John Galliano honoured by the Met in 2027: the retrospective already dividing the fashion world
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York announced on Friday 31 July that its major spring 2027 fashion exhibition will be dedicated to John Galliano. The decision has immediately reignited controversy, fifteen years after the British designer’s conviction for antisemitic remarks.
An exhibition titled “John Galliano: Horizons” at the Met
The exhibition will open on 9 May 2027, just days after the traditional Met Gala, whose theme it will set. In doing so, the Costume Institute places the British designer at the heart of one of the most anticipated events in the fashion calendar.
The show will trace more than forty years of career, from his early days at Central Saint Martins through his tenures at Givenchy, Dior and Maison Margiela. Sketches, prototypes, research notebooks and iconic creations will be brought together in a journey conceived by curator Andrew Bolton.
This recognition follows those bestowed upon Yves Saint Laurent in 1983 and Rei Kawakubo in 2017, Vogue notes. The designer thus joins a very exclusive circle of figures honoured by the New York institution.
A scandal that changed everything in 2011
Fifteen years ago, a video filmed in a Parisian café brought the couturier’s reign at Dior to an abrupt end. In it, he could be seen hurling antisemitic abuse and declaring, among other things, “I love Hitler”.
Dismissed by the French house, he was subsequently convicted by a court for public antisemitic and racial insults. He then disappeared from the fashion industry for several years.
“Nobody deserves an exhibition of this scale more than John Galliano.”, Anna Wintour, global editorial director of Vogue
His past at the heart of the Metropolitan Museum’s project
The Metropolitan Museum has chosen not to sidestep the scandal. The exhibition will explicitly revisit the conviction for antisemitic remarks, his addiction to alcohol and drugs, and the long road he has travelled since.
According to the museum, the aim is to reflect on how “artistic achievements must be understood in light of ethical responsibility”, Vogue reports. It is, therefore, a rare stance for an institution of this stature.
- Exhibition titled “John Galliano: Horizons”, opening 9 May 2027
- More than forty years of career traced, from Central Saint Martins to Maison Margiela
- Show conceived by curator Andrew Bolton
- The 2011 scandal and his addiction explicitly woven into the exhibition’s narrative
- Third designer to be honoured by the Costume Institute after Yves Saint Laurent and Rei Kawakubo
A controversy that dates back to 2023
The debate surrounding this project is not new. As early as 2023, an exhibition dedicated to the designer had been considered before being put on hold, with several Metropolitan Museum officials fearing a negative public reaction.
In recent months, Anna Wintour and Andrew Bolton met with representatives of the Jewish community to discuss the project. For its part, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) praised the steps Galliano has taken over more than a decade to acknowledge his actions.
Between enthusiastic support and lingering reservations
Anna Wintour, global editorial director of Vogue and a central figure at the Met Gala, has never hidden her support for the British designer. Her backing of the exhibition carried significant weight in the museum’s final decision.
Meanwhile, many fashion enthusiasts have welcomed the Costume Institute’s choice. “The next Met Gala is going to be extraordinary. John Galliano is a genius: there isn’t a single collection that isn’t an explosion of creativity. He fully deserves this tribute”, one user wrote online.
Yet reservations persist among a portion of the public. The question of how to reconcile creative genius with ethical responsibility remains at the very heart of the debate this exhibition sets out to provoke.
