John Galliano Fired from Christian Dior, Replacement Unknown
Fashion giant Christian Dior announced on Tuesday its decision to fire designer John Galliano, 50, following the racist and anti-Semitic remarks he made in a Parisian café.
Galliano, who is known not only for his designs but his eccentric personal style, was first suspended from the fashion house, but after a video of another incident in the same café surfaced on Monday, Dior spokespeople said they had to let him go.
“In light of the deeply offensive statements and conduct by John Galliano in a video made public [Monday]… Christian Dior has begun firing procedures against him,” they said in a statement.
The video showed Galliano drunkenly proclaiming “I love Hitler,”
and was posted on the internet a few days after news of his racist rants against a couple at La Perle café in Paris was made public.
Although there are conflicting accounts of the event, the couple and witnesses have both said that Galliano verbally attacked the man and woman. The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, told Europe1 that Galliano called her “a Jewish cunt” and her friend “a dirty Asian” while drinking a mojito at the table next to them.
Galliano was then arrested by French police for assault and making anti-Semitic comments, which is punishable by up to six months in prison in France. According to CNN, Galliano’s lawyer said the designer was released after questioning, but may be summoned in the next few weeks.
In the meantime, Galliano is supposedly headed to rehab. The New York Times reported Wednesday morning that colleagues and friends, such as supermodels Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss, persuaded the designer to receive treatment for alcohol abuse. Some are speculating that he left France for a center in Arizona called The Meadows, where Donatella Versace and Elton John have also been treated.
Galliano has produced haute couture lines and ready to wear collections twice each year since he joined the fashion house in 1996. The question everyone is asking now is who will replace him as the lead designer at Dior.
According to The New York Times, Riccardo Tisci, the designer for Givenchy, could potentially take Galliano’s place as the CEO of the brands’ parent company, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, likes to interchange designers between different brands.
Nevertheless, the future of Dior is still unclear as its executives wonder whether external partners crucial to the brand’s financing will still want to support a label whose name has been tarnished.
Even the current face of Dior, Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman, expressed her outrage at Galliano’s recent conduct.
“I am deeply shocked and disgusted by the video of John Galliano’s comments that surfaced today. In light of this video, and as an individual who is proud to be Jewish, I will not be associated with Mr. Galliano in any way,” she said.
Since being suspended both Galliano and his lawyer have denied that he is an anti-Semite, and the designer has already filed a defamation suit.
Galliano, who is known not only for his designs but his eccentric personal style, was first suspended from the fashion house, but after a video of another incident in the same café surfaced on Monday, Dior spokespeople said they had to let him go.
“In light of the deeply offensive statements and conduct by John Galliano in a video made public [Monday]… Christian Dior has begun firing procedures against him,” they said in a statement.
The video showed Galliano drunkenly proclaiming “I love Hitler,”
and was posted on the internet a few days after news of his racist rants against a couple at La Perle café in Paris was made public.
Although there are conflicting accounts of the event, the couple and witnesses have both said that Galliano verbally attacked the man and woman. The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, told Europe1 that Galliano called her “a Jewish cunt” and her friend “a dirty Asian” while drinking a mojito at the table next to them.
Galliano was then arrested by French police for assault and making anti-Semitic comments, which is punishable by up to six months in prison in France. According to CNN, Galliano’s lawyer said the designer was released after questioning, but may be summoned in the next few weeks.
In the meantime, Galliano is supposedly headed to rehab. The New York Times reported Wednesday morning that colleagues and friends, such as supermodels Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss, persuaded the designer to receive treatment for alcohol abuse. Some are speculating that he left France for a center in Arizona called The Meadows, where Donatella Versace and Elton John have also been treated.
Galliano has produced haute couture lines and ready to wear collections twice each year since he joined the fashion house in 1996. The question everyone is asking now is who will replace him as the lead designer at Dior.
According to The New York Times, Riccardo Tisci, the designer for Givenchy, could potentially take Galliano’s place as the CEO of the brands’ parent company, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, likes to interchange designers between different brands.
Nevertheless, the future of Dior is still unclear as its executives wonder whether external partners crucial to the brand’s financing will still want to support a label whose name has been tarnished.
Even the current face of Dior, Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman, expressed her outrage at Galliano’s recent conduct.
“I am deeply shocked and disgusted by the video of John Galliano’s comments that surfaced today. In light of this video, and as an individual who is proud to be Jewish, I will not be associated with Mr. Galliano in any way,” she said.
Since being suspended both Galliano and his lawyer have denied that he is an anti-Semite, and the designer has already filed a defamation suit.