Galliano departs Maison Margiela after 10 years, igniting rumours of a Dior or Chanel return

PARIS, Dec 12 — British designer John Galliano on Wednesday said that he was stepping down as creative director at Maison Margiela after 10 years at the French label which helped rehabilitate his scandal-tainted image.

“Today is the day I say goodbye to Maison Margiela,” Galliano wrote in a long Instagram post paying tribute to the Italian fashion mogul and owner of the brand, Renzo Rosso.

“The greatest, most precious gift he (Rosso) gave me was the opportunity to once again find my creative voice when I had become voiceless,” he added.

Galliano, 64, took the reins at Margiela after being fired in 2011 from his job as creative director of Dior following a drunken rant in a Paris bar where he hurled anti-Semitic and racist insults at fellow drinkers.

One of the most celebrated names of his generation — famed for his flamboyant personality and daring designs — Galliano denied being anti-Semitic but admitted during a court case that he was addicted to sleeping pills, alcohol and painkillers.

As part of an extended and public rehabilitation process, he underwent rehab in Switzerland and stood up in the Central Synagogue in London to apologise and declare: “I am an alcoholic. I am an addict.”

Rosso offered him the chance to rebuild his career — which some thought had been permanently ended — and he has repaid the faith by helping raise the profile and sales of a brand beloved of art and fashion insiders.

“Working with John was one of the most significant and impactful experiences of my life,” Rosso said in a statement on Wednesday, crediting Galliano with turning Maison Margiela into “the most cutting-edge couture house in the world”.

No successor was named in the statement by Rosso’s OTB Group.

‘Everyone wants to know’

Galliano’s departure is the latest move in a game of musical chairs underway in the fashion industry, which has seen a succession of changes at major brands.

There had been rumours that Galliano would move on from Margiela with the end of his contract nearing.

Some industry insiders have tipped him for a move back to Dior, which he helped revive while running his own label during his previous 15 years at the LVMH-owned brand.

“The rumours... everyone wants to know and everyone wants to dream,” Galliano wrote on Wednesday. “When the time is right, all will be revealed.”

There remains a vacancy at Chanel, the world’s second-biggest luxury clothing brand, after the departure of its creative director, Virginie Viard, in June.

Bottega Veneta creative director Matthieu Blazy, a 40-year-old Franco-Belgian who previously worked at Maison Margiela, has been heavily linked to that job.

Gailliano was born in Gibraltar but moved to London in the 1960s where he suffered bullying because of his homosexuality.

He went on to study and graduate from the illustrious Central Saint Martins fashion school in the British capital.

His career of triumphs and controversies was last year the subject of an Amazon documentary called High and Low: John Galliano. — AFP