Let's try to understand the amazing personality and character of one of the brightest designers of the XXI century and the most respected fashion designers in the world.
"What will happen to the house of Dior without John Galliano?" - this question seems to be asked today by all those who are not indifferent to the world of fashion. While some loudly condemn the fashion designer for anti-Semitic and racist statements in a Parisian cafe, while others foaming at the mouth are proving the uniqueness of his genius, which is “above all,” we are trying to figure out the amazing person of one of the brightest designers of the 21st century.
On March 1, Christian Dior President Sidney Toledano officially announced the resignation of the iconic fashion designer from the post of creative director of the brand, where he served French couture for more than 14 years. Sensational news swept through the agencies just a few days before the show of the new Christian Dior collection at Paris Fashion Week, where for the first time in all his years of work, John Galliano did not go out to the traditional bow at the end of the fashion show. The latest collection of the most theatrical and colorful designer in Europe has become a kind of elegy for the maestro, as if he himself had a presentiment of future events. The coveted spot that Dior executives need to fill in the very near future is tipped to Alber Elbaz of Lanvin, Riccardo Tisci of Givenchy, and even British women Stella McCartney and Phoebe Philo. which again earned their collections in Paris rave reviews from critics. However, most analysts agree that none of the candidates discussed today behind closed doors at the Dior house will compensate for the lost flavor of genius.
John Galliano. “The House of Christian Dior does not tolerate any form of racism or discrimination based on ethnicity, and any public violations of this law by its employees are punishable by excommunication,” Dior wrote in an official press release immediately after the scandalous and Galliano's insulting remarks about visitors to one of the Parisian cafes.
The rule touched even the most public person of the company. Despite the efforts of the best lawyers and active rumors that “the case can be covered up,” the designer did not manage to hide from shame, as he did not manage to keep one of the most enviable posts in the fashion industry. In a couple of weeks, a trial will begin in France, but for now the fashion designer is hiding from the paparazzi and a public punishing eye within the walls of a rehabilitation center in American Arizona and is preparing a retaliatory lawsuit. By the way, the legendary Gerrard Tyrrell, who helped Kate Moss to get out of the cocaine scandal six years ago, was appointed to represent Galliano in court. Galliano also plans to sue Dior for his own brand, John Galliano, 92% owned by the Parisian fashion house. According to Sidney Toledano, without financial and administrative support from Dior, the brand will not last even a year on the market.
Who is behind the odious portrait that the accusatory press draws on its pages today? A small mustachioed man with large expressive eyes and a funny gait, a month ago he was considered the number one fashion man in the world. Juan Carlos Antonio Galliano-Guillen, that is the name of John Galliano according to his passport, was born on November 28, 1960 in Gibraltar in the family of a plumber who in 1967 moved his family to Great Britain in a vain attempt to make ends meet. ends. Little John grew up in an atmosphere of the strictest discipline and was extremely devout. At school, he was often humiliated and teased - for his strange appearance, for his Spanish roots, for poverty and for the awkward outfits in which his older sister Anita, a flamenco teacher, dressed him. As a teenager, Galliano loved to study fashion magazines and dreamed of becoming a designer in order to dress the way he wanted.
Miraculously enrolled in the legendary London College of Fashion Central Saint Martins, he immediately began to demonstrate his extraordinary creativity in it. Simultaneously, the graduation and the first signature collection of the designer called "The Incredibles", inspired by the Great French Revolution, not only brought him an honors degree, but also attracted the attention of leading buyers to his name. The first pieces under the John Galliano logo appeared in 1985 at the iconic Browns boutique. Already in 1988 he moved to Paris, where he opened his first design studio, and the next year he showed his debut collection at Paris Fashion Week. To Galliano's great dismay, his eponymous label lost popularity in the early 1990s, was abandoned by investors, and in 1993 he even faced the threat of canceling his seasonal show in Paris and being forced to seek financial support. Having found it in Portugal at the suggestion of the editor-in-chief of American Vogue Anna Wintour and fashion columnist Andre Leon Talley, Galliano created a collection in a record 15 days, which later became his calling card. Rumor has it that it was so revolutionary and stunning that top models Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista and Kate Moss even agreed to show it for free. Madonna (Madonna) and Baroness Rothschild at the forefront of the show were not shy about their enthusiastic cries.
In July 1995, Galliano was appointed creative director of the French house Givenchy, and a year and a half later received an offer to head the house of Christian Dior. Replacing Gianfranco Ferre, Galliano radically changed the artistic vision of the house, attracting a younger and more progressive audience, with an emphasis on theatricality and exoticism. For the past 14 years, he has presented pret-a-porter and haute couture collections in Paris twice a year, each of which has become a sensation.
John Galliano. "My role is to seduce" - so he briefly characterized his work, calling Madonna, actresses Charlize Theron and Nicole Kidman muses. Four times he became the owner of the main award "Designer of the Year" at the annual British Fashion Awards, in 2001 Queen Elizabeth II personally presented him with the Order of the British Empire, and in 2009 he became a Knight of the Legion of Honor of France. On February 24, 2011, with a series of brutal anti-Semitic statements in a Parisian cafe in a state of alcoholic and, possibly, drug intoxication, John Galliano interrupted his triumphant march. Around the same time, a video leaked on the Web with the designer's declaration of love for Adolf Hitler. This put an end to the scandal: the dismissal of Galliano from Dior was followed by a lawsuit.
This whole story has already become proof that such antics do not go unnoticed even for the most titled and most respected public figures of our time.
