John Galliano has grabbed the headlines. His shocking interview this month with Vanity Fair, the first since his spectacular firing in 2011, has revelations in it that are shocking the fashion industry – and the full interview hasn’t even been released yet. Read on for a sneak preview…
John Galliano Gives First Interview Since 2011 Scandal
It’s taken years, intensive rehab and total reclusion from the public eye, but John Galliano has at last proved ready to break his silence. And he’s done it in the highest echelons of fashion, proving that they might, at last, be ready to accept him back into the fold.
His very first interview since he was fired from Dior in 2011 is with Vanity Fair, accompanied by a muted, reflective photoshoot from Annie Liebowitz.
And in it, he reveals depths to the addiction that led to his shocking anti-Semitic comments beyond what anybody had suspected.
“At first alcohol was like a crutch outside of Dior. Then I would use it to crash after the collections… But with more collections, the crash happened more often, and then I was a slave to it,” he revealed.
He also confessed that he was so insulated from the outside world by the pampering reserved for top designers that “I did not know how to use an ATM.”
His days-long benders with alcohol led to a series of interventions from his bosses. The CEO of Dior took him to lunch, and Galliano apparently responded to his suggestions of rehab with a counter-accusation that the CEO needed a diet.
Then Bernard Arnault, who is chairman of the luxury conglomerate that owns Dior, told Galliano that if he didn’t address his problem, he was going to die.
At the time, he was in denial, but he now agrees: “I was going to end up in a mental asylum or six feet under.”
Then came the comments about “loving Hitler” caught on video, which caused his firing from Dior. “I realised I was so f—ing angry and so discontent with myself that I just said the most spiteful thing possible,” he told VF.
When he went into rehab, the fashion industry abandoned him – except for the models. Linda Evangelista revealed that she was the first and only visitor to his rehab on the first visitor’s weekend, and it was while he was recovering that Kate Moss asked him to design his wedding dress.
And the full interview isn’t even out yet. When it does hit the news stands, it will prove to be explosive – and Rescu. will bring you all the news.
For now, Vanity Fair appears to think that Galliano is ‘ready for a second act’ – do you agree?
Image: John Galliano in Vanity Fair.
Royal Coronation Fashion: Best and Worst-Dressed
It’s been 60 years since Queen Elizabeth II ascended the throne – and how better to serve the occasion than to come out dressed to the nines?
All the Brit royals were on show at Westminister Abbey for a special service to commemorate the anniversary, and we’ve got all the gossip on the fashion.
The heavily pregnant Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, was the focus of most of the attention – and it was a knockout look. She was wearing bespoke Jenny Packham, with a high-waisted pale pink lace dress paired to a shantung silk coat.
And her pale hat, with birdcage veil, was made by Jane Taylor, who also designed her headgear for the Jubilee celebrations. But the Queen did her best to steal attention – with flowers in her hair, no less.
She was dressed by her in-house fashion adviser, Angela Kelly, who’s designed and made all of her clothes for several decades. No Dior or Chanel for the Queen who has everything.
It was oyster-coloured brocade that took the Queen’s fancy on the day, complete with a hat with blue roses fixed to the underside. When you’ve been on the throne for 60 years, you can wear flowers if you want to.
And apparently the material for the dress has been in the royal materials archive for years without being used.
Our personal votes for best-dressed go to Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice, who rocked up in a green motorcycle jacket and a fantastic jewelled navy coat-dress, with matching hats, of course. That is definitely the way to do demure.
Worst-dressed? The boys all looked natty in their suits, and Camilla looked brilliant in her signature huge hat – but poor Mike Tindall, Zara Philips’ rugby-playing husband, has to take the crown, because he accessorised with a snore. He fell asleep in the service!
Who do you think stole the show?
Image: Coronation anniversary fashions.
Vera Wang Calls Last Minute Red Carpet Changes Devastating
She’s dressed some of the most famous women in the world – but Vera Wang has revealed the celebrity process behind choosing a red carpet gown, and how intensely traumatic it can sometimes be.
Last-minute changes – like Anne Hathaway’s infamous switch from Valentino to Prada at the 2013 Oscars – are more common than you think, and Wang calls them ‘devastating.’
“It’s like having your guts ripped out of you, because you gave it your all,” she said.
Wang is one of the world’s top designers, having worked her way up from the staff of Vogue to being awarded a CFDA Lifetime Achievement Award this week – but she says that being rejected by a star still hurts.
The process behind dressing A-list stars is different to their less famous counterparts. While B-listers just take looks straight off the runway and have them altered, many A-listers have dresses designed just for them, and hold mini-competitions between designers before big events, challenging each one to produce the ‘winning’ dress.
This means it’s an entire team’s work on the line, frantically sketching, putting together ideas and making a presentation in the hope that their name will be strutted down the red carpet.
And when they’re rejected at the last minute, Wang says, “I don’t care what status of designer or what history you had… it’s so painful not only to you, but your sewers, your staff, your assistants and P.R. people.”
She also confessed that she becomes very upset when a celeb in her dresses gets onto the Worst-Dressed List – not a common thing for a high-profile designer to admit.
“It worries me a great deal,” she said, “because I do care about what we put out there on such a public, global platform.”
The life of an A-list designer: full of heartbreak, disappointment and anxiety. Who knew?
Image: Vera Wang.
