a board member and a controlling shareholder.

A search engine that can double as a shopping platform, Google’s influence on the e-commerce boom is critical, if not understated. Its hand in fashion has lately been AI-powered, from virtual try-on options that let the user see how a piece of clothing would personally fit them to tapping virtual agents to call local stores and check inventory for specific items.

Shou Zi Chew, TikTok CEO

Shou Zi Chew has been the CEO of TikTok since 2021, heading one of the world’s most popular apps that has arguably redefined what it means to go viral.

It’s not only the app where one in five Americans get their news, according to the Pew Research Center, it’s also where a lot of them shop. In 2023, it launched TikTok Shop, which allowed users to make purchases without leaving the app, a feature that effectively combined entertainment and commerce on one endless scroll.

Over the years, TikTok has made itself a trendsetter in apparel that even WGSN, a leading fashion trend forecaster, formed its own TikTok analytics to spot trends before they go viral.

While virality is a good commercial opportunity, fashion brands have been finding out that it also comes with its own set of challenges. For example, in 2024, luxury lifestyle brand Marc Jacobs saw one of its bags go viral on TikTok–only for demand to outstrip supply.

Evan Spiegel, Snap co-founder and CEO

Evan Spiegel co-founded Snap, Inc., the company behind popular messaging app Snapchat, in 2011 at the young age of 2021. This largely helped skyrocket him to immense wealth at 25 in 2015, making him the youngest billionaire in 2015.

Like other tech firms, Snapchat’s foray into fashion is embedded heavily in artificial intelligence.

For example, in February, it partnered with Italian luxury fashion house Gucci to launch its first Sponsored AI Lens, which allows users to see themselves as part of La Famiglia using generative AI.

Snapchat is reportedly preparing to finally release Specs, its AI glasses, this year after over a decade-long product development.

Stewart Butterfield, Slack co-founder and former CEO

Stewart Butterfield is the co-founder and former CEO of Slack, a team-based messaging software. Its role in fashion has more to do with communication than in actual retail sales or product discovery. In 2020, it launched Slack Connect, which allows companies like Saks, for example, to securely communicate with other stakeholders outside their organizations.

Jony Ive, former chief design officer at Apple

For nearly three decades, Jony Ive led Apple’s design team, playing an active hand in the minimalist design that shaped the aesthetic of game changing iconic products like the iPhone, the MacBook Air, and the iPad. In 2015, he was appointed Apple’s first ever chief design officer.

Ive has been busy since he left Apple in 2019. For one, he co-founded a design firm with renowned designer Marc Newson and called it LoveFrom. It collaborated with a number of brands over the years, including Ferrari. In 2024, LoveFrom entered into a partnership with Italian luxury fashion brand Moncler to make an outerwear collection, marking Ive’s first venture in fashion design.

He also co-founded io in 2024, a hardware company that was bought by OpenAI a year later. He is currently designing a “family of devices” for OpenAI, public information about which remains under wraps.

Mark Zuckerberg, Meta co-founder, CEO, and chairman

Mark Zuckerberg, the fifth richest person in the world according to Forbes, co-founded Facebook in 2004 when he was just 19. In 2021, Facebook rebranded to Meta, in which he is both CEO and chairman, as the company moved beyond being a social network. That same year, the company acquired Instagram for $1 billion.

Meta, along with the slew of companies it acquired over the years, has not only changed how world consumes content, but it changed the way brands reach their audiences too, as advertisements had become more personalized, if not invasive.

The company has also dabbled in wearable tech. In 2025, it launched its AI-powered smart glasses in a bid to merge technology with style. It has a partnership with long-term partnership with EssilorLuxottica for Ray-Ban and Oakley smart glasses.

Adam Mosseri, Instagram CEO

Adam Mosseri has been heading photo-sharing app Instagram, also a Meta company, since 2018. With 3 billion monthly active users, Instagram has played a huge role in the influencer economy, which is closely linked to the world of fashion.

Instagram keeps a close relationship with fashion, tapping former Lucky editor-in-chief Eva Chen as head of partnerships. (Chen was also present at the Met Gala this year.) The company launched Instagram Shop in 2020, a section in the app that acts as a marketplace for brands and shoppers alike.