WHAT’S NEXT FOR JOHN GALLIANO
John Galliano always takes riveting routes to fashion newness. But what's next for the visionary bad boy of high fashion?
A scene from the documentary film High & Low -John Galliano directed by Kevin Macdonald
He’s the last man standing. His unwritten drama is continuously unfolding. He is an artistic perpetual motion machine. His theatrical expressions have never stopped manifesting. For the last three decades his oeuvre is essentially unrivaled. In the mid-80s, he pioneered his eponymous label fusing eccentricity with sophistication focusing intensely on tailoring, pattern construction and art history. Later, he went on to make Dior visceral, elegant and ultra-outlandish.
John Galliano’s Fall 1997 Ready to Wear Fashion Show
Kate Moss, John Galliano's A/W94 Collection at at São Schlumberger’s Hôtel Particulier
Linda Evangelista, John Galliano's A/W94 Collection
Just like on stage, his life off the runway didn’t lack drama or controversy. Fifty-nine collections and self-imposed sensory deprivation will do that to you. Or at least that’s what he said in his first interview after the scandal in Paris that almost decimated his reputation/career. He submerged into his own private cosmos. But he was in tune with and channeling the zeitgeist all the while, unleashing new creations from the underground.
Renzo Rosso threw him a life vest. He embarked on a new, somewhat modest path at Maison Martin Margiela. Martin had sold his iconic brand, and thankfully someone truly talented took to the helm and carried it forward. The world was watching with critical eyes. John Galliano flourished there.
John Gallianos ‘Homless Chic’ collection for Dior
Dior extravaganza
John Galliano for Dior, Winter 2000
During these electrifying years, I worked at Maison Margiela NYC. It was choppy and different but elegant, distinct, and truly inspirational. I often contemplated how tough it could have been for Galliano to start from scratch after so much fame, success, and access to infinite resources at LVMH. Margiela, the house, was different, smaller, and operated at the edges of the truly avant-garde. It was also someone else's creation, which made it a challenge for Galliano to impart his signature craft. There was a rumor that he didn’t like Martin’s name on the label, so the management changed it to Maison Margiela after a few seasons. People will always make up stories and circulate chit chat, of course. They also said he would never be able to work after the PR fiasco in Paris in 2011, yet he donned the atelier’s white robe (a Maison Margiela staple), rolled up his sleeves, and got busy injecting his DNA into the label.
John Galliano for Maison Margiela, S/S 2024
Maison Margiela Co - Ed 2023 Collection by John Galliano
For a while, he was running the show from the shadows, but the industry’s gaze (and relentless scrutiny) was upon the firebrand designer. Could he make Margiela so alluring, so iconoclastic, or would he enervate the whole enterprise? In the end, as we all know, he did a splendid job on two fronts: he kept Martin’s core elements and aesthetic intact, while infusing the house with his own personal dramatics that gained him – and the business – critical acclaim and market share.
John Galliano for Maison Margiela- Autumn WInter 2022 Haute Couture
It was theatrical to the max and an utter joy to view from the inside. John Galliano brought daredevil style and anarchic freedom to the fashion space. From customizing coo-coo crazy fabrics to curating all the confections and store interiors, JG delivered an imagination so extravagant and outre that we all got hooked. For me personally, I always deeply admired Martin before him because his worldview synced with my own. But Galliano’s flair and creativity cast a spell on me, proving that when you’re industrious and tenacious, it is never too late to start over, despite the growing pains and reputational risk. I also really enjoyed wearing Margiela’s bold and philosophical pieces, which made me feel like fashion was a worthy endeavor. JG enhanced my affinity for the brand.
JG taught me the importance of authenticity and creative integrity, even when the business cycle was in the doldrums. His over-the-top designs — both ready-to-wear and haute couture — embodied an unmistakable signature instinct blending sensuality, theatricality, glam, and grunge. He constantly adapted and evolved, and took the label to new heights and interesting places. I evolved with him and came to love his insider-outsider vibe and range of influences: cubism, romanticism, expressionism, surrealism, bohemianism, brutalism and techno-futurism.
Maison Margiela S/S 2018, Couture Collection
Maison Mairgela by John Galliano, Artisanal S/S 24 Haute Couture
Ten years later, he is on the move again. Where will he land next? What house will he attach himself to? Or will he go the route of Helmut Lang and humbly fade into oblivion?
Rumors abound. According to Stylezeitgeist, Galliano is headed to Fendi. Some industry insiders are saying LVMH. Others are guessing he will land at Chanel, because who else could inherit the mantle of the one and only Kaiser Karl Lagerfeld?
We favor Chanel, of course, where Galliano’s techno-conceptual-decorative artisanship could expand into new terrains and breathe new, fiery energy into an otherwise fatigued fashion domain.
John Galliano Dior archive, documentary High & Low
Rihanna wearing Maison Margiela by John Galliano at the Met Gala 2018
John Galliano is one of the last of a breed of Romantics whose art makes audiences stare as if they were looking at animals in a zoo, trying to come to terms with the daily chaos of modernity. Respect, JG, wherever you land!
