John Galliano has come a long way from the disgraced fashion designer he was just a few years ago. After being fired from Dior for an antisemitic rant outside a Paris café, these days Galliano is making amends and moving forward with his life and sobriety. The designer spoke at a Jewish Culture event this weekend and, of course, talked a little bit about “I love Hitler”-gate, once again reiterating that his substance abuse was partly to blame for the incident, while acknowledging that his personal struggles with alcohol provide no good reason for his behavior.
“I am an alcoholic. I am an addict,” he said. “This is in no way an excuse. We alcoholics and we addicts are not responsible for our disease. However, I do take complete responsibility for my recovery and making amends. I get a daily reprieve from this disease and that comes from total abstinence.”
Galliano says that he has no one else to blame but himself for what transpired that night, although he did say that working for Dior and creating multiple collections a year did push him to the edge, saying, “I think I would be dead” had he not been dismissed from the label.
“I used to blame everyone for what happened, but now I bear no resentment. I have finally come to terms with what happened and what was my part in it.”
But there is some non-gloomy news in the Galliano camp, at least for the designer’s partner, Alexis Roche, whom Amal Clooney has tapped as her new stylist. Clooney recently showed up to the Japanese premiere of Tomorrowland in a custom Margiela gown, an event which the house of Margiela says they won’t comment on “just yet.” Perhaps their staying mum means there are future plans to work with Ms. Clooney in a capacity other than red carpet dressing? We certainly hope so.
