Sure enough, before John Galliano can get comfortable in his suite at Chateau du ReHab the twittering hordes are tweeting about who will succeed him. What no one seems to realize is that this is the virtual end of an era. Sure, we have Karl Lagerfeld and Ralph Rucci as the last standing couturiers and not ones who will disappear into ignominy any time soon. But purely as an artist working in the grand, classical tradition of the couture, Galliano has no other peer. All of the others have retired or expired. The news of his immediate plans for rehab is for him the best news so far and his career should take a back seat to his compromised mental health. I am saddened that the whole idea of rehab has been re purposed as a veritable drive-in car wash for people in the public eye; washing and waxing the exterior with little or no time taken for detailing the interior. I'm not for a moment condoning his pathetic rants or obvious madness but I'm also not remotely fascinatedat this moment by who might replace him. The public's morbid fascination with the next "victim" for this dull bladed meat grinder we all know of as Fashion is equally disturbing. This event is a blight and a tale that cautions precious few. It feels like a perverse game of musical chairs with players scrambling blindly for anything that resembles a chair. I mourn the passing of an age that we will shortly only be able to access through coffee table books and videos. Perhaps the cheap seats have a more preferable view than the front row.
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15 comments:
So amazingly well said, superbly written and SOOOOO right. Bravo! You deserve to be commanded for you level headed-ness( a word?) and your perfect good sense and lack of musical chair-ism...sorry for the neologisms.
Thank you for your calming overview.
Mr. Galliano may have been alone and distanced for sometime now, as if he knew... the truth.
A book will come soon to chronicle all...
as for Who's on next? Who cares?
Let's tune into The Next Apprentice!
with AW in the Donald's spot...
Does she really wield that power still?
I'm not enthralled.
The landscape is fast changing, seismically...
to Chris in SF,
China, India, may be the next frontiers, but they may have to feed themselves as they rise and fashion empires dwindle in the Euro-US centric circles.
You are right. I think the rehab has been fast forwarded- no apology-that always fits is somewhere. His talent remains- just as Chanel's did. Prejudice though- no one wants to admit it- lies beneath the surface of such talents and the ordinary person.
So true and well sad....No doubt JG is sadly out of control but his genius is a loss....Hopefully his rehab and therapy will allow him the time he needs to recover and then perhaps in time he will begin creating again....
So true and well said....No doubt JG is sadly out of control but his genius is a loss...xv
As George Harrison once famously put it, "all things must pass". Galliano has had a very long run at the very top, which is far more than most people ever get, so I keep that in mind. I simply cannot put designers on some sort of pedestal while forgetting that they are essentially providing a service to a very few people. At the end of the day in this function, they are replaceable. There are plenty of people who can provide expensive goods to a small group of people. It's a matter of prospective for me.
For me, Galliano's best days were long past him in terms of his creative output at LVMH. In fact, I think they slowly smothered it by a combo of micromanagement, overwork, and by so desperately seeking spectacle that it had something of the effect of Galliano's talent being largely symbolic in recent years.
The fashion-go-round is even more cutthroat than in many other businesses and that's saying something. "Booze and shoes" (ie LVMH) is a huge corporation that needs constant product to sell in an acceptable form to people who usually have more money than sense and/or people constantly looking for the next "on trend" thing. Now that their golden goose has laid a turd, should we be surprised that the lamenting from the peanut gallery is cut short in the pursuit of filthy lucre/the next sensation?
Besides, few designers are much remembered after their active career ends and/or press interest wanes. I can name dozens of designers that had the sort of esteem that people such as Galliano in their day, yet how well known is their names and legacies in the present day? It's the rare designer that escapes the short memory of fashion fame. I have a feeling Galliano will not be among those.
Unlike poor McQueen's Dickensian fate, that had folks indecently speculating over who would replace him w/in hours of his death, at least Galliano is still alive, wealthy, and probably not w/o family/friends/support. You know the old saying, "where there's life...there's hope".
brooksie
Let's remember...there are more very, very talented people in the world than we could ever count. The tough part for them is getting part the gatekeepers. But trust me, they abound!
Thank you for this post... I am glad to find somebody who, in all this twitting/publishing/media mess has AN OPINION. I wrote a post on Galliano last night (or should I say, early morning today?) because I was heart broken and needed to get my emotions and thoughts out. It's good to know I am not alone in this.
x
Oh was I right or what?
public apology (done!) and off to "rehab"....
unfortunately, these things are so predictable.
I do hope that he works through his issues.
maybe life away from the machine that is LVMH will restore him and he can begin to heal himself and begin to make whole-hearted amends.
Fluff, have you read this article from James Killough on Galliano. His thoughts are interesting . It is worth a read.
www.http://Jameskillough.wordpress.com
entitled " spanking Galliano
I hadn't heard that Galliano made an apology but I'd be surprised if he did given the vast difference between French law and US law.
I wouldn't close the coffin lid on flamboyence and theater in the fashion world. Some wild child will emerge. Get the binoculars out.
i can't help but think that the higher ups at lvmh knew about all this. and perhaps that was there moment to get rid of him. there has been rumors over the years how the relationship between toledano and galliano was lukwarm with a bucket of cold water. he even stated that he communicated to him through assistants and for a long time with his right hand man that passed away in 2007. 15 years of that. you've got to be kidding me!
i don't believe that john galliano is the hating jew. i do feel that he has a lot of issues though. i can't help but think that if arabs or blacks had been next to him they would have been read too. i personally feel at some point it all simply did not make any sense to him and mr. talent got lost.
none of us know what it is to work for such sharks. he created a bubble to protect himself and he simply got mad in the process. it does not in anyway excuse his behavior but i think it explains how one gets to that point and many of us maybe would not be immune to such madness.
what i see in that video posting is someone who clearly is not at peace and incredibly hurt inside where the only way to deal with his disturb feelings is to project it onto other people. and for some reason a jewish person did something and so the jews become the target. some rather hang themselves or shoot random strangers in a parking lot.
for someone in his position to be sitting alone at a bar drunk out of his face one week before 2 major shows simply does not sound right to me. i see clearly that something was not ok, and i would not be surprised if lvmh knew about all this. so in many way they are guilty also for enabling such nonsense.
fluff is spot on, it's a talent or a type of respect for the craft that is fashion that unfortunately will not be seen anymore. there's really only lagerfeld felt. and for that aspect it is sad and the end of way of doing fashion i think.
it may not be the most important thing in the world however beauty is something that makes us happy. i think it's unfortunate that galliano never dealt with his issue because no matter how sharkish lvmh can be he was still in a golden position that only so many us would dream of.
sad!
i vote for oliver theysken. he's the right fit for the job. i love tisci but seriously it won't work out.
Fluff, did you, by any chance read this? http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23928772-john-gallianos-art-is-greater-than-the-man-behind-it.do
This article summons how I feel about all of it. I feel like I just visited funeral of a friend. Simply can not get Galliano out of my head. He was kind to me and generous and I feel helpless in not being able to retunrn the favore.
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