John Galliano Withdraws from Met Gala 2027, Anna Wintour Supports Him

The fashion world's most anticipated retrospective of 2027 will no longer happen. In a personal statement, Galliano said he didn't want the controversy surrounding him to distract from the Costume Institute's work.

John Galliano has withdrawn from the Met Gala, one month after the Metropolitan Museum of Art confirmed that the Costume Institute's spring 2027 exhibit would center on the controversial designer's career.

Galliano shared a statement on social media explaining his decision. He acknowledged the backlash the museum faced over its decision to honor him, while also reaffirming his remorse for past antisemitic and anti-Asian remarks.

"After much reflection and discussion with all those involved, I have decided, with great sadness, that it is best for the exhibition not to take place at this time," Galliano wrote.

"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."

"I understand that meaningful atonement is not achieved through an exhibition, institutional recognition or a single public gesture," he continued. "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," he said.

Galliano went on to thank everyone who had guided, supported, and stood by him through fifteen years of sobriety and recovery from alcoholism and addiction.

He said their wisdom, patience, and humanity had shaped his life in ways he could never fully express, adding that he remained deeply grateful — they had promised him a better life than he could have imagined, and they delivered on it.

"My gratitude to the Met, Max, Andrew and Anna remains profound and enduring," he concluded.

"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."

The announcement arrives more than a decade after Galliano was convicted of a hate crime by a French court and fined 6,000 euros over antisemitic and anti-Asian rants he made in a Paris bar.

He would have been only the third living designer honored with a solo exhibit, following Yves Saint Laurent in 1983 and Comme des Garçons' Rei Kawakubo in 2017.

Met Gala organizer Anna Wintour, for her part, described the designer's decision to step away as "very courageous and a measure of the man he is."

"I believe this is the right decision, and both he and the Museum have my full support," the former Vogue editor-in-chief shared. "His soaring imagination, fed by a lifetime of curiosity and research, is matched by his exceptional craft."

"Cut, fit, the evocative line of a bias-cut dress, color — he's a master of it all," Wintour added. "Without one or the other, if his technique wasn't equal to his storytelling talents, he wouldn't be the premier couturier of his generation. But he most certainly is."