John Galliano’s second act has come to a close. The designer announced this morning that he’s parting with Maison Margiela after ten years as creative director. According to WWD, who confirmed the news on Wednesday, Maison Margiela employees were told of Galliano’s departure on Wednesday, the morning of the company’s Christmas party. Though, there’s reportedly no hard feelings.
We’ve come to expect designer switch-ups these days, but this particular news still comes as something of a shock. Galliano is known to have an amicable relationship with Renzo Rosso, president of Margiela’s parent company OTB Group. The designer’s recent output has also been amongst the best of his long career. His Spring 2025 Artisanal show was a rousing success, the most talked about of the couture season, no doubt, but likely the year. He also dressed numerous attendees of the Met Gala, including cohosts Zendaya and Bad Bunny. It’s unlikely Margiela was eager to get rid of Galliano, as the brand experienced significant growth throughout his decade at the helm. WWD reported Margiela increased its annual revenue from about 100 million euros to 500 million during Galliano’s tenure. That’s not even mentioning the house’s cultural impact, like the current ubiquity of the house’s Tabi shoe design, originally created in 1988, but as popular as ever today.
Zendaya in Maison Margiela by John Galliano at the 2024 Met Gala.
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Despite this, Rosso and Galiano emphasized that the parting is an amicable one, with Galliano telling WWD, “As we are parting ways with this beautiful house, my heart overflows with joyous gratitude, and my soul smiles so I want to take this time to express it.” He spoke of Rosso, saying, “In inviting me to assume the position of artistic director in the house that Martin built, he gave me the greatest, most precious gift: The opportunity to once again find my creative voice when I had become voiceless…Renzo stood up there and did it, whether it was right or wrong he did give one a second chance, took the risk, or whatever it was perceived to be, and I think people sat up to it.”
The second quote is in reference to Galliano’s very public 2011 downfall after a drunken, antisemitic outburst at a Paris bar. The incident cost Galliano his job as creative director of Dior and left him a pariah in the industry. Since then, the designer has been fighting his way back into the fold. The process began when he became the creative director of Margiela in 2014 and it seems that 2024 was officially the year the wider world decided to forgive him for his past transgressions, unwilling to let such talent fall by the wayside.
Galliano spoke more about his past in a note on Instagram, referencing his mistakes while revealing that he is 14 years sober as of Wednesday. It’s unclear, however, if that is a nice coincidence or a planned convergence.
Galliano during his time as the creative director of Dior in 2005.
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As of now, Margiela has not announced a replacement just yet, and there’s no telling what Galliano may do next. It isn’t farfetched to think that Galliano could be moving to one of the other currently vacant seats in the fashion industry. In his message, Galliano referenced the rumor mill. “Everyone wants to know, and everyone wants to dream,” he wrote. “When the time is right, all will be revealed.”
