The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s plans for a John Galliano retrospective next spring have sparked debate and discussion about the controversial designer, whose mega-stardom temporarily dimmed due to two antisemitic and racist rants in 2010 and 2011.
The Central Saint Martins graduate burst onto the fashion scene as a club kid from South London, whose forte was delivering theatrical flair with inspirations of epic proportions. Known for his ultra-feminine gowns, innovative tailoring and a cheeky, streetwise sensibility, Galliano succeeded Hubert de Givenchy in 1995 following the esteemed French designer’s retirement. The Gibraltar-born Galliano took over the designer role at Dior the following year. During his 15-year run at the luxury French house, his must-see collections catapulted him to global fame and elevated Dior’s image.
But following racist and antisemitic outbursts at a Paris bar, La Perle cafe, he was ousted from Dior and his namesake fashion house in 2011. Galliano badgered one individual for being Jewish and another for being of South Asian descent. In September 2011, Galliano avoided a six-month prison sentence and was given suspended fines totaling 6,000 euros or $8,400. During his court appearance earlier that year in June, he cited work-related stress, multiple addictions and the loss of his beloved assistant Steven Robinson as factors in that downward spiral. He later reportedly said, “They are not views that I hold or believe in. I apologize for the sadness this whole affair has caused.”
At that time, the designer blamed the incidents on alcohol and substance abuse. Oscar de la Renta, Vogue’s Anna Wintour, Kate Moss and OTB’s Renzo Rosso were among the industry figures who assisted him in his personal recovery from multiple addictions and a gradual professional rehabilitation.
In the press release that was issued Friday night confirming reports of The Met’s plans to stage a Galliano retrospective, The Met said that “John Galliano: Horizons” will address the “rupture caused by his antisemitic, racist, and anti-Asian conduct in 2010 and 2011.” Those incidents led to his dismissal from Christian Dior and his eponymous label, and his conviction by a Paris court for “public insults based on race, religion, ethnicity, or origin.”
The upcoming show will also highlight his “subsequent treatment for substance addiction and his later public acknowledgment of his actions,” according to The Met. Describing Galliano as “one of the most inventive and influential designers of the past four decades,” the show will be organized into three “movements”: “Bearings,” “Horizons” and “Atlas of Transformation.” Running from May 9 to Jan. 9, the exhibition will touch upon “the derogatory conduct that fundamentally altered his career and public reception.” The exhibition will “consider how artistic achievement should be understood alongside ethical accountability.”
WWD reached out to 20 members of the Jewish creative community to ask about their views of The Met’s plans and a few shared their views. Noting that she is the daughter of a mother who was in Auschwitz and survived, Diane von Furstenberg deemed Galliano “the most talented designer of all time,” and said that his work “deserves the most recognition.” She continued, “As far as his very unfortunate behavior years ago, it was not acceptable in any way. But John has spent years and a lot of time asking for forgiveness and redeeming for it. He should continue to be aware of that and show true sincere apologies.”
A model on the runway at Christian Dior’s fall 2010 haute couture show at Musee Rodin. The collection was designed by John Galliano.
Christian Dior
Looking forward to “seeing the body of his work at The Met,” von Furstenberg said, “I repeat again — he is the most talented fashion designer of all time.”
With next spring’s planned opening, Galliano will become the third living designer to have a retrospective at The Met, following in the footsteps of Rei Kawakubo in 2017 and Yves Saint Laurent in 1983. Despite Galliano’s fall from grace more than a decade ago, Andrew Bolton, curator in charge at The Met’s Costume Institute, and Anna Wintour, an elective trustee at The Met and The Met Gala‘s long-standing cochair, have championed Galliano’s artistry through the years.
Representatives from The Met, Wintour and Galliano reportedly met with rabbis and Jewish leaders to discuss the designer’s 2011 conviction and the potential pushback to an exhibition prior to greenlighting it. There was renewed interest and urgency in a retrospective for the designer at The Met, following his triumphant spring 2024 Artisanal collection for Maison Margiela. After wrapping up what was a momentous 10-year tenure at Margiela at the end of last year, Galliano will return to the glare of the fashion spotlight this fall, when he launches his first season collection as part of a two-year partnership with Zara.
Gwendoline Christie on the runway at Maison Margiela couture spring 2024
Giovanni Giannoni/WWD
Announcing The Met’s plans, Bolton said in a statement that “a horizon reveals not only what lies before us, but also where we stand. The exhibition therefore considers both 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.”
Nearing his 98th birthday, designer Stan Herman said Monday that he is old enough to “have lived through the Holocaust and the mysteries of it. The Jewish people had to silence themselves. They were not sure what was going to happen and we’re living through a similar time today.”
Herman continued, “I believe that when a person is talented, as Mr. Galliano is, whatever his life is like has to be represented, and represented well. I assume that the museum and Mr. [Andrew] Bolton will do a sensitive job and show him to the world warts and all.”
Making the point that he enjoys the music of the late composer Richard Wagner, despite his antisemitic past, Herman said, “Talent should win out and Mr. Galliano is talented. Even though the timing may be difficult, true art is why we are in this business. I think that’s what’s happening.”
Asked to comment about “John Galliano: Horizons,” The Anti Defamation League accepted Galliano’s apology “long ago” and believes he has “genuinely reckoned with his past antisemitism,” according to chief executive officer and national director Jonathan Greenblatt.
“Antisemitism is surging, most recently in last week’s stabbing [in New York City which is being investigated as a potential hate crime,] and Jewish New Yorkers are feeling unheard by their city’s leaders,” Greenblatt said in a statement. “As the decision is made, now it’s on The Met and partners to meet the moment, not with token gestures around one exhibit, but with real action against antisemitism, within the museum and across the fashion world they help shape.”
Sandy Schreier, whose private collection of 20th-century fashion was the subject of a 2019 exhibition at The Met’s Costume Institute, said Monday, “There is no doubt in my mind that John Galliano is the greatest fashion designer of my time, and probably of all time.”
She recalled the criticism that de la Renta faced after hiring Galliano to help with his 2013 fall collection, and how she publicly supported both men, due to Galliano’s studies with a rabbi at that time. More recently, Galliano has been studying with the ADL to become more knowledgeable about antisemitism, according to Schreier. An ADL spokesperson was not immediately available Monday to comment about that.
Schreier, a connoisseur and pioneer in the field of collecting fashion, has promised a gift of “hundreds” of designer pieces for the museum. She added, “I care a great deal about what happens at The Met and at the Costume Institute in particular. I hope this exhibition will be another enormous success.”
