The official co-chairs (and honorary chairs) of the 2024 Met Gala were announced on Thursday, and one unexpected businessman will be joining the ranks of the fashionable celebrities at the event spearheaded by longtime Editor-in-Chief of American Vogue, Anna Wintour.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will serve as an honorary chair on “the first Monday in May” at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. The social media platform is sponsoring the May 6 event alongside the creative director of the fashion house, Loewe, Jonathan Anderson.
This marks the first time a social media executive will hold the title at the annual gala.
This year’s co-chairs are Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya, and Chris Hemsworth. The event’s theme is “Garden of Time” to run with the accompanying exhibition, “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.
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Last Spring, Chew testified in front of Congress on a myriad of issues from privacy to data storage. Two weeks ago, Chew testified again at a different hearing alongside other social media CEOs including Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and X’s Linda Yaccarino to discuss the potential dangers to children who use social media platforms.
Chew’s selection isn’t out of left field — Wintour is known for selecting people she deems to be the most culturally relevant at the time. There are roughly 150 million TikTok users in the U.S. and it has undoubtedly become a massive part of culture and business.
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It’s estimated that the Met Gala has raised over $223.5 million for the Met’s Costume Institute over the years.
It has not yet been revealed what designer Chew will be wearing on the carpet, although Loewe is a good guess.
