Fruit Juice Recipes: LVMH Chiefs Having ?Casual Discussions? About Bringing John Galliano Back to His Namesake Label

Saturday, June 25, 2011

LVMH Chiefs Having ?Casual Discussions? About Bringing John Galliano Back to His Namesake Label

Plenty of heavyweights in the fashion industry would like to forgiveJohn Galliano for his drunken tirades, blamed in court this week on addictions to alcohol and prescription drugs. Times fashion critic Cathy Horyn, currently in Paris covering the men's shows, would like to see him go back to work too, writing today, "He should have a second chance."

She reports that Christian Dior CEO Sidney Toledano, "a decent man," encouraged Galliano to seek treatment for his addictions, adding:

Yet I can’t help but feel that Mr. Galliano’s problems were not sufficiently addressed, nor their potential liability faced, and that something like a status quo existed. His personality and showmanship were definitely part of Dior’s success, and maybe there was a fear of meddling with it.

And yet, LVMH is considering rehiring Galliano for the John Galliano line:

On Thursday, I ran into a number of executives who work with LVMH, and they would speak only on the condition of anonymity because of their close dealings. One individual said there had been casual discussions among LVMH executives about the feasibility of Mr. Galliano returning to his own label. Would the media and the public accept his return? This individual said he thought so. Another executive with whom I spoke had the same view. He cited the appeal of Mr. Galliano’s ultrafeminine fashion and added that in recent years the designer had lost touch with that sensibility (and indeed reality). “It became a kind of Lady Gaga show, and he’s more talented than this,” the executive said.

It certainly seems like the fashion industry would accept — and is in fact waiting for — his return. And many top designers, though not plagued by public outbursts in the same way as Galliano, have gone to rehab for drug and alcohol addictions and returned to designing. So, should Galliano — the man in this video — be reinstated at an international fashion powerhouse? He didn't deny his behavior in his trial this week, but made what he and his lawyers surely hope are good enough excuses.

A Second Chance for Galliano [On the Runway/NYT]
Related: The Fashion Industry Is Overwhelmingly Sympathetic Toward John Galliano