Met Museum cancels John Galliano retrospective amid controversy

The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) has cancelled the exhibition "John Galliano: Horizons," which was planned to coincide with the Met Gala in spring 2027. The decision, announced as mutual, follows intense criticism from Jewish community leaders and philanthropists, particularly because the gala date coincides with Yom HaShoah, the Holocaust remembrance day. Max Hollein, director of the Met, stated that after discussions with Galliano, they agreed not to proceed. Galliano, a British designer and former artistic director of Dior, was convicted in 2011 for anti-Semitic public insults. He apologized on social media on August 31 to the Asian and Jewish communities. Anna Wintour, trustee of the Met and editor of Vogue, expressed support for Galliano but approved the cancellation. Julie Menin, president of the New York City Council, wrote to Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton, Hollein, and Wintour opposing the exhibition. The controversy echoes Galliano's past: in 2011, he was fined €6,000 suspended for racist and anti-Semitic remarks in a Paris bar, leading to his dismissal from Dior. He later returned to fashion at Maison Margiela in 2014, after a stint with Oscar de la Renta in 2013. His January 2024 "Artisanal" show was seen as a rehabilitation, but the cancellation indicates lingering resentment.