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Anna Wintour found herself at the center of a fashion firestorm after plans to celebrate disgraced designer John Galliano at the Met Gala unraveled.
Scrapping the planned 2027 exhibition devoted to Galliano’s work did little to quiet the criticism, with fashion industry insiders telling the New York Post that Wintour should face greater scrutiny over her role in the project.
“I wish Anna would take more accountability,” an insider told the New York Post.
“She is the person who wanted this to happen, never fully considering the consequences,’’ the source said. “She is the public face and reaps the benefit of the gala and the surrounding coverage.”
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“Why does she only get to reap the rewards and not face more criticism?”
Red carpet expert Melissa Rivers told Page Six Style, “Anna Wintour is brilliant, but people rarely say no [to her], and in the past, she’s made some mistakes of not reading the room correctly.”
Rivers said her late mother, Joan Rivers, “would have hated” a Galliano-themed Met Gala, but admitted she was a fan of his designs.
“He was such a force of nature in fashion and design… Is it a great time to honor his work? Unfortunately, no, not a great read of the room,” she said.
At the heart of the Met Gala backlash was Galliano’s troubled past. Galliano, long recognized as one of the fashion world’s biggest talents for his creatively flamboyant designs, was at the pinnacle of that world for years as the creative director of Christian Dior. He was fired in 2011 after a series of racist and antisemitic remarks he made in 2010 and 2011 surfaced and went viral, leading to his conviction in an antisemitism trial in France.
Among the remarks Galliano made to bar patrons and circulated on video was the statement, “I love Hitler.” He also told Jewish patrons that their mothers and forefathers would have been “gassed.” He also made derogatory comments to an Asian patron.
After he was dropped by Dior, Galliano spent several years working to rehabilitate his image and career. He made a comeback in 2014 when he was hired by Paris fashion house Maison Margiela, where he remained for a decade.
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However, putting him at the center of the Costume Institute’s 2027 exhibition brought new scrutiny for Vogue’s former editor-in-chief. Others defended Wintour, arguing the decision had extended far beyond her.
“People seem to think she’s the sole person [making decisions about the Met theme],” a source told the New York Post. “It’s a huge amount of people on the Met board that signed off on this. She’s a piece of that.”
“It wasn’t her decision alone, by any stretch of the imagination. This exhibition… people have been speaking about it for at least a couple of years,” the source added. “It was a big group decision. It’s a team effort. Not just her.”
Responsibility for approving the exhibition may have stretched well beyond Wintour, but Galliano appeared to make one thing clear: The decision to kill it was his.
“After much reflection and discussion with The Met and all those involved, I have decided, with great sadness, that it is best for the exhibition not to take place at this time,” he said in a statement shared by The Met. “I remain fully accountable for the pain caused by my words in the past, particularly the hurt I caused to the Jewish and Asian communities, and I remain deeply sorry for it. I understand that meaningful atonement is not achieved through an exhibition, institutional recognition or a single public gesture. It is a continuing responsibility, demonstrated through listening, learning and one’s conduct over time.”
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The Costume Institute’s curator in charge, Andrew Bolton, also addressed the controversy, saying he supported the decision after extensive discussions.
“I believe deeply in the responsibility of museums to examine difficult histories with rigor, candor, and care,” he said. “I also recognize the pain and concern this exhibition has caused. After extensive discussion, I support the decision not to proceed. I remain deeply grateful to my colleagues and to the advisors, lenders, collaborators, and community leaders who contributed their knowledge, trust, and perspectives to the project.”
Galliano took responsibility and Bolton acknowledged the pain the exhibition had caused, but some fashion industry insiders continued to criticize Wintour. The longtime fashion power broker released her own statement, which did not include an apology.
“John’s decision that the exhibition devoted to his work should not take place at this time is very courageous and a measure of the man he is,” she said in a statement released Monday. “I believe this is the right decision, and both he and the Museum have my full support.”
“It’s too late for an apology – she should retire,” one insider told the Post.
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Wintour “doesn’t understand what people are talking about and thought she could shoulder through this, and it would blow over,” another source said.
“Anna’s lost her touch on the zeitgeist,” the source said.
Yet insiders said Wintour’s backing of Galliano grew out of her belief in redemption and second chances. Her support for Galliano as the original choice for the 2027 Met Gala wasn’t necessarily a surprise.
“It comes from a place of love and forgiveness,” an insider told the outlet. “She really believes in people’s second chances and becoming better people and learning from mistakes. It came from a good place. She considers him a friend and wants what’s best for him.”
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“Anna is a big proponent of second chances and getting behind the underdog,” another source said.
The source pointed out that Wintour brought Georgina Chapman back into the fashion fold after the #MeToo movement focused attention on allegations against her then-husband, Harvey Weinstein, encouraging people to wear her designer brand, Marchesa.
The insider added, “There is no question Galliano is talented.”
“To let him come back is one thing,” the source noted. “But to celebrate him on such a scale especially when antisemitism is at its highest … it sends all the wrong messages. But Anna is very loyal to the people she is loyal to.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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