The Metropolitan Museum of Art has canceled its planned Met Gala exhibition honoring British fashion designer John Galliano following intense backlash from the Jewish community and beyond over his past antisemitic and racist statements. The high-profile spring Costume Institute show, titled John Galliano: Horizons
, will not proceed as planned.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art and fashion designer John Galliano announced the cancellation on Monday, reversing plans originally unveiled in late July. The exhibition was slated to open next May and serve as the centerpiece for the annual Met Gala. Instead, the museum confirmed that a replacement exhibition will be announced at a later date.
Backlash Over Past Antisemitic Incidents and Court Conviction
The planned tribute drew immediate criticism because of the designer’s past antisemitic and racist statements that led to his firing from Christian Dior and a conviction in an antisemitism trial in France. Galliano was convicted after hurling slurs at patrons in a Paris bar. Video footage from the incidents captured him declaring I love Hitler
and telling Jewish patrons that their ancestors would have been gassed.
While Galliano spent several years working to rehabilitate his career—including a ten-year tenure at Maison Margiela that helped repair his image—the prospect of granting him a solo retrospective at the Costume Institute proved deeply controversial. The museum was set to make him only the third living designer ever honored with a solo exhibition.
Political Opposition and Calendar Complications
Resistance to the exhibition intensified among community leaders and political figures. New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin held multiple meetings with museum executives to voice her opposition, noting that she is the daughter of a Holocaust survivor.
“With antisemitism at crisis levels, the Met honoring John Galliano at this moment was misguided, and even Galliano ultimately recognized what the Met should have done at the start.”
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League
Joint Decisions and Statements from Museum Leadership
In a joint statement released Monday, Max Hollein, director and CEO of the museum, and Galliano confirmed they mutually agreed to shelve the project. Galliano released a personal statement addressing his accountability.
“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.”
John Galliano, fashion designer
Vogue global editorial director Anna Wintour expressed her full support for the cancellation, describing Galliano’s choice to step aside as very courageous and a measure of the man he is.
Andrew Bolton, the Costume Institute’s longtime curator, echoed those sentiments, acknowledging the pain and concern the planned retrospective had generated across cultural communities.
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