The Why Is Met Gala 2027 Theme Already Causing Controversy: Find Out Why | Just Jared - Celebrity News and Gossip

Anna Wintour and the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute revealed over the weekend that next year’s big fashion event will be held in honor of designer John Galliano, and the choice for the 2027 Met Gala theme is already sparking significant controversy.

The New York Times revealed after the announcement that the Met has held meetings with influential rabbis and Jewish leaders of New York City over the past year to discuss potential issues with a dedication to the designer’s work.

Why Is the 2027 Met Gala Theme Controversial?

Galliano was the head designer of Dior from 1996 to 2011.

He infamously went viral after being caught on camera making antisemitic comments and lost his job at Dior. He was even convicted of a hate crime in Paris before reportedly going to rehab, getting sober, and going on to become creative director of Maison Margiela in 2014.

He was found guilty at the time of “public insults” based on origin, religion, race or ethnicity after two incidents.

Only Yves Saint Laurent and Rei Kawakubo have had sole dedications at the Met Gala previously.

The Met Quietly Met With Jewish Leaders Ahead of the Announcement

“The fear clearly was the show could be met with a lot of resistance — not just skepticism, but a feeling of it’s wrong. The word I come back to is ‘sincerity.’ He was open. He looked right at us and spoke in a clear way, not as if he had memorized talking points,” said meeting attendee Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism in North America, to the Times.

We believe John Galliano has genuinely worked through the issues that led to his antisemitic outburst years ago in Paris, and we have long since accepted his apology. His efforts to repair the damage his words caused and to learn from that incident should be applauded,” added Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League.

Anna Wintour & the Met Defend Honoring John Galliano

Curator Andrew Bolton said the museum has considered this show since 2010, but didn’t get serious about it until two years ago.

“I completely understand why the timing might feel particularly difficult now, given the alarming rise of hate, but I do feel it makes the current questions more urgent — not less. For me, the larger question is not whether artistic behavior excuses transgression, but how to hold artistic achievement and ethical accountability together without allowing one to erase the other. And at a moment of heightened division, I feel the museum and myself have a real responsibility to confront these issues,” he said.

“Avoiding his work doesn’t remove his influence on fashion or solve the ethical questions around it. Our responsibility is neither to celebrate uncritically nor avoid that difficult history, but establish the record honestly, provide context and create the conditions for visitors to make an informed judgment.”

“There is no one more deserving of an exhibition of this scale than John Galliano. Designers dream of changing the world with a single collection; John has done it over and over again. His career isn’t defined by a single moment — something he will live with for the rest of his life…the exhibition won’t shy away from any of the darkness,” Anna Wintour told the outlet in a statement.

The Kevin Macdonald-directed High & Low, released in 2023, examined “the rapid ascent, fall from grace, and journey forward for controversial fashion designer John Galliano.” You can watch the trailer above.

The 2027 Met Gala is scheduled to take place on Monday, May 3, 2027.

Take a look back at our Top 25 looks from this past Met Gala.

Posted To:2027 Met Gala Anna Wintour Fashion John Galliano Met Gala