John Galliano - Designer, Creative Director of Maison Margiela

[Mr-Dale]

I have nothing new to add to this discussion, except for just saying BRING IT ON

Welcome back John

 

[IndigoHomme]

well, maybe finally do something that can be called Haute Couture

 

[Thefrenchy]

What about Matthieu Blazy though?

 

[VersaceVixen009]

He's back! I am so excited!! And I agree totally with diorcouture1245!! I'm so excited to see his first couture line!

 

[orchidee]

Regardless of how the clothes turn out, I'm just looking forward to the show itself. John always knew how to stage an amazing show and cast models who knew how to work the clothes.

 

[CholoChic]

welcome back John
i Read a little about Martin Margiela and I think the spirit of the house and John's spirit will make great things, to recover that things that John used to be to our thirsty spirits: dream.

You saw these last fashion weeks: París was so sad without John...

 

[Scott]

Regardless of how the clothes turn out, I'm just looking forward to the show itself. John always knew how to stage an amazing show and cast models who knew how to work the clothes.

the problem with that aspect is that MMM is and has never been about the stage...certainly not in the showy way galliano was known for.

 

[IloveDiorHomme]

What about Matthieu Blazy though?

 

[Sweet rus]

Such wonderful news! It made my day! I am so happy for Galliano. I am not sure how his austhetic fits Margiela, but I am sure he will make it work and I am so looking forward to couture shows

 

[Label Basher]

This is exciting news. I've missed his work so much. This last fashion month has been so boring I can't wait to see what we get from him.

 

[BerlinRocks]

http://nymag.com/thecut

Why Galliano Is Such a Weird Choice for Margiela
By Véronique Hyland

When Maison Martin Margiela announced today that John Galliano would be taking over as creative director, it was the endpoint to relentless job rumors that had been swirling about the designer, including hints that he'd eventually be taking the helm at Oscar de la Renta. Margiela whispers surfaced during Paris Fashion Week but it was hard to give them much credence, since (a) Galliano gossip is more common than Moschino French*fry iPhone cases and (b) the designer seemed like such a weird fit for Margiela. After all, the house, which was acquired by the conglomerate Only the Brave in 2002, is so committed to anonymity that it kept its previous head designer Matthieu Blazy under wraps until he was unmasked by Suzy Menkes this past couture week. And founder Martin
Margiela, who quietly exited around 2008, was an elusive figure who never did in*person interviews, was rarely photographed, and delivered most of his missives by fax. In a 2008 New York Times piece, Eric Wilson dubbed him "fashion's invisible man," an honorific that has stuck with him, and with the brand. The anonymity even extends to the runway, where models often sport face*obscuring gear of all kinds, from crystal masks to Spring Breakers–esque body stockings.

Galliano, on the other hand, is a controversy*racked showman who takes elaborate, costumed bows rather than hiding in the shadows. While Margiela is the province of hoof boots, a vest made out of faded, yellowed gloves, and a jacket
imprinted with mannequin measurements, Galliano couldn't be less of a futurist: In his years at Dior, he drew from the Belle Époque, with elaborate panniers and layers on his gowns. Yet he cut any possible quaintness with references to London's '80s club scene, an equally decadent period. Acid colors, feathers, stacks of necklaces? Pile it
on! was his attitude. Many of his collections had borderline*offensive inspirations, like spring 2000's couture looks imitating the newspaper*clad homeless people he saw on the banks of the Seine, fall 1998's Pocahontas*based romp, or a "trailer park" collection for spring 2001. When he worked with Oscar de la Renta for a season, Galliano's sense of drama played nicely off de la Renta's flamboyance, and the collection was well reviewed. And when, years ago, Haider Ackermann and Raf Simons were said to be taking over Margiela's post, their quieter personal and professional approaches seemed to jibe with the brand. But it's hard to imagine what Galliano might create for Margiela that doesn't involve superimposing his own, highly specific tastes on the existing minimalist white canvas. So what is Margiela — or rather, Only the Brave — thinking?

This could signal a capitulation to the idea that design houses today need a personality attached to them. Someone to give interviews, do photo shoots, grin and glad*hand next to celebrities at parties, and so forth — something the house held out against for so long. Think of Alexander Wang at Balenciaga, Jeremy Scott at Moschino, or Hedi Slimane
at Saint Laurent, all of whose splashy appointments have generated tons of interest in the brands. Galliano, from his TV appearances to his elaborate costumed bows, is just that kind of public*figure designer. A calculated move to shed light on a house that has taken care to obscure itself is the more easily understandable rationale for appointing
Galliano, but what of the clothes? Can we expect a merger of the two warring sensibilities, with Galliano toning down his persona while still giving Margiela an injection of oomph? Or — more likely — is Only the Brave imagining
something more like Slimane's reboot of Saint Laurent, in which a new designer remakes a brand in his own image, with attendant commercial success? Either way, it will be fascinating to watch it play out.

And I guess Blazy got fired ...
What do you think happened to him ? He didn't die ... Suzy Menkes said he was genius, so I guess he'll go somewhere else ... Why not Hermes ? Margiela was art director of Hermes, for some seasons, after all ...

 

[BerlinRocks]

John Galliano has joined Maison Martin Margiela as creative director, Renzo Rosso, the Italian entrepreneur and president of OTB, which owns the house, has announced. Galliano’s first show, for the “artisanal line” will be held during Paris couture week in January. The artisanal line, formerly designed by Matthieu Blazy, is the house’s closest thing to haute couture. And doubtless, it’ll get closer, what with the wisdom of fifteen years experience of Christian Dior’s couture that Galliano brings with him.

The appointment by Rosso ends Galliano’s three years in the wilderness since the designer was fired by Dior and later convicted and given a suspended fine by a Paris court for perpetrating a drunken anti-Semitic outburst in a bar in 2011. He has spoken of spending his exile striving to atone for the offense and hurt he caused. He received instruction from Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League while facing his “demons” and addictions to alcohol and drugs. Oscar de la Renta gave Galliano a one-season “design residency” for the fall 2013 collection, and he’s reportedly been mentoring students at his alma mater, Central Saint Martins in London. In a sober and contrite interview with Charlie Rose, he said he realized he could only come back from the offense he’d caused “step by step,” but hoped that one day he’d be “given a second chance.”

Now that one of fashion’s most extravagantly talented designers has his second chance, what will he do with it? Interesting to speculate. On past form—ever since he stepped out of Central Saint Martins in 1984 with his French Revolutionary-themed “Les Incroyables” collection, Galliano has been a flamboyant narrative designer, a merger of history, world cultures, delicate femininity, glamour and color. Martin Margiela, on the other hand, one of the original Antwerp Six to have stormed out of Belgium in the eighties, left his house in 2009 with a legacy of wittily chic upcycling, re-purposing of found materials and immaculate tailoring swathes of a whole generation has missed.

How will two such disparate visions come together? One way of looking at it is that perhaps they shouldn’t. Galliano should seize his opportunity to express himself authentically without being hampered by reverentially carrying on the house “codes” (he did enough of that at Dior). On past record, the nearer he is to spontaneity, the better and happier his collections are—whether that be spinning tales of fugitive Russian princesses, louche twenties habitués of Montmartre, Ukrainian gypsies, Shanghai showgirls, or Napoleonic revolutionaries. A British The South Bank Show documentary from 1996, now on YouTube, captures Galliano at his best, at the point where he was just about to take up the reins at Dior. Watching that, it’s hard not to be struck by footage of possibly the most exquisitely exciting collection of his career, the one with Kate Moss and co. mincing and flirting around São Schlumberger’s private hôtel particulier in mini-kimonos and saucy-pretty lingerie in 1994.

Maybe there’s a good augury there. That collection was made on a shoe-string budget out of scraped-together favors and a few bolts of black silk and pink organza. Maison Martin Margiela, however well-funded, can’t possibly have the same resources as Christian Dior. Maybe that’s a good thing for Galliano: The freshest creativity often springs from making do with what’s at hand, as Margiela himself proved over twenty years. And there’s another thought, too: Now that Galliano has just one fashion house to consider maybe he will be able to devote the rarest of all luxuries—time and concentration—to develop something which will blow fashion’s socks off. It needs it.

vogue.com

can someone explain to me what means :

He received instruction from Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League while facing his “demons” and addictions to alcohol and drugs.

what means "instruction" ??? what kind of instruction ??? why singular ???
Is it just to underline that someone from a Jewish background support him (and not a random person .... "He is the National Director of the Anti-Defamation League and a survivor of the Holocaust." - wikipedia) ? or the contrary ?

 

[Signature10]

Great, as Galliano is an exceptional designer but one question here is : what happens at the end of the show? Mmm was about the team and decretion and being cool about fame and recognisability. (Raf tried to do that at the beginning, attempting to be an invisible man and didn't come out at the end of his shows exactly like Margiela). Will it not be wrong for him to take a catwalk bow at such a house? As much as not coming out at the end also weird too.....

 

[dior_couture1245]

I think that the NYMag Cut Blog article is very silly and not particularly well informed.

The author mentions Galliano's controversial inspirations from the early 00's as a negative but doesn't realize that the actual clothes from those collections in question are some of Galliano's most experimental and challenging designs and that aesthetic could so easily be brought back again at the MMM house!

 

[Marc10]

What about Matthieu Blazy though?

He's incredibly talented so i'm sure someone will snatch him in no time. There's the Carven spot that just opened but ugh, I would love if Givenchy finally gets rid of Tisci for him.

 

[Nymphaea]

This made my year! And he's going to do everything including couture. Excited beyond. Already in January the first results, very curious! Welcome back John and shake up the fashion world.

 

[Melancholybaby]

I think that the NYMag Cut Blog article is very silly and not particularly well informed.

The author mentions Galliano's controversial inspirations from the early 00's as a negative but doesn't realize that the actual clothes from those collections in question are some of Galliano's most experimental and challenging designs and that aesthetic could so easily be brought back again at the MMM house!

My thoughts exactly, what a stupid article. Their two main arguments are the aesthetic difference and the fact that Galliano takes runway bows in costumes while Margiela remained hidden. Ridiculous to say the least.

 

[BerlinRocks]

Post 52. Got my response. And it is not the subject here ... so I won't post the article. But indeed Abraham Foxman showed his support to Galliano.
sorry to interrupt ...

 

[masquerade]

vogue.com

can someone explain to me what means :

what means "instruction" ??? what kind of instruction ??? why singular ???
Is it just to underline that someone from a Jewish background support him (and not a random person .... "He is the National Director of the Anti-Defamation League and a survivor of the Holocaust." - wikipedia) ? or the contrary ?

Probably media training . Galliano has never publicly taken responsibilities for his actions or shown contriteness. Any work he has down with the ADL is lip service. The ADL also accepted Mel Gibson's initial fauxpology and we all know how that turned out.

Frankly, I am disappointed by the response to this but not surprised. At least I don't care enough about MMM to be upset about his placement. Galliano's last few years at Dior were awful and uninspired. I am not sure if people forgot that or are simply romanticizing him for whatever reason. But whatever, lets all celebrate that his time out is over.

 

[Urban Stylin]

January couture season should be awesome. MMM then revamped JPG, I believe drama is coming back to the couture runway