Metropolitan Museum Of Art Replaces Controversial Galliano Show With“Extraordinary” Exhibition

(MENAFN- USA Art News) The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute will proceed with its 2027 Met Gala and a corresponding exhibition in May, featuring a new, less controversial theme. This decision follows the cancellation of a previously planned exhibition dedicated to fashion designer John Galliano.

The replacement show, titled “extraORDINARY: Fashion and the Poetics of the Everyday,” focuses on how designers transform common garments, materials, and objects. According to a description, the exhibition aims to reveal“how the seemingly unremarkable can inspire delight, surprise, and wonder,” and will also explore“how meaning develops through use and care.” It will feature between 200 and 230 objects, with approximately one-third drawn from the Costume Institute collection and the remainder from loans or donations by fashion brands. Notable items will include Calvin Klein jeans worn by actress Brooke Shields and trompe l'oeil jeans by Matthieu Blazy for Bottega Veneta, as reported by the New York Times.

Met Director Max Hollein stated on Thursday that the exhibition“reveals the rich relationship between fashion, art, and everyday experience.” This theme marks a shift from the initial Galliano exhibition, which faced significant backlash. Galliano, renowned for his designs, was fired by Dior as artistic director in 2011 and found guilty by a French court of antisemitism after making antisemitic and anti-Asian comments in a Paris cafe. Despite his subsequent apologies and counseling, and efforts by Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton and fashion editor Anna Wintour to involve members of the Jewish community in the exhibition's concept, many found the show inappropriate. Concerns were heightened as the next Met Gala falls on Yom HaShoah, a Holocaust remembrance day in Israel.

The New York Times reported that several donors expressed dissatisfaction behind the scenes, including Pace Gallery founder Arne Glimcher, who reportedly threatened to withdraw a planned donation of artworks if the museum proceeded with the Galliano show. Amid the growing controversy, the museum canceled the exhibition. The Times characterized the situation as a“public relations fiasco for Anna Wintour,” who has been instrumental in elevating the Met Gala and has raised over $200 million for the Institute as its longtime chair. Wintour had previously supported the Galliano show, calling the designer“courageous” in a statement accompanying the initial cancellation announcement. Notably, Wintour was neither quoted nor mentioned in the Met's release for“extraORDINARY” on Thursday, with the Times reporting she“played no role in the selection” of the new theme.

Andrew Bolton, head of the Costume Institute, spoke publicly for the first time since the cancellation, telling the Times that shelving the show was“disappointing for everyone involved.” Regarding the new exhibition, Bolton said,“I wanted an exhibition that I felt had something new to say, and that I felt was relevant to different conversations. 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.” While he acknowledged that canceling both the Met Gala and the original show might have been“the most sensible thing” to do, he opted to create a new exhibition. In a potential deviation from previous Costume Institute practices,“extraORDINARY” was announced without a press conference and will not have an accompanying catalog, a departure from past departmental shows.

Source: ARTnews

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