John Galliano Trial Begins
John Galliano arrived in court in Paris today, he looked rather haggard and dressed down in comparison to the British designers usual flamboyant style, he was fired as creative director of Christian Dior and his eponymous fashion house in February of this year due to his public meltdown in a Parisian cafe where he hurled racist and anti-Semitic insults at other customers.
As you would expect the media coverage on the trial has been huge and is a source of much debate within the fashion world. But as the trial is now well underway, people are starting to ask who will succeed John Galliano, who despite his obvious flaws is a fantastic designer; some say Lanvin's Alber Elbaz, others say Ricardo Tisci, Azzedine Alaia and Alexander McQueen’s Sarah Burton. My favorite is definitely Azzedine Alaia at the moment, but even Alaia will struggle to fill Galliano's boots.
As it stands in the trial, Galliano is set to face 6 months in jail and will have to pay a £20,000 fine, and his current charge is public insults based on origin, religious affiliation, race and ethnicity.
Galliano is said to have claimed that the demands of the industry had pushed over the edge and he had developed addictions with alcohol and drugs, and this is to blame for the public outburst in which he said 'I love Hitler'.
In a industry where eccentrics and 'boundary pushers' can flourish (all depending on talent of course), I can’t help but wonder whether Mr Galliano has perhaps pushed the boundary too far, and I believe that no amount of clothes can win back his previous public regard.
Follow Technorati