The 2027 Met Gala has its new theme.
The Costume Institute has announced that its new 2027 spring exhibition and gala theme will be “extraORDINARY: Fashion and the Poetics of the Everyday
," a retrospective examining everyday "familiar garments" and “how designers rework familiar garments, everyday objects, and commonplace materials through craft, construction, material experimentation, and conceptual wit,” according to the museum's website.The latest announcement follows the previous news that an exhibition honoring John Galliano would be no longer. On Monday, Aug. 31, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Galliano confirmed that the controversial theme, paying tribute to the British designer and originally announced at the end of July, was officially
canceled due to his past antisemitic and racist incidents.
"Following thoughtful discussions with John Galliano, we have together decided not to proceed with the exhibition," Max Hollein, director and CEO of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, said in a statement at the time.
In his own statement, Galliano said he was "profoundly grateful" for the honor, but after "much reflection" he has decided he does 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."
In addition to Galliano, both Andrew Bolton, the curator in charge of The Met's Costume Institute, and Anna Wintour of Vogue addressed the decision to cancel the controversial exhibition.”
"John's decision that the exhibition devoted to his work should not take place at this time is very courageous and a measure of the man he is," Wintour said. "I believe this is the right decision, and both he and the Museum have my full support."
Talking about the latest theme, Bolton admitted that the idea had to come together quickly.
“I had no Plan B, to be honest,” he said. “There wasn’t another exhibition already researched and ready to go.” He said the new idea had occurred to him while he was working on last year’s show, “Costume Art,” but had remained merely “a twinkle in my eye.”
The recent fallout from the canceled John Galliano 2027 Met Gala and exhibition along with the recent passing of Bob Mackie promoted fans across the internet to champion Mackie's legacy as the focus for a new theme. Stylist and image architect Law Roach even cosigned the idea in a pre-Emmys interview.
"Bob would be so touched and it would be a fitting — it's what he deserves. But it would be hard at this point. I mean, it would be difficult to follow what's happened. And again, we would be forced to rush things," Mackie's longtime designer director Joe McFate told USA TODAY.
But while the gala dream to honor Mackie wasn't the end result, it will be intriguing to see how the new theme comes together in only six months before next year's first Monday in May.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Met Gala 2027 has a new theme, focusing on the 'everyday'
