Haute takes are flying over John Galliano\u2019s Met exit.<\/p>\n
The British designer, 65, pulled the plug on his planned Costume Institute retrospective, \u201cJohn Galliano: Horizons,\u201d and Met Gala theme Monday \u2014 a decision he and the Metropolitan Museum of Art said they made jointly<\/a> after weeks of mounting backlash.<\/p>\n \u201cI do not want the debate surrounding me to place the Met in a difficult position or to distract from the remarkable work of the Costume Institute,\u201d Galliano wrote in a statement<\/a> published on Instagram. \u201cI also recognise and respect that an exhibition honouring my work would be painful for some.\u201d<\/p>\n John Galliano scrapped his Costume Institute retrospective and the 2027 Met Gala theme Monday after weeks of backlash. Corbis via Getty Images<\/p>\n The designer, 65, acknowledged in a statement that an exhibition honoring his work \u201cwould be painful for some.\u201d Dave Benett\/Getty Images<\/p>\n News of the cancellation has divided industry insiders, with some calling it justice and others a loss. Sygma via Getty Images<\/p>\n Galliano was fired from Christian Dior in 2011 after footage surfaced of him declaring \u201cI love Hitler\u201d at a Paris caf\u00e9. A French court convicted him of a hate crime the same year for antisemitic and anti-Asian remarks made during separate incidents at the same bar.<\/p>\n The disgraced designer attributed the outbursts to drug and alcohol addiction, entered rehab and later studied Judaism with Rabbi Barry Marcus in London, meeting privately with Jewish leaders in the years since. His statement Monday cited \u201cfifteen years of sobriety and recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n The 2027 gala was scheduled, as it is every year, for the first Monday in May \u2014 a date that in 2027 coincides with Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day. The retrospective was set to open the same evening at the Met\u2019s Anna Wintour Costume Center.<\/p>\n Anna Wintour, Vogue\u2019s global editorial director and a Met trustee, had led the charge for the exhibit. She helped land Galliano the creative director job at Maison Margiela in 2014 and said earlier this month<\/a> that \u201cthere is no one more deserving of an exhibition of this scale.\u201d<\/p>\n On Monday, she praised his exit through the museum, calling the decision \u201cvery courageous and a measure of the man he is.\u201d<\/p>\n Fired from Dior in 2011, Galliano was filmed declaring \u201cI love Hitler\u201d at a Paris caf\u00e9. A French court convicted him of a hate crime that same year over antisemitic and anti-Asian remarks. Getty Images for The Met Museum\/Vogue<\/p>\n Model Anja Rubik asked on Instagram what incentive there is to apologize \u201cif we are unwilling to forgive.\u201d Penske Media via Getty Images<\/p>\n Veteran critic Suzy Menkes posted a photo of the designer, writing that artists are judged by different measures. Penske Media via Getty Images<\/p>\n Model and actress Hari Nef made the case that the Met has staged complicated fashion legacies before.<\/p>\n Inside Cond\u00e9 Nast, the mood was reportedly less admiring. A source told Page Six exclusively<\/a> that \u201ceverybody is whispering behind Anna\u2019s back, but nobody is saying anything to her face.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re all \u2018yes-ma\u2019aming\u2019 her like they\u2019ve always done,\u201d the source said, adding that colleagues are now \u201cmortified by how this was handled.\u201d<\/p>\n Prominent Met donor Alice Tisch told The Post<\/a> that Wintour \u201clooks like she lost her judgment here\u201d and appeared to have \u201cfallen in love\u201d with the designer.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe she saw him for who he is, and she believed that his work is just so great that everybody should see around all of this the same way she did,\u201d Tisch said. \u201cI think she looks out of touch.\u201d<\/p>\n Among the thousands of comments on Galliano\u2019s statement was an outpouring of love (and heart emojis) from many of fashion\u2019s biggest names \u2014 including Marc Jacobs, Valentino creative director Alessandro Michele, makeup legend Pat McGrath, celebrity stylist Karla Welch, and models Carolyn Murphy, Karen Elson, Mariacarla Boscono and Natasha Poly.<\/p>\n Many industry insiders took to social media to make a case for grace and mourn the exhibit that won\u2019t be.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we are unwilling to forgive even when someone takes responsibility, apologies and makes changes, then what incentive is there for anyone to reflect, apologize, or do better in the future?\u201d wrote catwalker Anja Rubik. \u201cHuge shame for all of us!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo disappointed that in today\u2019s world there is no Love and forgiveness,\u201d offered star hairstylist Garren.<\/p>\n Fashion photographer Gilles Bensimon said it was a \u201csad day\u201d for fashion.<\/p>\n Anna Wintour had originally championed the show, then called Galliano\u2019s reversal \u201cvery courageous.\u201d Dave Benett\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Model Teddy Quinlivan, who is transgender, credited the designer with celebrating her when others in fashion would not. Getty Images<\/p>\n Veteran fashion journalist Suzy Menkes, who is Jewish, weighed in on Instagram<\/a> with a meditation on artistry and ambiguity, writing that \u201cthe creative soul displays its truth. And is judged accordingly. But not always with the same vision or conclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n Model and actress Hari Nef argued that the museum had already shown it can handle complicated fashion legacies. Referring to the Costume Institute\u2019s 2012 \u201cImpossible Conversations,\u201d which staged an imagined dialogue between Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada, Nef wrote that<\/a> Galliano\u2019s legacy \u201cis difficult to square with his past remarks, but is it really \u2018impossible?\u2019 this could have been cool and interesting!!\u201d<\/p>\n The Met promised to reckon with the career and public perception fallout in their now-removed description of the planned exhibition.<\/p>\n Model Teddy Quinlivan, who is transgender, penned a personal tribute: \u201cHe saw me when no one else did. He loved, embraced, and celebrated me.\u201d She added, \u201cI stand with John Galliano forever. I\u2019m extremely proud to not only be associated with him but to be always and forever on his team.\u201d<\/p>\n Fashion illustrator Hayden Williams called the reversal \u201ca real shame,\u201d writing that the designer had \u201cbeen doing the work to be a better person.\u201d Designer Kelsey Randall, who identified herself as a sober alcoholic, said she read Galliano\u2019s decision as a form of accountability: \u201cI understand that part of making amends is to not cause further harm and I respect your decision to acknowledge that some people are not willing to accept your amends.\u201d<\/p>\n Among those not willing to grant it were public officials, Jewish leaders and powerful donors to the museum \u2014 who spent weeks campaigning behind the scenes to kill the planned exhibit.<\/p>\n City Council speaker Julie Menin lobbied the museum privately for weeks before the cancellation, calling the decision \u201ca victory for tolerance, inclusion and standing up for the right thing.\u201d Corbis via Getty Images<\/p>\n The Met says a replacement spring 2027 exhibition and gala theme will be named later. Getty Images for Vogue<\/p>\n New York City Council speaker Julie Menin \u2014 the daughter and granddaughter of Holocaust survivors \u2014 told The Post<\/a> she had been contacted by the Met about the project in late July, before it had been publicly announced, and warned then that she would fight it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s one thing to have work displayed by controversial artists. But it\u2019s a choice to decide to honor and celebrate someone\u2019s legacy, and that is where I drew the line,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n