Every first week of May for the past 31 years, Vogue’s Anna Wintour has presided over the Costume Institute’s annual exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the accompanying Met Gala, the lavish, star-studded event that has become the fashion world’s equivalent of the Oscars. Now, with the withdrawal of the Costume Institute’s latest honoree, John Galliano, over controversy surrounding past racist and antisemitic comments, and the canceling of the exhibit, that hallowed 70-year-old tradition may be going on an embarrassing hiatus. (The Met, in a statement earlier this morning, said plans for a new exhibit and gala would be announced later.)
For Wintour, who at 76 has outlasted generational rivals like Graydon Carter and Tina Brown and has amassed unparalleled power at Condé Nast — the publisher of Vogue as well as titles like Vanity Fair, GQ and The New Yorker — the misstep may cause more than temporary embarrassment.
Galliano, the longtime creative head of both Dior and Margiela — now collaborating with Zara — announced the news himself on Instagram Monday morning: “After much reflection and discussion with all those involved, I have decided, with great sadness, that it is best for the exhibition not to take place at this time. I 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. I also recognize and respect that an exhibition my work would be painful for some.”
