The Metropolitan Museum of Art is facing significant challenges in finding a replacement for its planned 2027 Met Gala and accompanying exhibition, which was slated to feature designer John Galliano. The cancellation of "John Galliano: Horizons" comes after public backlash from civic leaders, donors, and Jewish groups regarding Galliano's past antisemitic remarks.
The timeline for preparing a new exhibition and gala, typically held on the first Monday in May, is now extremely tight, with nine months remaining. A substantial amount of work, including concept development, research, and sourcing archival pieces, had reportedly already begun for the Galliano show. Sources indicate that while Met Gala themes are usually finalized about a year in advance, some themes can be planned years ahead.
Several potential alternatives are being considered. One option is to accelerate the planning for a future exhibition, though sources caution that it would not be on the same scale due to insufficient time for preparation. Another possibility is to create a show drawing from the Costume Institute's extensive permanent collection, which features over 35,000 works spanning seven centuries and five continents.
A more drastic measure would be to cancel the gala itself, a major fundraising event for the museum's Costume Institute that generates millions of dollars and significant media attention. The gala has been canceled previously, including in 2000 due to internal curatorial debates and the death of the Costume Institute's chief curator, and in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Galliano withdrew from the exhibition on Monday, stating in an Instagram post that he did not want the controversy to place the Met in a difficult position or detract from the Costume Institute's work, and acknowledging that an exhibition honoring him would be painful for some. The planned gala date of May 3, 2027, coincided with Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day.
In 2011, Galliano was convicted in a French court for public insults based on race, religion, or ethnicity, stemming from two separate incidents that included antisemitic remarks and praise for Hitler. He received a suspended fine and subsequently apologized, attributing his behavior to substance abuse and undergoing rehabilitation. A 2019 accusation of an antisemitic outburst at a spa in Italy was denied by a representative for Galliano.
Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue and a prominent figure in the fashion world, had reportedly been a strong advocate for the Galliano exhibition. Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton had considered a Galliano show since 2010, with more serious planning beginning in 2024, intending to address what he termed "the rupture" caused by Galliano's past actions.