Aug. 31 (UPI) — John Galliano and the Metropolitan Museum of Art have canceled a planned 2027 exhibit and Met Gala honoring the British fashion designer.
Galliano, 65, the previous creative director of Givenchy, Dior, Maison Margiela and his own John Galliano label, dropped out Monday following backlash. Critics had called for the event to be canceled due to Galliano’s past antisemitic and racist remarks.
“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,” Galliano said in a statement on social media.
“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 recognize and respect that an exhibition honoring my work would be painful for some,” he added.
Galliano ended by thanking Met Museum director Max Hollein, Met Gala chair Anna Wintour and “all those who have guided, supported and accompanied me throughout these fifteen years of sobriety and recovery from alcoholism and addiction.”
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The John Galliano: Horizons exhibit and Met Gala announced in July were to honor Galliano’s four-decade career. The celebration would have been the Costume Institute’s third to honor a living fashion designer, following Yves Saint Laurent in 1983 and Rei Kawakubo in 2017.
The Met Gala is considered the premier fashion event of the year. This year’s event was inspired by the theme “Costume Art” and featured a dress code of “Fashion is Art.”