Key Takeaways
- The Met has replaced its canceled John Galliano exhibition with “extraOrdinary: Fashion and the Poetics of the Everyday,”
- Curated by Andrew Bolton, the exhibit will showcase 200-230 pieces, including Brooke Shields’ Calvin Klein jeans and Marc Jacobs’ 1993 Perry Ellis grunge designs.
- The changes follow protests to honoring Galliano over his 2011 antisemitic and remarks. The gala takes place May 3, 2027, while the exhibition runs May 9, 2027–January 9, 2028.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has changed its spring 2027 Costume Institute exhibition theme after British designer John Galliano had his theme cancelled.
According to The New York Times, the theme for the exhibition, and the 2027 Met Gala is officially titled “extraOrdinary: Fashion and the Poetics of the Everyday,” with a recommended dress code of blue jeans, puffer jackets, t-shirts and more.
“The cancellation of the Galliano show was disappointing for everyone involved,” said Andrew Bolton, the Costume Institute’s head curator.
“I wanted an exhibition that I felt had something new to say, and that I felt was relevant to different conversations,” Bolton continued. “I committed myself to this really quickly because it brings up ideas of value and consumption and resourcefulness and makes us question what we overlook and what we discard.”
Bolton also denied having a “plan B” for the exhibition, adding that he wanted the showcase to be “as challenging and as provocative and as beautiful as a John show would have been."
200 to 230 pieces will be presented in the exhibit, some being iconic items like Brooke Shields’ famed Calvin Klein jeans and selections from the 1993 Perry Ellis grunge line, designed by Marc Jacobs.
Over the summer, the Met announced the since-cancelled exhibit, John Galliano: Horizons, which was protested by museum donors, city officials, and Jewish community leaders regarding Galliano's 2011 antisemitic and anti-Asian remarks. While Galliano blamed the comments on alcoholism and substance abuse, he was ultimately fired from Dior in 2011 and convicted by a French court.
When the show was pulled, Galliano expressed that "meaningful atonement is not achieved through an exhibition, institutional recognition or a single public gesture." Condé Nast Chief Content Officer and Vogue Global Director Anna Wintour called Galliano’s statement "very courageous and a measure of the man he is."
The Met Gala takes place May 3, 2027, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, ahead of the exhibition opening May 9, 2027, and being on-view through Jan. 9, 2028.
