Once in a while, it does one good to court a bit of controversy. The recent announcement of John Galliano as the theme for the 2027 Costume Institute Exhibition seems to skew that way, given the designer’s storied history. The choice sent the fashion world abuzz, which, these days, just makes this exhibit all the more compelling. His fashion legacy will be showcased in the exhibit John Galliano: Horizons opening May 2027 in New York.

Galliano’s body of work is as expansive as one can expect of someone who has been redefining fashion for 42 years. After graduating from London’s famed Central Saint Martins in 1984, he broke into the fashion consciousness with his eponymous label in London and Paris. Ten years later, Galliano would find himself poised to creatively leading three luxury fashion houses, and on the path to being one of the most influential designers of his generation.

In 1996, after spending a year at Givenchy, Galliano was appointed as creative director of Christian Dior — where his genius was put front and center. During this period, the designer became a driving force in the fashion world, counting the Dior Saddle Bag, as well as Nicole Kidman’s Dior Haute Couture chartreuse gown at the 1997 Oscars among his most iconic pieces. From 2014 to 2024, Galliano was creative director at Maison Margiela, reclaiming his place as a design visionary. If you’ve been enamored by the house’s polarizing Tabi shoe, Galliano is credited with turning it into a cultural phenomenon. He has also dressed the likes of Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Bad Bunny and Kim Kardashian in past Met Galas.

As for that controversy? In 2011, Galliano was arrested for making anti-Semitic and anti-Asian comments at a café in Paris. The incident led to his swift dismissal from Dior, being found guilty and fined by a French court, and a stint in rehab. The designer stepped away from the industry for a few years, and would later own up to his actions, before rebuilding his reputation during his time at Margiela. The choice of Galliano for The Costume Institute’s next exhibit was greeted with mixed reviews on the internet.

The Costume Institute exhibition puts Galliano’s genius on display, presenting pieces from their archives that trace his journey as a groundbreaking fashion designer, his fall from grace, and his later rise from the proverbial ashes. In a statement on the Costume Institute’s website, Max Hollein, Marina Kellen French director and chief executive officer of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, says, “Galliano has exerted a profound influence on fashion over the past four decades… John Galliano: Horizons will offer an expansive examination of his creative practice while attending closely to the historical, cultural and ethical circumstances through which his work is understood.”

Andrew Bolton, Curator in Charge of the Costume Institute, explained that the Galliano exhibit will be divided into three parts: “Bearings,” “Horizons” and “Atlas of Transformation,” including the tumultuous years of the designer’s career in the overall narrative. “Every Galliano collection begins as a journey among things separated by time, place, or medium…” he says. “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.”

The Costume Institute’s annual exhibits’ themes run the gamut of exploring how fashion is a manifestation of cultural points of view, as seen in 2025’s Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, and in 2018’s Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.

John Galliano is one of only three designers honored with a solo monographic exhibition in their lifetime. The other two are Yves Saint Laurent in 1983, celebrating his impact on womenswear; and Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo in 2017, focused on her work with Commes de Garçons.

Here’s a bit of fashion history. The Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art first began holding public exhibitions since December of 1946. Two years later, in 1948, the Met Gala premiered, celebrating the annual exhibition, as it still does today. Considered to be the red carpet of all red carpets, now Global Editorial Director of Vogue Anna Wintour’s involvement since 1995 has transformed the Met Gala into one of the most important fashion and society events of the year.

The 2027 Costume Institute Exhibition John Galliano: Horizons will be officially unveiled during the Met Gala on 3 May 2027, and will be open to the general public from 9 May until 8 January 2028.