Met Gala 2027 to Feature Everyday Materials After Galliano Exhibit Canceled
The Costume Institute will launch its new spring show with a focus on denim, puffer jackets, and paper, replacing the controversial retrospective of designer John Galliano.
By Sergio Ramirez ·
Residents of Dallas County will see a different aesthetic at the 2027 Met Gala, as the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced Thursday that its next spring exhibit will center on everyday garments and commonplace materials. The new show, titled “extraORDINARY: Fashion and the Poetics of the Everyday,” will debut at the gala held on May 3, 2027.
The replacement exhibit marks a sharp departure from the original plan, which featured the work of British designer John Galliano. That retrospective was canceled in August after a wave of criticism regarding Galliano's past statements. The new theme focuses on how designers transform familiar items like jeans, puffer jackets, paper, and plastic into unique pieces through craft and conceptual design.
Andrew Bolton, the head curator of the Costume Institute, confirmed that the team had to assemble the new concept rapidly. Bolton stated in an interview that he had no backup plan when the Galliano show was scrapped. He noted that the new idea had been forming during his work on last year’s “Costume Art” exhibition. Bolton explained that the show explores how everyday clothes carry deep personal meaning through memory and movement.
The original Galliano exhibit was announced in late July with significant fanfare. The museum had already begun collecting designs for the show. Critics, including New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, voiced strong opposition. Menin, whose father was a Holocaust survivor, noted that the gala would have coincided with Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2027. She called the cancellation the correct decision due to the pain it was causing.
Galliano, who served as creative director at Christian Dior, was fired in 2011 after racist and antisemitic comments from 2010 went viral. He was later convicted in France for antisemitism. Galliano returned to the industry in 2014 with Maison Margiela. In a statement upon the cancellation, Galliano said he remains fully accountable for the pain his words caused to Jewish and Asian communities.
Anna Wintour, the global editorial director of Vogue and a longtime supporter of the gala, supported the decision to cancel the Galliano retrospective. She described Galliano's decision as courageous. The museum has not yet announced the new celebrity hosts or the specific dress code for the 2027 event. The exhibit will use items from the museum’s collection, along with loans and new acquisitions.
