The Met Announces Theme for 2027 Costume Institute Exhibition

When the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced “John Galliano: Horizons” as the title of its Spring 2027 fashion exhibition, John Galliano joined an extremely short list of fashion designers that have been given a dedicated solo Costume Institute retrospective. That distinction has been bestowed upon only one other designer during their lifetime: Yves Saint Laurent in 1983, in a landmark exhibition curated by the legendary Diana Vreeland. (While Rei Kawakubo was featured in a dedicated 2017 Met show, it was a thematic study rather than a traditional retrospective, and Miuccia Prada shared her 2012 exhibition with Elsa Schiaparelli.) Although the museum frequently incorporates contemporary design to illustrate timeless aesthetic continuity, giving Galliano a solo retrospective alongside the likes of Coco Chanel and Paul Poiret is noteworthy.

Curator Andrew Bolton has planned the exhibition around three ideas, titled “Movement,” of “Bearings,” “Horizons,” and “Atlas of Transformation,” which will together explore Galliano’s triumphs, controversies, and artistry. “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,” said Bolton, explaining the significance of the name “Horizons.”

The Costume Institute spring show is famously a tentpole around which the annual Met Gala is organized. Vogue’s Anna Wintour is a long-time champion of Galliano, so the choice is apt. “John Galliono: Horizons” will draw on roughly 50 years of Galliano holdings in the museums’s collections from a career that include stints at Givenchy and Dior, and most recently at Maison Margiela.

“John Galliano has exerted a profound influence on fashion over the past four decades,” said Met Director and CEO Max Hollein, adding, “Drawing upon the depth of The Costume Institute’s scholarship and the breadth of The Met’s collections, ‘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.”

“John Galliano: Horizons” will be on view in the Condé M. Nast Galleries at The Met Fifth Avenue May 9, 2027–January 9, 2028.