fashionologie

Jean Paul Gaultier Calls Anna Wintour "Monstrous," Defends John Galliano

fashionologie — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 15:36:31 PDT

>> Jean Paul Gaultier is quick to defend John Galliano: "I know John a little and I must say that what he does for his work shows he is not a racist . . . When you see the video, you can see it is someone teasing him . . . John is very talented. He has done some beautiful things for Dior. I think it is completely sad that he doesn't have his own label anymore. I think it's bad." His feelings for Anna Wintour, however, seem quite different - he says he didn't care for The Devil Wears Prada because "Anna Wintour is a lot more monstrous than she is described!" And when asked whether Wintour is a positive figure, he simply replied, "She is a figure." [Independent UK]

Pink Eyelashes and Stuck-Out Tongues - Backstage at Givenchy, Viktor & Rolf, John Galliano, Costume National, and Issey Miyake

fashionologie — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 14:42:43 PDT

>> Color seeped into beauty looks at Issey Miyake and Viktor & Rolf - in the form of long pink eyelashes at the latter; Gisele Bundchen stuck her tongue out - more than once - backstage at Givenchy; plus, see appearances by Miranda Kerr, Erin Wasson, and Naomi Campbell as you flip through the latest backstage snaps from those shows, John Galliano, and Costume National.

Photos by Greg Kessler

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John Galliano Spring 2012

fashionologie — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 18:12:48 PDT

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Bill Gaytten Suggests John Galliano Wants to Return to Fashion; Marc Jacobs Talks with Dior Said Recently at Standstill

fashionologie — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 08:13:22 PDT

>> What does the future hold for John Galliano? Acting Dior and John Galliano studio head Bill Gaytten and frequent Galliano collaborator Stephen Jones say they have both talked to Galliano, and that he is recovering well.

“John knows it’s a long path, and he’s taking it very seriously,” Jones says.When asked about the prospect of Galliano returning to fashion, Gaytten coyly replies: “We’ll see. It’s not over until it’s over. I can’t say any more than that right now.”

As for Galliano's replacement at Dior, an announcement is expected in the next few weeks; WWD reports that while Marc Jacobs is still the frontrunner, talks have been tough and recently at a standstill.

Franca Sozzani on Carine Roitfeld's Celebrity, Supporting John Galliano

fashionologie — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 09:20:41 PDT

>> Franca Sozzani, who publicly stated her allegiance to John Galliano right after he was fired from Dior in February, hasn't changed her tune: “Hire back John Galliano."

She continues: “Look. I understand their point of view [at Dior]. I understand they couldn’t just say, ‘Bad boy! We forgive you! Come back!’ But it’s really a pity. And I will never believe he believed what he said. I think he was drunk and alone in a bar. When people go crazy, they go crazy. It’s a human case, it’s not political or religious. He didn’t kill anyone!”

She also gives an opinion on her former Vogue colleague Carine Roitfeld, who she says was “very good at building up her own image.” Sozzani suggests that Roitfeld forgot she worked for Conde Nast and became too interested in having her picture taken. “I’m not a celebrity, I’m an editor,” Sozzani says. “If you feel that to be the editor of Vogue you have to be a celebrity, something is wrong in your life.”

John Galliano Found Guilty in Paris

fashionologie — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 05:08:13 PDT

>> After holding a seven-hour trial in late June - during which the designer testified - a Paris court today found John Galliano guilty of uttering racist and anti-Semitic comments in a Paris cafe.

Galliano, who as expected was absent from the today's hearing, was ordered to pay 13,500 euros ($19,031) in civil damages to three defendants, and was given suspended criminal fine of 6,000 euros ($8,443) - the latter he must only pay if he repeats the crime within the next five years. Prosecutor Anne de Fontette had called for a fine of no less than 10,000 euros ($14,100), while Galliano’s lawyer Aurelien Hamelle argued that his client should be acquitted. The maximum penalty in France for insulting someone on the basis of their origin, religious affiliation, race, or ethnicity is six months in jail and a fine of 22,500 euros ($32,000).

Hamelle said that he was not suprised by the verdict and Galliano just wants to put the whole episode behind him: "The court recognized he's not an ideologue, he's sick."

John Galliano Not Expected In Courtroom for Verdict Next Week

fashionologie — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 08:18:32 PDT

>> Despite appearing in court in late June to give his testimony, when John Galliano's verdict is handed down Sept. 8 - deciding whether he made anti-Semitic remarks to three separate people - he won't be in the courtroom, according to his lawyer. If ruled guilty, Galliano could face a six-month jail term and a fine of 22,500 euros ($32,410); however, during the trial in June, the prosecutor recommended a diminished fine of up to 5,000 euros ($7,188). [@cpassariello]

New Reports - Steven Robinson, John Galliano's Right-Hand Man, Died of a Cocaine Overdose in 2007

fashionologie — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 12:24:20 PDT

>> It has come to light that Steven Robinson, John Galliano's longtime right-hand man at Dior who passed away in 2007 at the age of 38, did not die of a heart attack as it was reported at the time. Instead, according to new reports, his cause of death was a cocaine overdose - he was found in his Paris home with up to 7 grams of the drug in his system.

Robinson was supplied the cocaine by Alassane Seck, a 40-year-old illegal immigrant from Senegal, who was later convicted of manslaughter after Robinson's death. Galliano is said to have testified at Seck's trial in 2008, but no journalists attended proceedings, and no official documents containing Robinson's cause of death were ever released, provoking accusations of a cover-up aimed at protecting Dior's reputation.

During Seck's trial, it emerged that dozens of "big names in the fashion world" were using his services, according to his lawyer, Francois-Henri Blistene. "There is a great deal to this entire case which has never been discussed publicly . . . My client was supplying cocaine to some of the biggest names in Paris, including Mr Robinson. Many other public figures were also using his services."

Seck was jailed for seven years in 2008, but has since been released.

Bernard Arnault Has Not Yet Forgiven John Galliano

fashionologie — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 09:04:34 PDT

>> It's sounding more and more like Bernard Arnault's long-held strategy of hiring enfant terrible designers to reinvigorate luxury brands (John Galliano at Dior, Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton, Alexander McQueen at Givenchy) will not be employed for his new Dior hire, whoever that may be.

Arnault has seen the even-tempered - even shy - Phobe Philo create triple-digit growth at Celine, and believes that it has the potential to be the next major brand. “It will take time, but [Celine] is on the way,” he tells Robin Givhan in Newsweek. “Phoebe has the potential. She is doing a style which is completely in line with our time.” Plus, he notes: “My daughter Delphine, she’s working at Dior, but she wears Celine.”

There's also the bad taste that Galliano seems to have left in Arnault's mouth. “I’m surprised that I did not get a call or a word of excuse from him,” he said not long after Galliano was fired. “After all that I did for him?” And he still hasn't been able to bring himself to forgive Galliano: “Not yet."

Although Arnault says he has no plans to make Dior into a minimalist label in the way of Celine, he does suggest it's time for a change at the house. Givhan writes: "[It's] time to recast his global, glittering, status-laden empire as something else. The watchwords are: intimate, Old World, artful. And the timing feels right."

As Dior chief executive Sidney Toledano points out: “A lot of schools produce designers, but the technical people - this is what we have to protect. They work very hard here, and they live outside of Paris. They are not living like the designer. They are simple people. Some of them have a difficult life. They have their feet on the ground." Ultimately, he says, "They’re sustaining the house."

Arnault agrees, saying of the current Dior situation: “I think we have the equivalent of the Vienna Philharmonic. From time to time, the Vienna Philharmonic could play without a conductor because they are so good. But that cannot last forever. We want to [make] the best choice for the house and find the best conductor.”

But, star designers can come and go. “A good product,” Arnault says, “can last forever.”

Topshop Denies Rumored John Galliano Collaboration

fashionologie — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 08:46:52 PDT

>> John Galliano's next gig could be designing for Topshop, if rumors are to be believed. Vogue UK reports that Sir Philip Green and Galliano - who both attended their mutual friend Kate Moss's wedding last weekend - are in the earliest stages of discussions.

However, this morning Topshop Tweeted: "It's incredible how rumors get started!" And Elle UK talked to the Topshop press office, which denied that they are doing a Galliano collaboration.

Green himself has now commented: "I saw John Galliano at Kate's wedding last Friday. I did not discuss any business with him then, nor have I since."