Why did the Met cancel the John Galliano retrospective?

The Metropolitan Museum of Art canceled its planned 2027 John Galliano retrospective after backlash documented in a New York Times story, which drew objections from city officials, a major donor, and Jewish leaders. The Times also reported that Galliano made antisemitic remarks in 2019, years after his 2011 hate crime conviction in a French court.

Who objected to the Galliano exhibition?

Objections came from New York City Council speaker Julie Menin, who called the show a serious mistake; donor Arne Glimcher, who told the museum he was reconsidering earmarking artworks in his collection for the Met in his will; and Jewish leaders including Rabbi David Ingber, founding rabbi of Romemu and senior director of Jewish life and the Bronfman Center at 92NY.

What did Anna Wintour say about the cancellation?

In the Met’s announcement, Wintour called Galliano’s decision courageous and said she believed it was the right one, adding that both he and the museum had her full support. Her statement ran 44 words. Galliano’s, which framed the cancellation as his own decision, ran 333.

Has John Galliano made antisemitic remarks since 2011?

The New York Times reported that Galliano made antisemitic remarks in 2019, years after he was convicted of a hate crime in a French court and said he had atoned and changed his behavior. Galliano denied this through a spokesperson, but three sources confirmed the account to the Times.

Does the Costume Institute still need the Met Gala?

Possibly not for much longer. The Costume Institute has saved enough money that, by as soon as 2028, it may no longer need the funds the Met Gala generates, according to New York Times reporting. The gala has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for the department since Anna Wintour began planning it in 1995.

🎙️New on the Back Row podcast: John Galliano’s biographer Dana Thomas joined me on the pod once more to discuss the Met’s abrupt cancellation of the designer’s 2027 retrospective. The episode is available in full to Premium subscribers in Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Premium subscribers can access paywalled podcasts through Supporting Cast. Enter the email address affiliated with your subscription, and you’ll receive a link to set up a feed to access paid episodes.

Loose Threads

The cancellation of the John Galliano exhibition has resulted in renewed calls for Anna Wintour to retire or, at the least, relinquish her position as a Met Museum trustee. (More on that ahead, behind today’s paywall.)
Fashion historian Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell offers a suggestion in The Atlantic as to how the Met could have avoided all of this: don’t do shows on living designers. “Museums, of course, regularly exhibit works by artists with unsavory pasts—but, crucially, those artists are usually dead,” she wrote. “They can no longer personally profit or walk the red carpet on opening night.”
Congrats to Chantal Fernandez, who is leaving her role as fashion features writer at The Cut to become a style columnist for the Wall Street Journal. Chantal publishes some of my favorite fashion stories, like this investigation into Very Important Clients and her terrific reporting on the Costume Institute in 2024, when it (wisely!) canceled the John Galliano show.
I spent the morning with Vivian Jenna Wilson, who is the new face of Desigual. The brand’s new campaign featuring Wilson and an anonymous robot (which, she said at today’s press event, was actually a human being in costume) is fantastic.

Elie Saab, maker of five-figure couture gowns, is H&M’s next designer collab. Prices range from $40 for a necklace to $429 for a leather jacket.

Ahead, today’s big story…

The Met’s Anna Problem

The Met Gala is the ultimate display of who Anna Wintour thinks is “in” or “out.” One group is more out than it would like to be: the Met’s nearly 100-person board, only a handful of whom tend to get to go each year.

“She doesn’t want them at her party,” said a source. “They don’t pass the Anna litmus test of glamour, having the right friends.”

Anna Wintour at the US Open on August 31, just after the Galliano exhibition was canceled. (Photo: Jean Catuffe/GC Images)

But above all, not inviting more board members is one of Anna’s signature power moves.

This week, it’s hard not to wonder…

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The Met’s Anna Problem

Loose Threads

The Met’s Anna Problem

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