The Metropolitan Museum of Art has called off its planned retrospective of fashion designer John Galliano, scrapping an exhibition that was set to run from May 9, 2027 to January 9, 2028 and to serve as the theme for next year’s Met Gala.
Galliano would have become only the third living fashion designer honored with a Met retrospective, following Yves Saint Laurent in 1983 and Rei Kawakubo in 2017. Instead, the 65-year-old designer announced on Instagram that he was pulling the show himself, following renewed criticism over racist remarks he made 16 years ago.
Max Hollein, director and chief executive officer of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, confirmed the decision in a statement to WWD: “Following thoughtful discussions with John Galliano, we have together decided not to proceed with the exhibition.”
The controversy stems from an incident in Paris in 2010, when Galliano, then creative director at Dior, was reported to have said to a Jewish woman, “I love Hitler. … People like you would be dead. Your mothers, your forefathers would all be fucking gassed.” He also reportedly referred to the woman’s Asian companion using a racial slur.
Galliano was tried in France on charges of anti-semitic abuse and found guilty, receiving fines and court costs. Dior, which owned his brand at the time, fired him as creative director, and he lost the label as a result. Galliano subsequently entered rehab and sought counseling from rabbis and the Anti-Defamation League.
The cancellation has drawn criticism from some commentators who argue that Galliano had already faced significant consequences for his 2010 conduct and that reviving the controversy 16 years later, after what they describe as a lack of further incidents, amounts to excessive and prolonged punishment.
