The next Met Gala is nine months away, but it’s already sparking charged opinions. The controversy centers around the Costume Institute’s decision to honor one designer at its next exhibit: John Galliano, a lauded fashion designer with a checkered past.
Galliano’s exhibit at The Met will be significant, marking only the third solo show for a living designer in the gala’s history. (The others were Rei Kawakubo in 2017 and Yves Saint Laurent in 1983.)
But it’s not all pierced leather and newspaper print (just two of the designer’s many signature elements). In 2011, Galliano was infamously canceled for making a series of racist and antisemitic comments. It cost him his prominent job leading Dior. At the time, Galliano said his alcohol abuse sparked the outburst.
After “two years of exile‚” the designer’s career bounced back. Now, it will be showcased at length. Still, the Met is working to emphasize that the exhibit would not shy away from the problematic aspects of Galliano’s history.
“His career isn’t defined by a moment — something that he will live with for the rest of his life. The exhibition won’t shy away from any of the darkness in John’s past,“ Anna Wintour — the global editorial director of Vogue, chief content officer of Condé Nast, and Met Gala chairperson responsible for the event’s programming — told Vogue. “It’s part of what has shaped him. The show will take in the full arc of his career and grapple with all of it.” Wintour is a longtime champion of Galliano and his work.
Still, the feature has provoked mixed feelings within the fashion scene.
The exhibit’s announcement — and the rehashing of Galliano’s comments — come during a time when antisemitism is surging globally. Fashion expert and professional thrifter Virginia Chamlee says the Met is equipped to accurately cover an influential artist without sanitizing the ugly parts.
Still, Chamlee noted, the biggest publicity draw for the Met’s annual exhibit is the televised and highly covered red carpet walks leading up to the gala itself — not the exhibition that follows. She’s concerned that whatever efforts the Met has devoted to accountability could be lost to the larger audience.
“So there’s a real risk here,” Chamlee said. “Even if the museum intends to offer a complete examination of Galliano’s complicated legacy, it may come off as a straightforward celebration of someone who said things so heinous and racist that they were charged and fired for them.”
Met Gala attendees often wear looks by or inspired by the artists being honored, meaning Galliano’s pieces will likely be worn on celebrities whose looks will be photographed and televised prominently.
Fashion influencer and writer Ashley Ballard has collected vintage Galliano Dior-era pieces for years.
“It’s undeniable that Galliano’s time at Dior had a ripple effect on fashion and greater culture,” she said. The designer’s work redefined haute couture with immersive fashion shows, used historical references in fashion, and often bled into pop culture, with top celebrities wearing his designs.
“It’s key for us to remember that pioneers from this time period (1996-2011) — particularly Galliano and Alexander McQueen — created pieces that challenged high fashion as an institution,” Ballard said.
Citing Galliano’s incorporation of subcultures into his art, breaking the traditional molds of luxury fashion, Ballard called the designer’s work art that “bridged the gap between traditional fashion houses and audiences that historically were considered an afterthought.”
Ballard said the controversy over honoring Galliano was valid.
“This doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and people have the right to be upset by what was said 15 years ago,” she said. “[But] as a culture, if we genuinely care about minimizing hatred and the effects of addiction, it’s imperative that we support rehabilitation and reconstruction, offering the possibility that change is possible and welcomed — otherwise we become participants in the continuity of harm.”
Here’s everything else you need to know.
Who is John Galliano?
Galliano, 65, is a British designer who has worked for some of the industry’s top fashion houses, including Christian Dior, Givenchy, and Oscar de la Renta.
At the peak of his career, he served as Dior’s creative director for nearly 15 years. Galliano went on to work for Maison Margiela from 2014 through 2024.
Earlier this year, Zara announced a two-year creative partnership with Galliano.
What work is John Galliano best known for?
While at Dior, Galliano’s Haute Couture and ready-to-wear collections were hailed as among the best of the best.
He designed the fashion house’s signature Saddle bag, premiering in 2000 and remaining a staple shape.
He’s also responsible for iconic looks, including the newspaper dress worn by Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City, and model Kate Moss’ 2011 wedding dress.
“Galliano’s work as a fashion designer is very highly regarded (and collectible),” Chamlee said. “Just look at the asking price ($375,500) of this Galliano for Dior Homme menswear leather skirt. The industry also largely welcomed him back years ago.”
Why was Galliano canceled?
Galliano made a string of antisemitic and racist comments in 2010 and 2011, leading to his conviction in an antisemitism trial held in Paris.
Galliano was recorded at a Paris bar making drunken, antisemitic comments to a group of Jewish women.
The video recording surfaced in February 2011, just before Paris Fashion Week. Dior suspended and ultimately fired the creative director.
Galliano was tried by French authorities under national laws against antisemitic speech, where he was found guilty and ordered to pay €16,500 (about $19,000) in fines and damages. He also lost a compensation case against Dior in labor court.
What happened to Galliano after Dior fired him for his antisemitic comments?
Convicted of antisemitism and dropped by Dior, Galliano spent years involved in public and private efforts to rehabilitate.
The 2024 documentary High & Low — John Galliano suggests Galliano was overworked and abusing alcohol and drugs when he made the disparaging comments. The documentary features interviews and analysis on Galliano’s efforts to repair the harm he’d done.
After a period of silence, alcohol rehabilitation, and outreach to Jewish organizations, some of the designer’s fashion peers and religious leaders began publicly forgiving him.
Notably, Anna Wintour of Vogue has repeatedly championed Galliano’s work, both in the early days of his career and later, after his period of cancellation.
She reportedly helped the designer secure funding over the years, as well as his positions at Givenchy, Dior, and Oscar de la Renta in 2013 following his antisemitic remarks. In March, he announced his partnership with Zara.
Wintour and Galliano met with Jewish leaders to discuss the planned Met Gala showcase, according to the New York Times.
The Times quoted Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, as saying of the planned show: “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.”
Greenblatt added, “His efforts to repair the damage his words caused and to learn from that incident should be applauded.”
What has The Met said about the Galliano exhibit?
In a news release Friday, the museum promised John Galliano: Horizons would be a multifaceted display that addresses the good, bad, and ugly of Galliano’s career.
“It will directly address the rupture caused by his antisemitic, racist, and anti-Asian conduct in 2010 and 2011, which resulted in his dismissal from Christian Dior and his eponymous label and his conviction by a Paris court for public insults based on race, religion, ethnicity, or origin,” the release said. “It will also consider his subsequent treatment for substance addiction and his later public acknowledgment of his actions. Rather than presenting a conventional narrative of disgrace and redemption, the gallery will examine how memory, experience, cultural values, and historical circumstances continually reshape the reception of a designer’s work.”
Have other ‘canceled’ designers been honored at the Met Gala?
Several Met Gala showcases and exhibitions have been considered controversial over the years, but experts stay this time is different.
This year’s Met Gala faced backlash and boycott threats for accepting a corporate sponsorship from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. A “Ball Without Billionaires” counterprotest, which took the form of a grassroots fashion show, took place outside the museum’s entrance.
The celebration for Yves Saint Laurent in 1983 was criticized for being the first to celebrate a living artist. Critics and art historians suggested the precedent could lead to a promotional advertorial-style treatment for an active brand.
In 2023, the gala’s Karl Lagerfeld showcase — which highlighted the late designer’s work for Chanel, Fendi, and Chloé — was criticized for celebrating a man known by some for a history of fatphobic, misogynistic, anti-Me Too, and anti-immigrant views.
“Lagerfeld had a long record of cruel and discriminatory public comments … But Galliano’s conduct was explicit enough to result in his firing and a criminal conviction,” said Chamlee. As a living designer, Galliano stands to benefit professionally and financially from the renewed attention, she added.
When is the 2027 Met Gala?
The Met Gala will take place on May 3. John Galliano: Horizons will premiere to the public May 9 and be on display through Jan. 9, 2028.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
