Met Gala exhibit honouring John Galliano cancelled amid backlash

John Galliano's career-spanning exhibition, "Horizons," which was to be launched by the Met Gala in May 2027, has been cancelled following mounting criticism over his past racist and antisemitic remarks. Andrew Bolton, the Curator in Charge of the Costume Institute in New York City, had organized the exhibition to celebrate Galliano's work and influence on the fashion industry over four decades.

The exhibition would have been the third of its kind, following similar events for Yves Saint Laurent in 1983 and Rei Kawakubo in 2017. Galliano, however, announced on Instagram that, after much reflection, he would not participate in the exhibition, citing the need to avoid pain for some attendees. This decision came after weeks of backlash from the Jewish community, who had criticized the Met for proceeding with the exhibition despite Galliano's history of offensive comments.

The Met's trustees, including Vogue's global editorial director Anna Wintour, were reportedly considering a date change to avoid coinciding with Holocaust Remembrance Day. Galliano's career as Creative Director at Dior ended in 2011 after he was filmed making antisemitic and racist remarks outside a Paris café. He received a hate-crime conviction in France and was dismissed from Dior.

Since then, Galliano has reportedly sought to make amends, consulting with Jewish leaders and groups like the Anti-Defamation League. The exhibition was intended to address the derogatory conduct that altered his career and public reception, considering the balance between artistic achievement and ethical accountability.