In brief
John Galliano’s exhibition at the Met was withdrawn amid controversy, after the designer issued a heartfelt apology for antisemitic remarks that had led to his conviction. The fashion icon, previously removed from Dior for abuse of a Jewish curator, cited the exhibition would be painful for some. Anna Wintour, a Met trustee, praised the decision as courageous, while New York City Council and anti‑Defamation League officials condemned honoring him during a rise in antisemitism. With the Met Gala’s theme set to coincide with Holocaust remembrance, the museum opted to sidestep the planned celebration.
John Galliano’s long‑planned exhibition, titled John Galliano: Horizons, was cancelled by the Metropolitan Museum of Art after the designer issued a letter explaining that the exhibition would be “painful for some” given his past antisemitic remarks.
The show was set to open in May 2027, but Galliano’s statement reflected on his “great sadness” at deciding against it and noted his “50‑plus‑year career” is now mired in controversy. After being sacked as Dior’s creative director in 2011, he was convicted of abusing a Jewish curator in a Paris restaurant, for racist insults toward a South‑Asian friend, and for expressing admiration for Hitler.
“I remain fully accountable for the pain caused by my words in the past,” Galliano wrote, adding that “meaningful atonement is not achieved through an exhibition, institutional recognition or a single public gesture.” He cited 15 years of sobriety and recovery from alcoholism.
Anna Wintour, a Met trustee and co‑chair of the Met Gala, praised the decision as courageous, saying she “believes this is the right decision, and both he and the Museum have my full support.”
Officials from New York City Council and the Anti‑Defamation League criticized the plan, noting that the exhibition’s timing coincided with Holocaust remembrance and that honoring Galliano would be “misguided” amid a rise in antisemitism.
Galliano was slated to have him and his work provide a theme for the next Met Gala, scheduled to take place on 3 May and to coincide with Yom HaShoah, the Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day.
