The Met Gala is the only fashion event that the whole internet watches, and the theme announcement has become an event in itself. This year, though, the story has taken a turn nobody saw coming. The 2027 Met Gala theme was announced in July as an exhibition devoted to John Galliano, then cancelled a month later, a reversal reported as unprecedented in the gala’s long history. So what is the Met Gala 2027 theme now? Here is everything we know, updated as of 30 October 2026.
What is the Met Gala 2027 theme?
As of today, there is no confirmed theme. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has said it will announce a new spring 2027 Costume Institute exhibition, which will set the theme for the gala, at a later date. It has also not yet named the 2027 co-chairs, host committee or dress code.
Every Met Gala theme comes from the spring exhibition it opens, so the theme and the exhibition are effectively the same thing. The dress code given to guests is a separate, looser instruction that is usually revealed closer to the night. For context, the 2024 theme was announced in November 2023, so an autumn or early winter announcement for 2027 would be in keeping with recent years.
What happened to “John Galliano: Horizons”?
On 31 July 2026, the Met’s Costume Institute and Vogue announced that the spring 2027 exhibition would be John Galliano: Horizons, a survey of the British designer’s four-decade career across Givenchy, Christian Dior, Maison Margiela and his own label. Curator Andrew Bolton planned it in three parts: “Bearings”, placing the work in historical context; “Horizons”, exploring his sources of inspiration from geography and history to art and performance; and “Atlas of Transformation”, looking at his process through research books, sketches, toiles and fittings. The exhibition would also have addressed his conduct and its consequences directly.
Galliano would have been only the third living designer honoured with a Costume Institute exhibition of this kind, after Yves Saint Laurent in 1983 and Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons in 2017.
The announcement drew immediate criticism because of Galliano’s history. In 2011 he was dismissed from Dior after antisemitic remarks made in a Paris bar, for which he was later convicted in a French court. After weeks of public debate, including objections from donors and New York politicians, the Met and Galliano jointly announced on 31 August 2026 that the exhibition would not go ahead. In his statement, Galliano said he remained “fully accountable for the pain caused by my words in the past.” We reported on the decision at the time in John Galliano Pulls Out of Met Exhibition.
For the full story of the designer himself, from Gibraltar to Dior, Margiela and beyond, read our complete guide to John Galliano.
When is the Met Gala 2027?
The Met Gala traditionally takes place on the first Monday in May, which would make the 2027 date Monday, 3 May 2027, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. However, this is not yet fully settled. Reports in August noted that 3 May 2027 coincides with Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, and that organisers were said to be considering a change of date. Until the Met confirms the new exhibition and its opening, treat 3 May as expected rather than final.
The Galliano exhibition had been due to open to the public on 9 May 2027 and run until 9 January 2028. A replacement exhibition may follow a similar schedule, but nothing has been announced.
Who will host the Met Gala 2027?
No co-chairs have been announced. Anna Wintour, Vogue’s global editorial director, has co-chaired every gala in recent memory and is expected to again. In 2026, she was joined by Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman and Venus Williams for the “Costume Art” gala, which raised a record sum for the Costume Institute. Tickets in 2026 were reported at US$100,000 each.
What could the new theme be?
There is no reliable reporting on the replacement theme yet, so anything here is our own thinking rather than news. A few things seem likely. First, the Costume Institute will want a theme that is far less divisive after the controversy of the summer. Second, the timeline is short: major exhibitions take years to prepare, which makes a show drawn largely from the museum’s own permanent collection more practical than a loan-heavy retrospective. The 2024 exhibition, Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion, was built this way from the collection. Third, the gala is now as much a red carpet event as a museum fundraiser, so expect a theme with a strong visual hook that celebrities and their stylists can interpret.
If the runways are any guide, 2027 is a year of craft, colour and maximalism. A theme that lets designers show off handwork and glamour would suit the moment perfectly. We will update this page as soon as the Met makes its announcement.
Recent Met Gala themes at a glance
- 2026: Costume Art
- 2025: Superfine: Tailoring Black Style
- 2024: Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion (dress code: “The Garden of Time”)
- 2023: Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty
- 2022: In America: An Anthology of Fashion
- 2021: In America: A Lexicon of Fashion
- 2019: Camp: Notes on Fashion
- 2018: Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination
There was no gala in 2020 because of the pandemic. Before that, landmark themes included China: Through the Looking Glass in 2015 and Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between in 2017.
How the Met Gala theme is chosen
The theme is selected by the curator in charge of the Costume Institute, currently Andrew Bolton, with sign-off from Anna Wintour and the museum’s leadership. The gala is the Costume Institute’s main source of funding, and it has been held at the Met since the era of Diana Vreeland, who introduced themes to the event. Founded in 1948 by publicist Eleanor Lambert as a fundraising supper, it has grown into the most photographed night in fashion.
Why the 2027 Met Gala matters more than usual
The Galliano reversal raised a question the fashion world has avoided for years: how should institutions handle the work of brilliant designers whose conduct has caused harm? The Met’s answer this time was to step back. Whatever it chooses next will be read as a statement about what fashion wants to celebrate, which is why this announcement is likely to be watched even more closely than usual.
Met Gala 2027: frequently asked questions
Is the Met Gala 2027 theme John Galliano?
No. John Galliano: Horizons was announced in July 2026 but cancelled on 31 August 2026. A new theme has not yet been announced.
What is the date of the Met Gala 2027?
It is expected on Monday, 3 May 2027, the first Monday in May, though reports suggest organisers have considered changing the date.
When will the new Met Gala 2027 theme be announced?
The Met has only said “at a later date”. Themes have recently been announced in the autumn before the gala, so an announcement in the coming weeks would not be surprising.
Has a Met Gala theme ever been cancelled before?
Not in recent memory. Withdrawing a theme after it has been announced is highly unusual, and reports have described the 2027 reversal as a first. The gala itself has been skipped a handful of times, most recently in 2020.
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