>> In her story on John Galliano yesterday, Cathy Horyn wrote of the designer, "In his knowledge of fashion, he was rivaled only by Karl Lagerfeld of Chanel . . ." Spurred by rivalry or not, Lagerfeld has come out completely clear about his thoughts on the Galliano scandal — and these aren't words of support.

“I’m furious, if you want to know," Lagerfeld told WWD. "I’m furious that it could happen, because the question is no longer even whether he really said it. The image has gone around the world. It’s a horrible image for fashion, because they think that every designer and everything in fashion is like this. This is what makes me crazy in that story."

Lagerfeld continues: "The thing is, we are a business world where, especially today, with the Internet, one has to be more careful than ever, especially if you are a publicly known person. You cannot go in the street and be drunk — there are things you cannot do. I’m furious with him because of the harm he did to LVMH and [chairman and CEO] Bernard Arnault, who is a friend, and who supported him more than he supported any other designer in his group, because Dior is his favorite label. It’s as if he had his child hurt.”

Insiders confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that Dior has always been Arnault's pet project — it was the first fashion house he bought when getting into the luxury industry in the '80s — despite the fact that the label didn't begin to turn a profit until 2002 (Galliano joined as creative director in 1996). He has continued to pour money into the brand, which still struggled to improve its bottom line under Galliano: its current sales of €826 million ($1.14 billion) and operating margin of 4.2 percent lag far behind that of LVMH's crown jewel Louis Vuitton, with its estimated €5.5 billion in sales and 45 percent operating margin.

>> While we already discussed all the out-of-the-box denim possibilities come Spring, we've yet to talk about finding the essential pair of jeans. Lucky for you, we sifted through a ton of options and found the best around — think cropped and flared, white skinnies, and lightwash trousers — that are sure to carry you through Spring and well into Summer.

>> Shortly after John Galliano issued an apology statement this morning completely denying the claims made against him, the Paris prosecutors' office has announced that it has decided to put the designer on trial following a police investigation.

The proceedings are expected to take place between April and June, and if convicted — anti-Semitic slurs are illegal in France — Galliano could face up to six months in prison and up to €22,500 ($31,000) in fines.

As for his last Dior collection — for Fall 2011 — which is expected to be shown as planned on Friday, Galliano had not completed it before his suspension last Friday, according to people close to the company; his design team, however, is working to finish the collection in time.

>> Miranda Kerr has walked for the past three Balenciaga shows — including last season, when she was five months pregnant. Although she's been taking it easy since she gave birth to her first child on Jan. 6, she was snapped in Paris this morning, and tweeted, "Some exciting things happening guys. I'll be back in touch soon. Love Miranda xxx" Don't be surprised if she turns up on the Balenciaga runway again tomorrow. [PopSugar, @MirandaKerr]

>> John Galliano, who left France yesterday to enter rehab — reportedly at The Meadows facility in Wickenberg, Arizona, where Donatella Versace went for treatment — after close colleagues and friends like Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss persuaded him to go for his alcohol problems, has finally broken his silence. It sounds like Galliano's lack of communication since Thursday has not just been with the public: an unnamed Dior executive commented that the designer remained in seclusion at home over the weekend, and did not try to contact his employer to explain himself or offer an apology before he was fired.

Galliano's statement, released by law firm Harbottle and Lewis, in full, below — although he makes no mention of the video:

“Since the events of last Thursday evening I have not been able to make any public comment on what took place based upon advice from my French lawyer. However, given the continuing delays at the French Prosecutor’s Office I should make my position clear.

“I completely deny the claims made against me and have fully co-operated with the police investigation.

“A number of independent witnesses have given evidence and have told the police that I was subjected to verbal harassment and an unprovoked assault when an individual tried to hit me with a chair having taken violent exception to my look and my clothing. For these reasons I have commenced proceedings for defamation and the threats made against me.

“However, I fully accept that the accusations made against me have greatly shocked and upset people.

“I must take responsibility for the circumstances in which I found myself and for allowing myself to be seen to be behaving in the worst possible light.

“I only have myself to blame and I know that I must face up to my own failures and that I must work hard to gain people’s understanding and compassion. To start this process I am seeking help and all I can hope for in time is to address the personal failure which led to these circumstances and try and earn people’s forgiveness.

“I have fought my entire life against prejudice, intolerance and discrimination, having been subjected to it myself. In all my work my inspiration has been to unite people of every race, creed, religion and sexuality by celebrating their cultural and ethnic diversity through fashion. That remains my guiding light.

“Anti-semitism and racism have no part in our society. I unreservedly apologise for my behaviour in causing any offence.”