The 2027 Met Gala has already sparked conversation months before celebrities arrive on the red carpet. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has revealed that its upcoming Costume Institute show will celebrate the fashion designer John Galliano. Galliano’s career and previous controversies have made the move a topic of discussion. The exhibition plans to explore both parts of his story.
The controversy behind the 2027 Met Gala exhibition explained
The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced the title of its Costume Institute’s upcoming spring 2027 exhibition, “John Galliano: Horizons.” Galliano is the third living designer to be honored with a solo Costume Institute exhibition. Yves Saint Laurent was honored in 1983 and Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons in 2017. At 65, Galliano has embarked on a career at Givenchy, followed by a tenure at Dior from 1997 to 2011 and Maison Margiela from 2014 to 2024.
Galliano redefined fashion in the 1990s and early 2000s, but his career took a turn in 2011. He was widely criticized following several anti-Semitic and racist events, such as a video in which he expressed his love for Hitler in a Paris restaurant. Later, a Paris court found him guilty of two hate crime charges, and fined him the equivalent of approximately $8,500. During his trial, Galliano said he did not remember one outburst because of an addiction to sleeping pills, Valium, and alcohol, adding, “I have an addiction. I am currently seeking treatment.”
Galliano later reflected on his actions in Kevin Macdonald’s 2024 documentary High & Low — John Galliano. He said, “It was a disgusting thing, a foul thing that I did. It was just horrific.” He also said, “I can say I’m not racist, but every day you actually learn that all of us are a bit. But we just need to unlearn it and like immigrants. I am one. I was one.” There is footage of both incidents in the documentary.
The exhibition will directly address Galliano’s past instead of avoiding it. Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton told Vogue that the exhibition will look at the work of Galliano in addition to “his conduct, its consequences, and changing cultural values. Anna Wintour also told Vogue that “There is no one more deserving of an exhibition of this scale than John Galliano” and that the exhibition “won’t shy away from any of the darkness in John’s past” will be a comprehensive look at his career.
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