Met Announces New Gala Exhibit Theme

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City announced on Thursday a new theme for next year's Met Gala exhibition. The museum selected the title 'extraORDINARY: Fashion and the Poetics of the Everyday' to replace the planned showcase for British designer John Galliano. This decision comes two months after organizers scrapped the original plan following public backlash over Galliano's history of anti-Jewish and anti-Asian remarks.

The new exhibition will examine how designers transform conventional objects and everyday clothing into new garments. A press release from the museum noted that the show will look at items ranging from jeans, T-shirts, and puffer coats to paper, plastic, and metal. The institution stated that the display aims to reveal how seemingly unremarkable materials can inspire delight, surprise, and wonder through craft, construction, and conceptual wit.

Andrew Bolton, the head curator at the Costume Institute, described the difficulty of creating a new concept on such short notice. Speaking to The Associated Press this week, Bolton admitted he had no Plan B for the exhibition. He explained that there was no other research already completed and ready for deployment when the original show was canceled.

Bolton said the new theme emerged from thoughts he had while working on the most recent Met Gala exhibition. That previous show explored the relationship between different types of bodies and clothing. He recalled thinking about how people experience clothing in their daily lives, noting that individuals often wear a favorite T-shirt or pair of jeans until they fall apart. Bolton added that everyday clothes carry extraordinary amounts of meaning and that designers turn these familiar things into incredible sources of wonder.

The Costume Institute had announced the Galliano show in late July and had already begun collecting the designer's work. As controversy grew, the museum said it would not shy away from confronting the designer's derogatory conduct. However, the exhibit was ultimately canceled in August. Museum director Max Hollein stated at the time that the institution and Galliano decided together not to proceed.

Galliano served as creative director of Christian Dior for years before being fired in 2011. His departure followed a series of racist and antisemitic comments that spread widely online. In that same year, he was convicted of antisemitic abuse in France after berating a couple at a Paris cafe. He attributed the behavior to substance abuse and testified that he had no recollection of the events. He returned to fashion in 2014 when Maison Margiela hired him, and he remained there for a decade.

Had the Galliano exhibit gone ahead, its unveiling would have coincided with Holocaust Remembrance Day on May 3, 2027. Anna Wintour, the longtime Met Gala chair and Vogue's global editorial director, backed the joint decision to cancel. Wintour is a longtime supporter of Galliano. In an August statement, she called his decision to cancel the exhibition very courageous and a measure of the man he is. She stated that she believed it was the right decision and that both he and the Museum had her full support.

The Met Gala traditionally falls on the first Monday in May and serves as the annual fundraiser for the Costume Institute. The institute curates the exhibit and theme for the event, which is often described as fashion's biggest night. The theme typically determines the dress code for the gala.