“Forgiving me was the most difficult act.” John Galliano leaves Maison Margiela with a touching farewell letter

Several media already announced his departure at the end of July, it is already official. In an open letter published on his Instagram account on December 11, John Galliano announced that he is leaving Maison Margiela. The famous English couturier thus puts an end to the ten years he spent as the artistic director of the luxury house. “My heart overflows with joyful gratitude and my soul smiles,” she wrote in her letter in black and white.

A farewell speech in which the stylist took the opportunity to warmly thank the Italian Renzo Rosso, owner of Maison Margiela since 2002, who offered this position to John Galliano in 2014. My creative voice when I no longer had a few lines write about months of rumors that imagine the designer taking on other prestigious luxury houses the head. “The talks… Everyone wants to know, everyone wants to dream. When the time is right, everything will be revealed. For now, I take this moment to express my immense gratitude.”

Since imagining it in the place of Virginia Viard, who left the artistic direction of Chanel last June, then Maria Grazia Chiuri, who broke the sales records of her collections at Dior, we are now talking about Fendi as the future house of John Galliano. An Italian luxury home known for its joyous splendor would, of course, perfectly suit the designer’s boundless creativity.

“I felt guilty”

The stylist, it must be said, has shown quite an amazing ability to adapt. Ten years ago, in October 2014, when he took the reins of Maison Margiela, no one thought he belonged in this house, known for its discretion, which at first glance could hardly be compatible with his artistic madness. Galliano was recuperating after a three-and-a-half-year hiatus, except for a brief encounter with Oscar de la Renta. He was fired from the house of Dior, where he had worked for a decade creating unforgettable collections of beauty and emotion, after pleading guilty to drunkenness on the balcony of the Parisian cafe La Perle. time in uttering racist and anti-Semitic insults. . An episode that, rightly, will forever damage his career. “Forgiving myself was the most difficult act for a while. I felt guilty for the stereotype that creativity must be fueled by alcohol and drugs. That old rock ‘n’ roll attitude. Total FALSE,” he wrote in his letter.

I felt guilty for the stereotype that creativity must be fueled by alcohol and drugs

The Gibraltar-born Englishman has slowly been able to reassert himself by remaining in the shadows, thus respecting the identity of Margiela, whose founder, Belgian Martin Margiela, never put himself forward, preferring to showcase his teams. With his latest collection, paraded under Alexander III, in a bistro recreated in Belle Époque style, Galliano has undoubtedly created one of his most beautiful masterpieces. McGrath’s makeup, which covered the models’ faces like porcelain, left their mark and inspired one more TikTok trend. This masterful show, which earned him a standing ovation the likes of which we rarely see, seemed to be the pinnacle of his work for this house.The form could also be a very successful farewell.