Published on
Jeans, T-shirts, puffer jackets and even plastic and paper will take centre stage at the 2027 Met Gala, as New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art turns its attention to the endless possibilities of everyday fashion.
The museum announced on Thursday that its next Costume Institute exhibition will be called ‘extraORDINARY: Fashion and the Poetics of the Everyday’.
The exhibition next spring will explore how fashion designers transform familiar clothes, objects and ordinary materials into unexpected creations through craftsmanship, construction and experimentation. From denim and metal to paper and plastic, the show will invite visitors to look at everyday objects differently, revealing how designers can give them new forms and meanings while retaining their original associations.
The exhibition will bring together pieces from the museum’s Costume Institute collection, alongside loans and new acquisitions.
A new direction after the Galliano controversy
The move marks a dramatic change of direction for the museum after it cancelled a planned exhibition dedicated to British designer John Galliano.
The original retrospective was dropped following fierce criticism from donors and Jewish community leaders over Galliano’s involvement given his past anti-Semitic and racist remarks, for which he’s repeatedly apologised for.
Andrew Bolton, head curator of the Costume Institute, said the replacement exhibition had to be developed from scratch.
What is the Met Gala?
The Met Gala is one of the fashion world’s biggest annual events. Held at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, it raises funds for the museum’s Costume Institute.
Taking place traditionally on the first Monday in May, the event brings together leading designers, celebrities, actors and musicians, who attend in elaborate outfits inspired by the exhibition’s theme.
The red carpet attracts worldwide attention, with fashion often becoming as much a talking point as the exhibition itself.