Met Gala 2027: John Galliano Exhibition Cancelled; What’s The Controversy?

John Galliano’s planned 2027 exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art has been cancelled. The Met and Galliano announced on August 31 that they had decided not to proceed with ‘John Galliano: Horizons’, the Costume Institute exhibition that was scheduled to open in May 2027 alongside the Met Gala.

The decision follows weeks of backlash over the museum’s plan to honour Galliano with a major retrospective, despite the designer’s history of antisemitic and racist remarks.

“Following thoughtful discussions with John Galliano, we have together decided not to proceed with the exhibition,” Max Hollein, the museum’s director and CEO, said in a statement.

Galliano also issued a statement, saying he had decided that it was “best for the exhibition not

to take place at this time”. He added that he remained “fully accountable” for the pain caused by his past remarks, particularly to the Jewish and Asian communities, and said he was “deeply sorry” for them.

The cancellation brings an abrupt end to what was expected to be one of the Met’s biggest fashion exhibitions in 2027. It also raises questions about how fashion institutions deal with designers whose creative legacies exist alongside serious personal controversies.

The exhibition was planned as a look at Galliano’s career spanning four decades, from his early work after graduating from Central Saint Martins to his years at Givenchy and Dior and, later, Maison Margiela.

But it was Galliano’s past, rather than his clothes, that became the focus after the exhibition was announced.

What happened in 2011?

In 2011, Galliano was filmed making antisemitic and racist remarks at a Paris café. In one recording, he said he loved Hitler.

At the time, Galliano was the creative director of Dior. The incident led to his dismissal from the fashion house and resulted in a French court convicting him of making public insults based on origin, religious affiliation, race or ethnicity. He received a suspended fine.

Galliano later apologised for his behaviour and spoke publicly about his addiction to alcohol and drugs during that period.

He eventually returned to fashion. In 2014, he was appointed creative director of Maison Margiela, beginning another chapter of his career that received significant critical attention.

That return is important to understanding the current controversy. Galliano had already been accepted back into the fashion industry. The Met exhibition would have taken that rehabilitation a step further by placing his career inside one of fashion’s most important museum collections.

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Why did the Met face backlash?

The criticism was not based on Galliano’s past being unknown. The Met had been aware of the controversy and had planned to address it as part of the exhibition. The proposed retrospective was intended to examine his work alongside questions of accountability and the consequences of his 2011 remarks.

That did not prevent opposition. Jewish leaders, politicians and others criticised the museum for giving Galliano such a prominent platform. Some Met donors reportedly threatened to withdraw their support. New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, whose mother is a Holocaust survivor, was among those who publicly questioned the decision.

The timing also became an issue. The exhibition was scheduled to open around Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, which intensified criticism from those who felt that honouring Galliano at that time was particularly inappropriate.

Galliano’s statement following the cancellation appeared to acknowledge the difficulty. He said that atonement could not be achieved through an exhibition or a single public gesture. For now, the Met has not announced what will replace ‘John Galliano: Horizons’ or what the 2027 Costume Institute exhibition will be.

What remains is a very public debate over where the line sits between recognising a designer’s contribution to fashion and giving that designer an institutional honour.

For Galliano, the cancellation marks another significant moment in a career that has spent the last 15 years negotiating the distance between extraordinary fashion and an unforgivable public episode.