John Galliano is a modern day Icarus parable. Flew to the sun, then with just a couple of poorly chosen words, he was an outcast and pariah.
One of the most celebrated and equally notorious fashion designers of our time. He catapulted onto the french fashion scene with the help of some of the biggest names in the business who saw in him a unique talent. His creativity is unparalleled, drawing on his rich heritage and love of culture. He is a character unto himself, as much as the models open the theatre of his runway, Galliano himself draws the final curtain.
His own physicality and costumes often rivaled that of his couture gowns. Galliano injected fun into the stuffy world of high fashion, exploring opulence as a form of entertainment. His shows were completely immersive and rich with story. Galliano redefined the possibility of a fashion show, moving it beyond the sales room, beyond the industry to a level of public spectacle that would attract the attention of the world.
After moving to Paris, Galliano became the first British designer to lead a French Couture House with his appointment at the House of Givenchy. But it was not long before he was promoted to the head of Christian Dior. Not only was he an outsider, but at just 36 years of age he was considerably young for a role of such magnitude.
It was his youthful and energetic spirit which would redefine the world of fashion and French Haute Couture, with a legacy that would outlast his final and dramatic dismissal from the house. This is a story of Galliano the renegade, whose penchant for rebellion would make him one of the world’s top creative geniuses and the bad boy of fashion.
Born in 1960 in the British Territory of Gibraltar to his native father and Spanish mother, a plumber and flamenco teacher respectively, John Galliano moved to the South of England when he was just six years old.
His parents moved in hope for improved financial employment opportunities and Galliano explains how he was timid and insecure growing up in a strict Roman Catholic family. Finding it difficult as a foreign child being brought up in an English environment, Galliano often felt different and left out in his neighbourhood. He recalls how his mother would insist on dressing him in extravagant attire for running errands and everyday occasions and as a result he often felt bullied and estranged at the London boy’s Grammar school that he attended.
After finishing high school, Galliano went on to study at Saint Martin’s School of Art, from which he graduated in 1988 with a first class honours degree. Known for his whimsical and outrageous designs, his first collection titled “Les Incroyables” was extremely well received by critics, and was sold in Browns, the London fashion boutique. Galliano then moved on to launch his own fashion label with stylist Amanda Harlech and milliner, Stephen Jones. The designer was however not very gifted with finances, which led to the termination of multiple backers and his eventual bankruptcy in 1990. It was then that Galliano decided to move to Paris to make his skills more prominent to the international fashion industry, improve his client base and gain the financial backing he knew he could achieve.