John Galliano: The ups and downs of the most scandalous fashion industry designer
Juan Carlos Antonio Galliano Guillen was born in November 1960 in Gibraltar into an ordinary and one might even say poor family: his father worked as a plumber, and his mother taught flamenco. There was constantly not enough money in the family, so in search of a better life, it was decided to move to England. Juan was only 6 years old at that time, and it was then that, in order to adapt to a new country, he became John Galliano. But unfortunately, life in England became even more difficult for the boy. At the new school, John faced severe harassment because of his nationality. They constantly laughed at him, humiliated him and did not even want to sit at the same table with the boy. “I was chased and beaten. I've been living a lie.” — this is how Galliano himself talks about his school years. However, no matter how hard it was for him, he did not tell his parents about bullying at school and kept everything to himself, becoming even more withdrawn.

After graduating from high school, he enrolled at St. Martin's College, where he studied art and design. It was there that Galliano finally felt in his place. In college, John immediately stood out and became the favorite of all the teachers. Each of the professors noted his interesting and unusual approaches to design, bright ideas and bold solutions. Galliano also managed to combine his studies with work at the National Theatre, where he helped with costumes. His graduation show called “Magnificent” was a stunning success and all 8 outfits were bought on the same day by the owner of the famous Browns boutique at that time. The very next day, the collection went on sale. And from that day on, John Galliano's life turned upside down: new orders poured in, a huge number of offers for cooperation began to arrive, in general, life began to play with new colors.

Incredible collection
Soon he founded his own brand John Galliano, which immediately attracted public attention. Four years later, Galliano receives the honorary title of "Best Designer of the Year" for his collection "Blanche Dubois". But things were not as rosy as we would like. John faced serious financial problems. Due to the lack of permanent sponsors, the brand has fallen on hard times. Galliano tried to save the situation and released new collections, but soon expenses began to exceed revenues, and the designer decided to close the brand. Soon he leaves England and moves to Paris.

And it is there that his fateful meeting with the notorious takes place Anna Wintour is the editor-in-chief of Vogue. Anna appreciated Galliano's collections and began to patronize him, introducing him to the right people in the fashion world. And after a while, John is invited to the position of creative director of Givenchy. But he did not stay there for long, he created only a few collections for the brand. A truly stunning success was brought to him by the position of creative director at the fashion house Dior, where he worked for 15 years. In his first collection, “Afrika”, he mixed eastern culture with Western culture, which caused a real sensation in the fashion industry. For each of his shows, he not only transformed the models, but also changed himself, dressing for the era that he demonstrated in his collection. During his collaboration with Dior, Galliano was at the top of Olympus: everyone knew his name, fame, recognition, money, patronage of the most important people in the fashion world — all this became a part of his life. And it would seem that this fairy tale will never end.

Galliano collections for Dior
But one day John Galliano lost everything. In 2011, one of the biggest scandals broke out in the world with John Galliano in the title role: he was convicted of anti-Semitic statements. A video has spread online in which a drunken Galliano insulted a Jewish couple sitting at a nearby table, saying that he loves Hitler and hates Jews. In an instant, universal love turned into hatred and contempt. He lost not only the post of creative director of Dior, but also his own brand, as all sponsors refused to cooperate with Galliano. Natalie Portman, who was the face of Dior at the time, said as follows: “I am deeply shocked and disgusted by the John Galliano video. As a person who is proud of his Jewish roots, I do not want to be associated with Mr. Galliano in one form or another.” According to the designer himself, due to the constant stress at work, he began to use alcohol and narcotic substances, which led to the situation in the video.

Galliano collections for Dior
It was only in 2013 that the designer managed to return to the fashion world, thanks to Anna Wintour. For some time he worked as a creative director at the Oscar de la Renta fashion house, and became the art director of L'etoile. But he managed to fully return to the world of high fashion after he sewed a wedding dress for model Kate Moss. John Galliano tried in every possible way to make amends to the Jewish community: he studied their history, met with Jewish leaders, donated money to charity. As a result, the Chief Rabbi of Great Britain announced that John Galliano was forgiven.

Galliano collections for Dior
At the moment, John Galliano holds the post of creative director of the fashion house Maison Margiela, which, under his leadership, began to play with new colors. I especially remember the Maison Margiela show at Paris Fashion Week 2024, where a whole fabulous drama unfolded under the Alexander III Bridge. We devoted a separate article to this amazing show, where we made a detailed review of the collection, be sure to take a look, it was really unforgettable.

Galliano collections for Maison Margiela
John Galliano's contribution to the fashion world is invaluable, and his collections continue to inspire generations. The combination of an avant-garde approach to design with traditional elements makes his work unique and memorable.
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