The 2027 Met Gala is over nine months away, but we already have details on what to expect. Today, the Metropolitan Museum of Art revealed that next year’s Costume Institute exhibition is entitled John Galliano: Horizons. It will span the entirety of Galliano’s career thus far, including his work as a student at Central Saint Martins in London, and his designs for Dior, Givenchy, Maison Margiela, and his eponymous brand.
The exhibition will be organized into three parts: “Bearings,” “Horizons,” and “Atlas of Transformation.” The first section will put Galliano’s work into historical and cultural context. The second part will explore his most-cited sources of inspiration, including geography, history, art, and performance. The final category will delve into Galliano’s creative process through research books, sketches, toiles, fittings, and finished garments.
Galliano is no stranger to controversy, and the museum’s press release does not mince words. “[The exhibition] will directly address the rupture caused by his antisemitic, racist, and anti-Asian conduct in 2010 and 2011, which resulted in his dismissal from Christian Dior and his eponymous label and his conviction by a Paris court for public insults based on race, religion, ethnicity, or origin,” the museum stated. “It will also consider his subsequent treatment for substance addiction and his later public acknowledgment of his actions. Rather than presenting a conventional narrative of disgrace and redemption, the gallery will examine how memory, experience, cultural values, and historical circumstances continually reshape the reception of a designer’s work.”
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Scroll down to revisit some memorable designs by John Galliano.
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For Dior’s spring/summer 2007 Haute Couture collection celebrating the house’s 60th anniversary, Galliano staged an elaborate show at Versailles.
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John Galliano takes a bow after the Dior Haute Couture spring/summer 1998 show.
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Shalom Harlow poses on the Dior Haute Couture fall/winter 2007 runway.
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Rihanna‘s infamous pope-inspired outfit at the 2018 Met Gala was designed by Galliano for Maison Margiela.
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Princess Diana wore a Dior by John Galliano dress to her first and only Met Gala in 1996.
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Linda Evangelista models a Dior by John Galliano spring/summer 1998 look.
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Gwendoline Christie walks the runway at the Maison Margiela Haute Couture spring/summer 2024 show.
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Zendaya wears a Galliano creation to the 2024 Met Gala.