John Galliano was fired from Dior after making anti-Semitic comments in a Paris cafe in 2011. A bystander recorded the video, the video went viral, and the rest, as they say, is history. Unfortunately for us, John is attempting to make a comeback, fueled by his temporary sojourn at Oscar de la Renta’s studio earlier this year.
And, once again, the fashion industry disappoints us. I can guarantee you that if it wasn’t for the public pressure that followed after John’s anti-Semitic remarks went public, Dior probably wouldn’t have fired him. It’s just like the Ray Rice NFL scandal – the NFL likes to pretend that they were doing the right thing, but they had that video for months and ONLY fired him now because the public found out about it. Now, I don’t want to equate John Galliano spewing anti-semitic comments to Ray Rice beating the shit out of his wife, but it’s basically comparing an asshole to an even bigger asshole – who wins? Neither, because they both suck.
What’s worse is that it’s only been two years, but John’s comeback is already in full swing. His stint with Oscar de la Renta was considered a huge success [sadly], and now it looks like he’s all set to dive back into the fashion world with a new collaboration with Margiela. A source tells Page Six, “Galliano has been talking to Margiela to take the brand into haute couture. He has already hired five or six staff members for his atelier in Paris.”
Ugh. Renzo Russo, the majority shareholder in Margiela, claims that he would ‘love’ to work with Galliano, explaining, “Who wouldn’t like to work with him? If he ever got back his name, I would be the first to produce his collections.”
Well, that’s an interesting preface, isn’t it? ‘If he ever got his name back’…? At least they realize that it’s still toxic to be associated with John Galliano, but they don’t even try to pretend as though they care about anything except their reputation. They’re not NOT working with John Galliano because he’s an anti-Semitic douche, they’re not working with him because it would affect their brand name and reputation.
One almost has to admire how obvious they are about it, but considering it’s the fashion industry, I don’t think anybody should be that surprised. It’s filled with sexists, racists, homophobes, anti-Semites, and all manner of ignorant idiots. This is just another tip of the iceberg.
Image credit to FameFlynet
