CONTENT WARNING: This article contains severe wording, racism, and antisemitic rhetoric
As a little girl, I was obsessed with anything that sparkled and shined. As I got older, I found myself ever consistent, accumulating a jewelry collection that my younger self would be obsessed with. Although I rotate through my pieces, I find myself wearing the same stack of earrings or necklaces for months at a time, only switching it when I feel a pivotal change is coming or has already happened. This habit has led me to be curious about red carpets.
People are similar to each other, and I find it hard to believe that celebrities don’t have their comfort clothes. Whether it’s a pair of jeans or earrings, I always thought that if I ever became famous, that no matter what the award show I attended was, I wouldn’t substitute with another brand or item.
However, as a celebrity if you want to be in the game, most of the time you have to play the game. This means that even if it’s just for a night, you have to put on your best outfit and celebrate whatever award ceremony or event you’re attending. However, what I didn’t know when I was younger was that often a celebrity’s “best outfit” isn’t even theirs. Brands rent previously created outfits to celebrities, but fashion houses also dress stars for specific events. While they cannot keep the outfit, public memory remembers specific outfits that celebrities wear, and they can become key with their persona. Think Lady Gaga’s MTV Movie Awards meat dress, Billy Porter’s Oscars gown, and Princess Diana’s original revenge dress at the Vanity Fair Party.
While one or all of these may come to your mind, you may not have remembered what event they were worn at. Realistically though, does it matter if you remember whether an outfit was worn at the VMAs, Oscars, or other synonymous carpet? Whether or not events have a spoken or unspoken dress code, all these award shows blend together. If you happen to remember Kayne and Bianca Censori’s looks at the 2025 Grammys, you may not remember them for not following the event’s specific and annual “creative formal” or “creative black tie” dress code. You and others probably remember them as their outfits were heavily searched and sensationalized because Censori was almost completely naked on the carpet.
One place, however, where the location doesn’t go unnoticed, and where viewers heavily scrutinize outfits and whether or not they were on theme, is The Met Gala.
The Met Gala is an event I look forward to every year. From finding out what celebrities are sent by what fashion house, to the design of the carpet, and the limited snippets of information from what happens in the illusive event, each year holds something different. The upcoming 2027 exhibition, similar to every year, has a new theme and is gaining publicity, but for all the wrong reasons.
The Met was previously cancelled in:
– 1957: Early years, no particular reason noted
– 2000: Due to the death of the Chief Curator of the Costume Institute, Richard Martin
– 2002: Out of respect for recovery efforts following the September 11 attacks
– 2020: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic
These were the only times the event was cancelled. And never before has a particular theme been scratched.
I believe that many people view The Met Gala as just another event, and don’t understand what the purpose of it is. On the first Monday in May, this event is held as a fundraiser and an opening celebration for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute’s rotating exhibition.
The function was developed by fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert, and its origin event was a midnight dinner in December 1948, costing only $50 to attend. It’s been some time since then, and while retaining an invite-only format, a single ticket to the 2026 Met Gala was $100,000. Often, what will happen is a brand will pay for a table with ten seats, for $350,000 and cover any other costs, dressing the celebrities they invite to the gala. This excessive display of wealth is just that, however I have the perception that people don’t realize that this event serves as a fundraiser, rather than just another excessively extravagant social gathering.
Since its inception, numerous figures have become involved; the most public figurehead being Anna Wintour, who took over the event in 1995. Its coverage has grown with each year offering a new theme, co-chairs, and celebrities.
Although the theme of the May event is typically announced in November, the 2027 Met Gala theme was announced on July 31. In what would have been the tenth or eleventh show celebrating a specific designer or collection in fashion, the exhibition, and subsequent theme for the event was John Galliano: Horizons, celebrating the British designer’s strides in the world of fashion.
Galliano graduated from Central Saint Martins with honors and went on to work for Givenchy, Christian Dior, and founded his own fashion house John Galliano in the 1990s. His designs are known for being highly dramatic, theatrical, and referencing history. Conveying luxury with layered fabrics, metal accents, beading, and lace, he has created notable work, for example Princess Diana’s gown for the 1996 Met Gala. However, all of this amounting success came crumbling down in 2011.
On Feb. 24, 2011, it was publicized that Galliano was arrested in Paris following a racist verbal assault towards a woman and her companion. Quoted from a Forbes timeline of the events, “Dirty J***** face, you should be dead” and “******* Asian bastard, I will kill you”. This issue only escalated, when on March 1, 2011, a video of Galliano was released by Britain’s The Sun newspaper, where the designer is filmed saying “I love Hitler” and other disgusting remarks. At the Oscars following these events, Natalie Portman who won Best Actress and who was face of Dior fragrance was asked to comment where her publicist shut down the questions. Following the press interview Portman released the statement,
“In light of this video, and as an individual who is proud to be Jewish, I will not be associated with Mr. Galliano in any way. I hope at the very least, these terrible comments remind us to reflect and act upon combating these still-existing prejudices that are the opposite of all that is beautiful.”
Immediately after the theme had been announced, numerous figures warned Hollein and Wintour about the gravity of this proposal. Julie Menin, the Speaker of the New York City Council said that an event celebrating Galliano, who had a recorded history of antisemitic and racist comments was a “grave mistake”. Other donors and figures of the art world came out of the woodwork to share their disdain for this proposed exhibition. Arne Glimcher, founder of Pace Gallery, and his wife Milly, who have donated and planned to donate works to The Met, wrote a letter to the museum, saying that if this exhibition were to continue, they would reconsider their offer.
Statements from Hollerin, Wintour, and Galliano were released alongside the announcement of the cancellation. Andrew Bolton, the curator in charge of Met’s Costume Institute, reflected that part of the responsibility of museums is to examine difficult histories. However, the criticism voiced by donors and figures alike is on the foundation of the fact that this event would not just attempt to contextualize or platform his work, but to celebrate him.
While there are many people who believe that Galliano’s works and shows are worthy of praise and recognition, the outpouring of criticism came from those who viewed the exhibition as Wintour’s way to reintroduce one of her closest friends back into the fashion world. Supporting Galliano while he was in rehab, following being charged for his crimes from 2011, many saw this exhibition as an attempted — and ultimately failed — powerplay by Wintour. A source from Page Six remarked:
“She’s not reading the f–king room … She really overplayed her hand. They really need to take a beat, take a year off, because people don’t have time for this s–t right now.”
Almost a month after the announcement for The Met Gala was released, on August 31, Max Hollein, Director and CEO of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Anna Wintour published a statement saying that the theme surrounding John Galliano was no longer going to be held.
A night already shrouded in controversy due to its display of opulence only became more problematic following this highly problematic decision. With so many individual designers to platform, interesting themes to explore, and other avenues of creativity, it felt shocking and selfish for Wintour to attempt this. In an attempt to make the public understand that multiple people went into this decision, another source shared,
“People seem to think she’s the sole person [making the decision about Met theme],” they said. “It’s a huge amount of people on the Met board that signed off on this. She’s a piece of that.” “It wasn’t her decision alone, by any stretch of the imagination. His exhibition … people have been speaking about it for at least a couple of years. It was a big group decision. It’s a team effort. Not just her.”
Seemingly understanding and yielding to the outrage and statements made by individuals in and around the situation, it appears that John Galliano was the one who ultimately decided to step away from the exhibition. Saying,
“I am profoundly grateful to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and particularly to Max Hollein, Andrew Bolton and Anna Wintour, for the extraordinary honour of proposing an exhibition devoted to my work. To have my creative journey considered by an institution that I have admired throughout my life moved me more deeply than I can express. I will remain forever grateful for the confidence, care and scholarship that Max, Andrew, Anna and the entire Met team brought to this project.
After much reflection and discussion with The Met and 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 for it. 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.
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 recognise and respect that an exhibition honouring my work would be painful for some. I would also like to express my deepest gratitude to all those who have guided, supported and accompanied me throughout these fifteen years of sobriety and recovery from alcoholism and addiction. Your wisdom, patience and humanity have helped me more than I can ever adequately express. I remain profoundly indebted to you for giving me, as you promised, a life better than I could ever have dreamt of. My gratitude to The Met, Max, Andrew and Anna remains profound and enduring. Their generosity, humanity and belief in the importance of fashion as art, culture and history, as well as their understanding of human fragility and the possibility of growth, will remain with me always.”
All that glitters isn’t gold, and sometimes, a shiny exterior can quickly dull to reveal the true material beneath it.
While there are a significant number of individuals in fashion who are problematic, the proposal of this Met Gala exhibition prompted a larger conversation about where the line should be drawn. Should people be offered a platform just because of their contributions to the industry? Is it possible to contextualize people’s previous states and statements in artistic spaces years down the line? Is there ever the possibility for someone to publicly partially reconcile their problematic past? All are questions and more have arisen for those in artistic spaces.
While the Met Gala’s red carpet is a place of expression for designers and celebrities alike, this tainted theme and moment could have significant implications for the event. With certain stars having boycotted the event before, this could lead to even more pulling away, alongside politicians and resentful creatives.
Currently, there have been no new announcements regarding the status or selection of a new theme for the 2027 gala. While celebrities and controversy has followed the event throughout the years, the offense this proposal has left has me questioning what a new theme may be, and what the fallout consequences beyond the ones currently being discussed will be.