And just like that, next year’s Met Gala needs a new theme…
Back in July it was announced the 2027 Met Gala theme would be titled “John Galliano: Horizons,” a tribute to the works of living fashion designer John Galliano.
It didn’t take long, however, for backlash to intensify.
You see, in 2011 he was arrested in Paris after speaking anti-Semitic and anti-Asian insults at a couple dining at La Perle cafe. As news of his legal troubles spread, so did a 2010 video of him saying “I love Hitler” at the same establishment. He was eventually found guilty of public insults based on origin and religion and ordered to pay fines and damages to the victims.
Related: Met Gala Drama, The Craziest Things To Go Down
So when it was announced he was to be honored at fashion’s biggest night of the year, controversy ensued once again.
At the time, there was anticipation of backlash to the announcement, so the Met reportedly met with various Jewish leaders prior to locking in their decision, per the New York Times. Rabbi Rick Jacobs recalled speaking with Galliano and feeling he was authentic in his contrition:
“The fear clearly was the show could be met with a lot of resistance — not just skepticism, but a feeling of it’s wrong. The word I come back to is ‘sincerity.’ He was open. He looked right at us and spoke in a clear way, not as if he had memorized talking points.”
Even Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, said Galliano’s apology had long been accepted:
“We believe John Galliano has genuinely worked through the issues that led to his antisemitic outburst years ago in Paris, and we have long since accepted his apology. His efforts to repair the damage his words caused and to learn from that incident should be applauded.”
But now, after a month of criticism from political and civic leaders, it’s been announced the show won’t go on. Galliano, who was appointed head designer for Givenchy in 1995, creative director for Christian Dior from 1996-2011, and creative director for Maison Margiela from 2014-2024, said in a statement on Monday:
“After much reflection and discussion with The Met and all those involved, I have decided, with great sadness, that it is best for the exhibition not to take place at this time. I remain fully accountable for the pain caused by my words in the past, particularly the hurt I caused to the Jewish and Asian communities, and I remain deeply sorry for it. 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 continued:
“I do 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. I also recognize and respect that an exhibition honouring 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, the chairperson and main organizer of the Met Gala, released her own statement as well, saying:
“John’s decision to ask the Museum to postpone the exhibition devoted to his work is very courageous and a measure of the man he is. I believe this is the right decision, and both he and the Museum have my full support. His soaring imagination, fed by a lifetime of curiosity and research, is matched by his exceptional craft. Cut, fit, the evocative line of a bias-cut dress, color—he’s a master of it all. Without one or the other, if his technique wasn’t equal to his storytelling talents, he wouldn’t be the premiere couturier of his generation. But he most certainly is. From the staged-on-a-shoestring feat that was his Fall 1994 show at the Sao Schlumberger Hotel Particulier in Paris to his tour de force swansong at Maison Margiela Artisanal for Spring 2024, Galliano gave fashion its most marvelous shows. The way that Christian Dior called Cristobal Balenciaga ‘the master of us all,’ a generation of designers have looked to Galliano as the greatest. His impact reverberates across generations, not least of all with Dior’s current creative director Jonathan Anderson, who calls Galliano one of his heroes.”
We’ll have to wait and see what the new theme will be…
Thoughts? Let us know in the comments (below)!
For resources on mental health, visit https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/find-help.
To learn more about antisemitism and its lasting effects, check out https://www.adl.org/.
To learn more about how you can help stop AAPI hate, check out https://stopaapihate.org/.
