Organizers of the Met Gala are reportedly considering changing the date of the 2027 event amid growing backlash over plans to honor John Galliano.
In July, the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced that Galliano’s work would be spotlighted in the Met’s Costume Institute. This exhibition serves as the centerpiece for the annual Met Gala, an event attended by the most elite of the A-list, with one of the most coveted invites. This would make him the third living designer to receive a solo exhibition at the Met, following Yves Saint Laurent in 1983 and Rei Kawakubo in 2017.
At the time, it was announced that the exhibit would feature all the highs and lows, including his antisemitic rant. Galliano is credited with growing luxury-fashion brand Dior into a global giant. However, he was fired by the company in 2011 after video footage surfaced showing the designer, who was inebriated, making antisemitic remarks in a Paris café. Galliano retreated from public life for two years and was found guilty by a Paris court of public insults based on religion, race and ethnicity. He received a fine and was forced to pay damages and court fees. Galliano met with Jewish leaders and rabbis following the scandal and received blessings from groups like the Anti-Defamation League.
The exhibit is scheduled to kick off May 3 with the Met Gala, which is overseen by Anna Wintour, Vogue’s global editorial director who also serves as a Met trustee. However, a growing number of voices are criticizing the plan to honor Galliano. According to The New York Times, criticism has grown stronger.
“In recent days, opposition to the museum’s plan to honor Galliano has grown among Jewish leaders in New York and beyond,” The Times reported. “Donors have contacted Met executives and threatened to rescind gifts to the museum if the exhibition moves forward as planned.”
As a result, Met trustees and board members “have been scrambling to do damage control,” The Times reported. This includes possibly moving the date of the Met Gala, which is always held the first Monday in May, to the following week. The current date of May 3 also happens to be Yom HaShoah, also known as Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day, The Times noted.
Last week, New York City Council speaker Julie Menin posted a letter to Wintour, Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton and Met director Max Hollein, saying the decision to honor Galliano was “a serious mistake.” While noting that his influence in the fashion world has been “enormous” and “unquestionable,” Menin added that she had “deep concern” about the decision to honor Galliano.
“Mr. Galliano’s long public record of antisemitism, racism and anti-Asian bigotry is deeply troubling,” Menin wrote. “His conduct was repeated and significant. He was criminally convicted in France for racist and antisemitic public insults. He was also captured on video praising Adolf Hitler and telling others that their ancestors would have been ‘gassed.’ That is not behavior that should be easily overlooked or normalized. Recently, there were reports of a similar antisemitic incident that allegedly occurred in 2019.
“At a time when our city is confronting a serious rise in antisemitism, anti-Asian hate, and other forms of hatred, I find the decision to so prominently honor someone who has engaged in this behavior to be wholly inappropriate. New York City is one of the most diverse cities in the world.”
Menin added that she was “deeply concerned about the process through which this decision was made. Mr. Galliano’s rhetoric and conduct, including the alleged 2019 incident, should have been more thoroughly investigated.” She urged organizers to “reconsider” their decision and suggested other ways Galliano could be honored, including a “contextual exhibit or educational program.”
“The Met is one of New York City’s most treasured and visible cultural institutions. Its choices carry enormous weight, both here and around the world,” she continued. “I believe this choice falls short of the standard New Yorkers should expect from it.”
