Out of favour, out of fashion
“It was like a funeral,” said photographer, Mario Testino. Only this funeral didn’t celebrate a life. The house of Dior ensured that the excess typical of the colourful Galliano was nowhere to be seen. The house was determined to end an era under a shadow of darkness.
On Feb 23, 2011, British designer John Galliano was accused of anti-Semitism for insulting a Jewish woman in a Paris café. A few days later, footage of the designer in a crazed rant, declaring that he loved Hitler, was leaked. The former head designer of Christian Dior was seen aggressively shouting at a Jewish woman: “Your mothers, your forefathers would be f**ing gassed and dead.”
It was unthinkable that one of the fashion world’s most respected and recognisable designers had embarked on such a spectacle.
As the Gibraltar-born designer celebrates his 52nd birthday today, he must regret the day he set foot in that café. Galliano was sacked from his 15-year reign at Dior, shunned by his peers and charged by the French police for anti-Semitic behaviour.
Why did an esteemed designer, educated and well-travelled, embark on career suicide?
There is no excuse for Galliano’s insults, yet it is obvious by his demeanour in the footage that he was on the edge.
This isn’t the first time fashion’s most talented have been in turmoil. A year earlier, fellow British designer and Galliano’s successor at Givenchy, Alexander McQueen, committed suicide. The death of his mother is said to have been a factor, but the designer was under pressure to perform. Both Galliano and McQueen were renowned for creating fashion hedonism, combining outlandish art and unpredictable creativity, season after season. The pressure to be original may have proved too much. It was said that Galliano was running out of ideas, as was McQueen.
At the time of his rant, Galliano was producing 12 collections a year; six at Dior and six at his own label. This is a massive undertaking. Being a perfectionist and a control freak, Galliano was involved in every tiny detail. It wasn’t only the need to generate ideas but also business — fashion houses must make money.
‘You’re only as good as your last collection’ the saying goes. “Imagine being reminded of that every time you start a new season,” says Irish designer, (formerly of Alexander McQueen), Emma Manley. “Fashion is a business, though a creative one, but there needs to be focus on sales to keep a business afloat. It’s a fine line, where the allowance for creativity meets the need for financial success.”
Add this pressure to the death of Galliano’s friend and business partner, Steven Robinson, in 2007 from a cocaine overdose, and the image of a boiling kettle seems apt.
Galliano’s experience was not so different to McQueen’s, who had also lost his friend and mentor, Isabella Blow, in the same year. Perhaps Galliano chose to escape the world in which he had been immersed for 25 years. Instead of ending his own life, he ensured the death of his career. It was also rumoured that Galliano had fallen off the wagon and was back living the pleasure-seeking, decadent life of his younger years.
Just over a year ago, Galliano was found guilty of making anti-Semitic remarks and was sentenced to pay €6,000 in suspended fines.
The inexplicable event of the night in the café has been met with varied responses. Actress Natalie Portman, who had an endorsement contract for Miss Dior Cherie fragrance, announced her disgust at Galliano’s behaviour. The Jerusalem-born American actress’s great-grandparents had been killed in Auschwitz.
On the other side of the spectrum, the Sex and the City stylist Patricia Field defended Galliano by sending an email to 500 friends, various blogs and media outlets, dismissing the designer’s behaviour as ‘theatre’. Another model for Dior, French actress Eva Green, also showed her support.
“Sometimes, you can make mistakes. I don’t think he’s anti-Semitic. I’m Jewish. I don’t think he has anything against the Jews. I think it’s more that he was probably a bit drunk.”
In a sign of solidarity with her old friend, Kate Moss chose Galliano as the designer of the most important dress she will ever wear — her wedding dress. Moss is no stranger to the demons of pressure and the fashion world. After being caught snorting cocaine while still with her former beau, Pete Doherty, the mother-of-one was also the victim of her own, albeit temporary, demise. The model and icon lost lucrative endorsement deals and was deemed a disgrace by the press. However, Moss has turned the wheels around and all has been forgotten — this is the fickle world of fashion, after-all.
However, today, all remains quiet on the Galliano front. Since the debacle, there have been few sightings of the designer. In May of this year, he was reportedly seen lunching with Grace Coddington, of US Vogue, and he was heard exclaiming that he was “thrilled” about something. Could this ‘something’ be his comeback?
“John Galliano was a huge inspiration to me, and his collections continue to inspire me,” says Irish designer, Lorna Burton, of the label Corallei.
“His theatrical, dream-like sense of beauty, his use of colour, texture and print, and his obvious love for femininity is breathtakingly beautiful. He inspired me to never limit your mind, push boundaries and dare to be different.”
Maybe the fickle world of fashion will some day remember what it was that made John Galliano great in the first place.
* Emma Manley’s designs are available at: Bow, Powerscourt Townhouse & Brown Thomas, Dublin
* Lorna Burton’s Corallei label is available at corallei.com
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
