Met and Vogue Name John Galliano Honoree for 2027 Gala

The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Vogue announced on July 31, 2026, that the 2027 Met Gala and its accompanying Costume Institute exhibition will honor the controversial and influential fashion designer John Galliano. The exhibition, titled "John Galliano: Horizons," will open to the public on May 9, 2027, and run through January 9, 2028, with the gala taking place in May.

The decision marks a significant and contentious moment, as Galliano is only the third living designer to receive a solo exhibition at the Met, following Yves Saint Laurent in 1983 and Rei Kawakubo in 2017. His career, celebrated for transformative work at Givenchy, Dior, and Maison Margiela, has long been shadowed by a 2011 conviction in France for making antisemitic remarks during a drunken incident at a Paris bar. A video of the encounter, in which he declared "I love Hitler," led to his firing from Dior, a hate crime conviction, and the rescinding of France's Legion of Honor award.

In her announcement, Vogue's global editorial director and Met trustee Anna Wintour stated that Galliano's career is not defined by a single moment and that the exhibition would not shy away from the darkness in his past. She...