Well, you all know how great a fan I have been of John Galliano’s work for the house of Christian Dior, so this is a sad post. I’m sure you have all heard how Galliano has been dismissed from Christian Dior, after being publicly disgraced in relation to antisemitic and pro-Nazi statements, and he has now checked himself into rehabilitation for alcoholism. Yes, I know. Shock. Disbelief. This was his last ready-to-wear collection for Dior, and as usual, has so much I adore. Apparently the show was a sad affair, with a long speech from the CEO Sidney Toledano and, in place of Galliano’s usual flamboyant strut down the catwalk at the end, a gathering of the collection’s design team, seamstresses and craftsmen on stage, and both cheering and weeping from the audience. As Tim Blanks at Style.com noted, “The only precedent for this situation is Coco Chanel’s postwar denunciation as a Nazi collaboratrice. Her exile from the fashion world lasted nine years.”
