Photo-Illustration: Tristan Fewings/Getty Images
Put the newspaper dresses and Marie Antoinette–style pannier skirts back in the closet. John Galliano has backed out of the Met Gala where he would have been the focus of the May 2027 exhibit. “After much reflection and discussion with all those involved, I have decided, with great sadness, that it is best for the exhibition not to take place at this time,” Galliano said in a statement posted to Instagram. “I remain fully accountable for the pain caused by my words in the past, particularly the hurt I caused to the Jewish and Asian communities, and I remain deeply sorry. I understand that meaningful atonement is not achieved through an exhibition, institutional recognition or a single public gesture. It is a continuing responsibility, demonstrated through listening, learning and one’s conduct over time. I do not want the debate surrounding me to place the Met in a difficult position or to distract from the remarkable work of the Costume Institute. I also recognise and respect that an exhibition honouring my work would be painful for some.”
In a statement to Vogue, lead chairperson of the Met Gala Anna Wintour added that “John’s decision to ask the Museum to postpone the exhibition devoted to his work is very courageous and a measure of the man he is. I believe this is the right decision, and both he and the Museum have my full support. His soaring imagination, fed by a lifetime of curiosity and research, is matched by his exceptional craft. Cut, fit, the evocative line of a bias-cut dress, color—he’s a master of it all.”
The Galliano exhibit was announced on July 31, but there has been growing public backlash over Galliano’s appointment, many pointing to his history of antisemitism and anti-Asian rhetoric. The New York Times reported that the negative response included not just people posting online but also donors, who were reaching out to the Met and threatening to pull funding. Speaker of the City Council Julie Menin sent a letter to museum director Max Hollein, Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton, and Wintour, calling the exhibit a “serious mistake.” The board was also considering changing the date of the Gala, because it currently falls on Yom HaShoah, also known as Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day.
The controversy surrounding Galliano began when he was at Dior in 2011. Galliano went on a series of antisemitic, pro-Hitler, and, in one case, anti-Asian rants in a Parisian bar. In one video taken from the bar, he tells a Jewish woman that “I love Hitler. People like you would be dead. Your mothers, your forefathers, would all be fucking gassed.” After the video came out, Galliano was fired from Dior. He later apologized. By 2013, he was working for Oscar de la Renta, and, in 2014, was named creative director of Maison Margiela. But a Met Gala in his honor? That remains TBD. Per Vogue, a new exhibit will be announced at a later date.
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