Anna Wintour may have made the biggest mistake of her long, notable career. It could wind up being her legacy.
She’s honoring antisemitic designer John Galliano at next May’s Met Gala.
One big problem: the Gala is set for Monday, May 3rd, 2027 which is also Holocaust Remembrance Day around the world.
The New York Times says Wintour is considering moving the Gala to one week later. Hey, Anna, how about just a hard no? No Galliano at all. He was convicted in France of antisemitism. There’s video of him invoking Hitler. You like his designs? Great. But this is going to collapse the Gala — already maligned for incredible superficiality and mindless devotion to minor celebrities– in a heap.
Meantime, now New York City council speaker Julie Menin has sent Wintour a formal letter asking her to reconsider Galliano altogether. (See below.)
On Instagram, even fashion icon Fern Mallis — former president of the Council of Fashion Designer of America has backed Menin.
Menin wrote:
“Mr. Galliano’s long public record of antisemitism, racism, and anti-Asian bigotry is deeply troubling. His conduct has been repeated and significant. He was criminally convicted in France for racist and antisemitic public insults. He was also captured on video praising Adolf Hitler and telling others that their ancestors would have been “gassed.” That is not behavior that should be easily overlooked or normalized. Recently, there were reports of a similar antisemitic incident that allegedly occurred in 2019.”
Wintour’s insistence on continuing with this mistake will undoubtedly bring trouble to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as Vogue and Conde Nast. None of these institutions need any difficulties right now. It’s already been reported that Wintour is looking for a sponsor to replace last year’s deep pocket, Jeff Bezos. I can’t imagine Big Money wants to be identified with this debacle.
Anna, take off your sunglasses.Â
PS Good for Julie Menin. She has a good shot at being our next Mayor.Â
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