The Metropolitan Museum of Art has abandoned its planned 2027 exhibition devoted to John Galliano, ending a controversy that had escalated from criticism of the designer’s history to donor pressure and questions over the date of next year’s Met Gala.
The museum and Galliano announced together on Aug. 31 that John Galliano: Horizons, which had been scheduled to open in May, “will not proceed as planned.” The Met said details of a replacement spring Costume Institute exhibition and the 2027 gala will be announced later.
Galliano said that after discussions with the museum and others involved, he had concluded “with great sadness” that it was best for the exhibition not to take place. He also said he remained accountable for the pain caused by his past words, particularly to Jewish and Asian communities, and acknowledged that an exhibition honoring his work would be painful for some.
The reversal came exactly one month after the Met announced the retrospective. In the days before it was dropped, trustees and board members had reportedly discussed moving the May 3 gala because that evening coincides with the beginning of Yom HaShoah, Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day, while critics including New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin were urging the museum to reconsider honoring Galliano altogether.
Galliano Says an Exhibition Is Not the Same as Atonement
Galliano’s statement went further than simply withdrawing from the show. He said “meaningful atonement is not achieved through an exhibition, institutional recognition or a single public gesture” and described accountability as an ongoing responsibility demonstrated through conduct over time.
He also said he did not want the debate surrounding him to put the Met in a difficult position or distract from the Costume Institute. Galliano thanked Hollein, Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton and Anna Wintour for backing the project and expressed gratitude to people who had supported him through what he described as 15 years of sobriety and recovery from alcoholism and addiction.
Hollein characterized the outcome as a mutual one. “Following thoughtful discussions with John Galliano, we have together decided not to proceed with the exhibition,” the Met director and CEO said. Bolton added that he remained committed to museums examining difficult histories but recognized “the pain and concern this exhibition has caused.”
The Met Had Been Considering Moving the May 3 Gala
Before the exhibition itself was dropped, the controversy had reached another highly visible part of the Costume Institute calendar. The Hollywood Reporter, citing The New York Times, reported that Met trustees and board members had discussed moving the 2027 gala from May 3 to the following week.
The timing was unusually sensitive. May 3 is the first Monday in May, the date traditionally associated with the gala, but Yom HaShoah begins at sundown that evening and continues through May 4. A nighttime gala centered on Galliano would therefore have taken place as Holocaust remembrance observances began.
Menin Had Separately Written To Several People
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Menin had separately written to Hollein, Bolton and Wintour asking the museum to abandon the Galliano exhibition. She called the decision to honor him a “serious mistake” and argued that a prominent institution receiving city funding had a responsibility to demonstrate that hatred and bigotry carry consequences.
The pressure extended beyond elected officials. Reports said some donors had threatened to withdraw gifts if the show proceeded, while Jill Kargman stepped down from Friends of the Costume Institute. After the cancellation was announced, Menin said she was pleased with the decision and described the original plan as having been deeply painful to the Jewish community.
Galliano Was Convicted Over Racist and Antisemitic Public Insults
The controversy centered on conduct that derailed Galliano’s career at Dior in 2011. A Paris court convicted him that September of public insults based on origin, religion, race or ethnicity following incidents in 2010 and 2011. He received a suspended €6,000 fine.
Galliano had already been dismissed from Christian Dior after video footage surfaced in which he made antisemitic remarks and praised Adolf Hitler. He subsequently underwent treatment for addiction and eventually returned to a major fashion role when Maison Margiela hired him as creative director in 2014. He remained there until 2024.
The Met was not planning to ignore that history. Its original July 31 announcement said the exhibition would open by directly addressing Galliano’s antisemitic, racist and anti-Asian conduct, his dismissal from Dior, his conviction and his subsequent addiction treatment and public acknowledgment of his actions. The museum described the intended show as an examination of how artistic achievement should be considered alongside ethical accountability.
Anna Wintour Still Calls Galliano a Master, but Supports the Decision
Wintour, a Met trustee and longtime Galliano supporter, had championed the retrospective when it was announced. The exhibition would have made Galliano only the third living designer to receive a solo Costume Institute show, following Yves Saint Laurent in 1983 and Rei Kawakubo in 2017.
Her assessment of his fashion legacy has not changed with the cancellation. In the Met’s Aug. 31 statement, Wintour called Galliano’s decision courageous and said she believed stopping the exhibition was the right choice, while continuing to praise his imagination, craftsmanship and influence on subsequent designers.
John Galliano: Horizons had been scheduled to open May 9, 2027, and run through Jan. 9, 2028, with garments, accessories, sketches, research books and archival material spanning his 1984 Central Saint Martins collection through Givenchy, Dior and Maison Margiela.