Back Row with Amy Odell

This episode is sponsored by Margaux. First time shoppers get 10 percent off with the code BACKROW. A few of my favorite styles:


Wrap sandals

Phoebe flats

Downtown boot

The 2026 Met Gala was the most controversial in memory — and Back Row is telling you what the fashion press won't. Amy Odell and Heather Cocks of Go Fug Yourself and Drinks With Broads break down the biggest narratives from the night: the Bezos backlash, the protests outside, why Vogue's silence was deafening, and what it actually means that tech billionaires have taken over fashion's biggest night.

Plus: Beyoncé's return after 10 years, Blue Ivy's debut, the Kardashians and their nipples, Lauren Sanchez's Madame X look, why Jeff Bezos snuck in the back door, John Galliano and fashion's cancellation problem, and whether any of this controversy will actually stick.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction

00:49 The Bezos Backlash and the protests

04:14 The Ball Without Billionaires

07:15 Vogue's silence on the controversy

10:31 Why tech billionaires are really at the Met

18:26 Lauren Sanchez's Madame X look

43:39 The Kardashians, Beyoncé, and the best and worst looks

49:15 Galliano, Anna Wintour, and fashion's cancellation problem

54:05 Will the controversy actually matter?

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Follow Heather Cox at Drinks With Broads and Go Fug Yourself.
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WARNING: This episode contains SPOILERS for 'The Devil Wears Prada 2.'

This is my full interview with 'The Devil Wears Prada 2' director David Frankel and screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna. After talking to them both when I was writing 'Anna: The Biography,' I couldn't wait to hear about how they put this movie together after TWENTY YEARS. Who and what were they skewering? Did the film get too close to its source material, Anna Wintour? How did Lady Gaga enter the picture? And... will there be a THIRD movie?!

CHAPTERS

0:00 Intro
2:43 How the sequel finally got made
5:17 Miranda's backlash: the fast fashion puff piece explained
8:14 How Miranda Priestly changed in 20 years
9:36 The new assistants and the new workplace
12:20 Every cameo, explained
31:43 Emily Blunt and the evolution of Emily Charlton
39:52 Will there be a third film?

LINKS & RESOURCES:
▸ Subscribe to the Back Row newsletter: https://www.backrow.net/subscribe
▸ Read my book, Anna: The Biography: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Anna/Amy-Odell/9781982122638
▸ Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/instamyodell
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I went on Sam Sanders's show on KCRW to talk all things Met Gala 2026!

We get into the Bezos Met Gala sponsorship, fashion's new Gilded Age, and The Devil Wears Prada 2. We also talked about why tech money is taking over fashion, what happened to the aspirational consumer, and whether the Cerulean monologue could even exist in 2026. Sam is one of the best interviewers around — this was a really fun conversation. Thanks to the KCRW team for allowing us to share it here. Follow Sam's show here.

CHAPTERS:

01:30 – Has the Met Gala Become the Tech Gala?

05:20 – Has Fashion Entered a New Gilded Age?

10:20 – The Widening Gap Between the Classes of Fashion

14:20 – What it’s Like to be a Fashion VIC

18:00 – What’s Changed in Fashion Since The (1st) Devil Wears Prada?

20:00 – Does the Cerulean Monologue Hold Up in 2026?

25:10 – Fixing the Met Gala

27:40 – Amy’s Sources of Fashion Inspo

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People magazine's "World's Most Beautiful" editor Andrea Lavinthal joins Back Row to go behind the scenes of the most coveted — and complicated — cover in celebrity journalism. Anne Hathaway talked to People about The Devil Wears Prada 2, her husband, and her haters. But handing out this prize isn't as easy as it might seem.

Andrea breaks down how the "World's Most Beautiful" franchise has evolved since Michelle Pfeiffer in 1990 (3:28), why "most beautiful" is more fraught for women than "Sexiest Man Alive" is for men (1:51), and how much creative control a star like Anne Hathaway has over the shoot (9:33). Plus: why Gwyneth Paltrow's "Most Beautiful" cover made an editor think it would get her fired (25:54).

Links & Resources

📰 SUBSCRIBE to the Back Row Newsletter for exclusive scoops and bonus podcast episodes: https://www.backrow.net/

📸 Amy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/instamyodell/

Mentioned in this episode:

↳ People's Anne Hathaway cover story, photographed by Jonny Marlow

↳ JFK Jr.'s "Sexiest Man Alive" cover story

This episode was edited by Chrissi Harris.
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The 2026 Met Gala has three storylines running at once: Jeff and Lauren Bezos as lead sponsors, The Devil Wears Prada 2 opening the Friday before, and Anna Wintour doing more press than she has in years. Amy sits down with Chantal Fernandez of The Cut to break down all of it — plus predictions for the night.

0:00 Intro — Why This Met Gala Is Different

1:14 - Meet Chantal Fernandez

5:42 The Theme: "Costume Art" & What It Actually Means

8:01 - The Real Story Nobody's Covering: The New Costume Institute Galleries

10:17 - How Met Gala Exhibitions Became Museum Blockbusters

12:35 - How Themes Actually Get Chosen (and Who Funds Them)

14:02 - Anna's Role: Making Exhibitions Commercial

19:00 - Why the Met Gala Gets More Criticism Than the Oscars

21:14 - What Brands Actually Get Out of Spending $350K on a Table

24:26 - Can You Even Boycott the Met Gala?

28:06 - Lauren Sanchez, Schiaparelli & the New Ultra-Rich Aesthetic

30:16 - Breaking Down the NYT Lauren Sanchez Profile

32:56 - Graydon Carter's Perfect Quote

40:14 - Fashion Is Losing Power — and the Bezoses Are a Symptom

44:01 - Anna's Devil Wears Prada 2 Marketing Blitz: Smart or a Mistake?

49:19 - Predictions for Met Gala Night

52:49 - Will Devil Wears Prada 2 Be Any Good?

54:10 - Outro

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Links & Resources

📰 Back Row Newsletter: https://www.backrow.net/ 

📸 Amy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/instamyodell/

Mentioned in this episode: 

↳ Chantal's VIC story

↳ Amy’s recent Met Gala reporting

 ↳ NYT profile of Lauren Sanchez by Amy Chozick

↳ Chantal’s 2024 Met Gala story 

↳ Charlotte Cowles’s story asking Anna if she’s retiring
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