Met Gala 2027 Honors John Galliano With Landmark 'Horizons' Exhibition

Met Gala 2027 to honour John Galliano with 'Horizons' exhibition at Costume Institute

New York, August 1

The exhibition, unveiled by Vogue's Anna Wintour and the Costume Institute, will honour Galliano's decades-long contribution to fashion. While the celebrity co-chairs and official dress code for the 2027 Met Gala are yet to be announced, the exhibition marks a historic milestone.

According to Vogue, Galliano becomes only the third living designer to be honoured with a dedicated Costume Institute exhibition, following Yves Saint Laurent in 1983 and Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons in 2017, according to E! News.

"There is no one more deserving of an exhibition of this scale than John Galliano. His body of work--at Dior, Givenchy, Margiela, his namesake label and more--combines erudition and creativity, darkness and light, the past, the present, the future all smashing together in a brilliant way," Anna Wintour said in a statement, according to E! News.

"He's a great designer and his career isn't defined by a moment--something that he will live with for the rest of his life. The exhibition won't shy away from any of the darkness in John's past. It's part of what has shaped him. The show will take in the full arc of his career and grapple with all of it," she added, according to E! News.

Curator Andrew Bolton described the exhibition as an exploration of Galliano's creative process and lasting influence on fashion.

"Every Galliano collection begins as a journey among things separated by time, place, or medium: portrait and posture, silhouette and story, memory and material," Bolton said.

"'Horizons' approaches fashion as a form of cartography, mapping not territories but affinities, tensions, and transformations. It traces how images become ideas, ideas become material, and material becomes emotion," he added, according to E! News.

Bolton further said that the exhibition will also examine Galliano's personal and professional journey.

"A horizon reveals not only what lies before us, but also where we stand," he said, adding that the exhibition will focus on "how Galliano has remapped the world through fashion and how his conduct, its consequences, and changing cultural values have reshaped our understanding of his work."

Galliano's creations have frequently appeared on the Met Gala red carpet over the years. One of the most memorable recent looks came in 2024, when Kim Kardashian wore a custom Maison Margiela by John Galliano ensemble inspired by the gala's "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" exhibition.

Although Galliano is only the third living designer to receive a Costume Institute exhibition, the Met Gala has previously honoured fashion legends Karl Lagerfeld and Alexander McQueen through posthumous exhibitions, according to E! News.

— ANI