The Metropolitan Museum of Art and British fashion designer John Galliano have canceled a major retrospective planned for New York in spring 2027, ending a project that was to define the next Met Gala. The museum confirmed that John Galliano: Horizons will not proceed and said details of a replacement Costume Institute exhibition and the gala will come later.
The decision followed sustained criticism from Jewish community leaders, public officials and others over the institution's plan to celebrate Galliano despite his history of antisemitic and racist remarks. The Met had announced the show on July 31 as the first major museum exhibition spanning his full creative career, with an opening scheduled for May 9, 2027.
Met director and chief executive Max Hollein said the museum and Galliano reached the decision after thoughtful discussions. Galliano said after reflection with the institution and other participants that the exhibition should not take place at this time. Both statements expressed gratitude for the scholarship and work already invested, while the museum did not announce a new theme.
Galliano, 65, led Givenchy and Dior and later served as creative director of Maison Margiela. Dior dismissed him in 2011 after videos and reports documented antisemitic and racist abuse in Paris. A French court convicted him that year over public insults based on religion, race or ethnicity, a record that critics said made a celebratory Met platform inappropriate.
New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, said she had repeatedly raised objections with the museum and welcomed the reversal. AP reported that the Met had consulted Jewish leaders before unveiling the project and intended to address Galliano's past directly, but those efforts did not prevent the backlash.
The cancellation leaves one of fashion's most prominent annual events without its announced 2027 framework. The Met Gala traditionally opens the Costume Institute's spring show and provides major financial support for its work. The museum now must select another exhibition and explain how the gala will relate to it, with the new program and event details promised at a later date.
Comments