Why Are the Standards Different?

John Galliano has withdrawn from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s planned 2027 retrospective and Met Gala tribute, following backlash over his racist and antisemitic remarks from 2011. Galliano acknowledged the hurt caused to the Jewish community and said meaningful accountability cannot come from a single institutional honour.

Galliano’s past is serious. He was convicted in France for public insults based on religion, race and ethnicity and subsequently lost his position at Dior.

But here is where the conversation becomes uncomfortable.

Fashion has a long memory for some designers and a surprisingly short one for others. Stefano Gabbana, for example, faced huge backlash after messages attributed to him described China in racist terms, alongside a Dolce & Gabbana campaign condemned for racist stereotypes. Karl Lagerfeld also made deeply controversial comments about migrants and Muslims, while his legacy was later celebrated by the Met.

My view? Accountability should not depend on who you are, how talented you are, or how commercially successful your brand remains.

If Galliano is expected to answer for his past, everyone should be held to the same standard. Fashion cannot demand accountability from one designer while conveniently forgetting the controversies of another.

The question isn’t whether people can change. They can. The question is whether the industry is prepared to apply its standards consistently.