John Galliano has announced the 2027 Met Gala honouring his career has been cancelled after his past racist and antisemitic comments.
The British fashion designer, 65, had been set to become only the third living designer to be honoured by the museum.
His retrospective had been due to run from May 2027 until January 2028, with the designer also chosen to be the theme of next year’s Met Gala.
However just a month after the exhibition was announced, Galliano has now revealed he has pulled the retrospective while also addressing his past racism controversies.
Posting a statement on Instagram, he wrote: “After much reflection and discussion with 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.
“I understand that meaningful atonement is not achieved through an exhibition, institutional recognition or a single public gesture. It is a continuing responsibility, demonstrated through listening, learning and one’s conduct over time.”
He continued: “I do not want the debate surrounding me to place the Met in a difficult position or to distract from the remarkable work of the Costume Institute. I also recognize and respect that an exhibition honoring my work would be painful for some.”
Galliano went on to thank those who have “guided, supported and accompanied” him throughout the last “fifteen years of sobriety and recovery from alcoholism and addiction”.
In a statement shared with Vogue, The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s director and chief executive Max Hollein said: “Following thoughtful discussions with John Galliano, we have together decided not to proceed with the exhibition.”
A statement from Vogue global editorial director Dame Anna Wintour said that Galliano’s decision to ask the museum to postpone the exhibition was “very courageous and a measure of the man he is”.
The statement said: “I believe this is the right decision, and both he and the Museum have my full support. His soaring imagination, fed by a lifetime of curiosity and research, is matched by his exceptional craft. Cut, fit, the evocative line of a bias-cut dress, color – he’s a master of it all. Without one or the other, if his technique wasn’t equal to his storytelling talents, he wouldn’t be the premiere couturier of his generation. But he most certainly is.”
Dame Anna added that Galliano’s impact “reverberates across generations”.
Galliano was convicted of a hate crime by a French court in 2011 for his public antisemitic comments after he launched an attack on a couple sitting on a cafe terrace following a late-night drinking session in the upmarket Marais district.
Footage later emerged of a separate incident which appeared to show him abusing drinkers in a bar and telling them, “I love Hitler”.
The Dior creative director was then sacked by the label in light of the “deeply offensive statements and conduct” contained in the video.
The designer was later convicted of “public insults based on origin, religious affiliation, race or ethnicity” stemming from the two separate incidents and handed a 6,000 euro (£5,000) suspended fine.
He had been set to be just the third living designer to be featured by the Met, following Yves Saint Laurent in 1983 and Rei Kawakubo in 2017, with his exhibition to be titled John Galliano: Horizons.
At the time that his exhibition was announced, Dame Anna said that it “would not shy away from any of the darkness in John’s past”.
She said: “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.”
The Met has not yet announced how it plans to replace the Galliano exhibit, which means the 2027 Met Gala, which takes place on the first Monday in May, also currently does not have a theme.
The Gibraltar-born designer, who grew up in south London, began his career at the prestigious Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.
He was a runaway success but became disillusioned with the British fashion scene after a financial backer withdrew support and moved to Paris in 1990.
Five years later he was appointed head of Dior – the first Englishman to take charge of one of France’s fashion flagships.
After being sacked from Dior he went on to act as the creative director of Paris-based fashion house Maison Margiela from 2014 until 2024.
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