Met Gala 2027 Theme Announced, Exhibit to ‘Grapple’ With This Designer’s Controversial Past
“There is no one more deserving of an exhibition of this scale," Anna Wintour said.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on July 15, 2024.
Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images
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The next Met Gala is still nine months away, but the 2027 theme has already been announced — and it might ruffle some feathers, as it pays tribute to a designer with a controversial past.
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As Vogue recently revealed, John Galliano will be the subject of next year’s spring Costume Institute exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Every year, the gala celebrates the launch of the exhibit, with celebrity guests of all vocations attending in high-fashion outfits that fit the exhibit’s theme.
“There is no one more deserving of an exhibition of this scale than John Galliano,” stated Anna Wintour, Vogue‘s global editorial director and Condé Nast chief content officer. “His body of work — at Dior, Givenchy, Margiela, his namesake label and more — combines erudition and creativity, darkness and light, the past, the present, the future all smashing together in a brilliant way.”
“He’s a great designer and his career isn’t defined by a moment — something that he will live with for the rest of his life,” she continued. “The exhibition won’t shy away from any of the darkness in John’s past. 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 news comes about 15 years after Galliano was arrested and charged for two hate crimes in Paris — where he proclaimed his love for Hitler outside of a cafe — at which point he was fined $8,500 and fired from his position as creative director of Dior. He later stated, “I have fought my entire life against prejudice, intolerance and discrimination, having been subjected to it myself … antisemitism and racism have no part in our society. I unreservedly apologize for my behavior in causing any offense.”
With the 2027 exhibit and gala, Galliano will become just the third living designer to have their work honored in this way by the Met, following Yves Saint Laurent in 1983 and Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons in 2017. It has not yet been announced who will cochair next year’s event, which in 2026 was led by Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams and Wintour with the theme “Costume Art.”
This year’s also saw a performance from guests Stevie Nicks and Sabrina Carpenter, as well as attendance by musicians Katy Perry, Doja Cat, Maluma, Charli xcx, ROSÉ, LISA, SZA, sombr and more.
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