John Galliano’s Met Gala exhibition was cancelled, but his influence on fashion can’t be erased

New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art’s planned 2027 Costume Institute exhibition , John Galliano: Horizons, has been cancelled, following Galliano’s statement that “it is best for the exhibition not to take place at this time”.

The exhibition was intended to provide a retrospective of the British designer’s highly influential , four-decade career.

But Galliano, and the museum, faced intense opposition centred on whether the Met should devote a retrospective to a designer whose legacy is closely linked to racist and antisemitic remarks.

Galliano has been an undeniably influential force in fashion.

How should this influence be remembered? A designer who transformed the industry After graduating from London’s Central Saint Martins in 1984 , Galliano emerged as one of the most innovative voices in British fashion.

His graduate collection, Les Incroyables and Les Merveilleuses was inspired by post-French revolutionists .

He would remain a designer whose shows tell complete and fully developed stories.

With his eponymous brand gaining continued success, he was the first British designer to head a French Haute Couture house when he became Givenchy’s creative director in 1995.

He then became the creative director of Dior in October 1996, a position he held until he was unceremoniously let go in 2011.

During his time at both luxury houses, and at the helm of his own brand, Galliano redefined the role of the luxury creative director by turning his runways into grand spectacles.

He treated fashion shows like live theatre, with models acting as characters.

He, too, relished in stardom, taking theatrical bows dressed in full costume ( such as a matador or astronaut ) at the end of his shows.

He was a modern re-interpreter of brand heritage, as he remixed historic house codes within contemporary silhouettes.

This was extremely successful at Dior, which soared under his creative vision.