What does a Galliano theme mean for guys at the Met Gala?

John Galliano is one of fashion's most divisive designers. So much so that, when John Galliano: Horizons opens at Costume Institute next spring, it will not only be his fashion career but the anti-semitic and racist remarks he made towards guests at Café la Perle in 2011 – which led to his firing from Dior – that will be put under the spotlight.

It makes the decision to link next year's Met Gala theme to the show somewhat unexpected, and certainly controversial. Guests will taking inspiration from an undoubtably talented but problematic figure. As well as the unavoidable politics, what can they expect?

When it comes to Galliano's work, he is – unsurprisingly, unfairly – best known for his womenswear. But he really shouldn't be: his menswear deserves a hell of a lot more credit. Look back over his career and you’ll see that his boldness and creativity played a major role in pushing menswear into the more experimental, fun place it is today.

Before Galliano, menswear used to know its boundaries. Tailoring was defined by Giorgio Armani and his American Gigolo suit – a genuinely groundbreaking silhouette, sure, but still well within the original limits of tailoring. That was the fit you'd wear to go out and cut loose, as well as what you'd wear the next day at work. Menswear played it safe by removing variety – it needed someone to mess that up.

John Galliano Spring Summer 2012Paris Menswear Fashion WeekCopyright Catwalking.com'One Time Only' PublicationEditorial Use Only

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Enter Galliano's early solo collections, which took menswear somewhere it hadn't really been: dressing men not as templates, but as characters. Sometimes, they were prim and proper. For his Central Saint Martins grad show, the male cast of of flamboyant figures, inspired by the French revolutionist group, Les Incroyables, wore high-collar blouses exaggerated bows, colourful waistcoats and tight breeches. Or, they could be sweaty and undone: a model in leather briefs, cowboy boots and an open suede jacket followed a topless one with tank top tan lines for his 2005 spring show.

He was a pro at making things feel playful. But his collections were still liked by 2AM regulars at underground clubs, and on the opposite end of the style spectrum, those reading the morning paper's fashion pages on the way to a nine-to-five. That's somewhat down to the timing: his clothes did away with old ideas of how men dressed during a period (starting in the nineties and going well past the millennium) when the definition of masculinity was being called into question.