The Met Gala 2027 exhibition devoted to John Galliano is cancelled.
Galliano himself has pulled out.
The Met's decision to honour him was instantly greeted with backlash owing to his infamous anti-semitic remarks.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has cancelled the Spring 2027 exhibition tribute to John Galliano. He himself chose to bow out. The museum’s decision to honor the legendary couturer, who was convicted of a hate crime by a French court in 2011 after a spate of racist and antisemitic remarks, had attracted significant ire and severe condemnation. The event was slated for May 2027.
Updates on a new Spring Costume Institute exhibition and the 2027 Met Gala will be unveiled at a later date. “Following thoughtful discussions with John Galliano, we have together decided not to proceed with the exhibition,” The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s director and chief executive officer Max Hollein said in a statement on Monday morning.
John Galliano also put out a lengthy statement in an Instagram post: “I am profoundly grateful to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and particularly to Max Hollein, Andrew Bolton, and Anna Wintour, for the extraordinary honour of proposing an exhibition devoted to my work. To have my creative journey considered by an institution that I have admired throughout my life moved me more deeply than I can express. I will remain forever grateful for the confidence, care and scholarship that Max, Andrew, Anna and the entire Met team brought to this project.”
“After much reflection and discussion with all those involved, I have decided, with great sadness, that it is best for the exhibition not to take place at this time,” Galliano shared.
John Galliano's Statement on Met Gala Exhibition Cancellation
“I understand that meaningful atonement is not achieved through an exhibition, institutional recognition or a single public gesture. It is a continuing responsibility, demonstrated through listening, learning and one’s conduct over time.”
He also insisted: “I do not want the debate surrounding me to place the Met in a difficult position or distract from the remarkable work of the Costume Institute. I also recognize and respect that an exhibition honoring my work would be painful for some. I would also like to express my deepest gratitude to all those who have guided, supported and accompanied me throughout these fifteen years of sobriety and recovery from alcoholism and addiction. Your wisdom, patience and humanity have helped me more than I can ever adequately express. I remain profoundly indebted to you for giving me, as you promised, a life better than I could ever have dreamt of. My gratitude to the Met, Max, Andrew and Anna remains profound and enduring. Their generosity, humanity and belief in the importance of fashion as art, culture and history, as well as their understanding of human fragility and the possibility of growth, will remain with me always.”
Anna Wintour praised the decision as the right one, commending Galliano's courage.
