Now that he’s poised to make his debut as creative director of Maison Martin Margiela in just over three months, it’s easy to forget that John Galliano still has beef with his former employers at Christian Dior and John Galliano (the label). The designer’s been in court fighting claims of wrongful termination. Galliano claimed the two houses were “fully aware” of his struggles with alcohol and substance abuse and that such issues stemmed from his grueling work schedule.
“I can’t let the 17 years I spent and enjoyed at Dior be blackened like this,” he said. “During these years as creative director of this house, I did not realize that its success, multiplying its sales by four, came at a destructive and exorbitant cost: my physical and mental health. Always more work, always more obligations, always more pressure, a dangerous and pathological spiral, without control.”
With this knowledge, in spite of his reprehensible comments, Galliano insinuates that both fashion houses should not have been surprised at the misstep. While we do sympathize with the designer’s struggles, there is a degree of personal responsibility that needs to be taken into consideration. Sure, the stress of his job may have caused him to turn to drugs and alcohol, but unless the people at Dior and Galliano were physically giving him the drugs, can they really be held responsible? Probably not. Lots of people have stressful jobs, but not everyone goes on anti-Semitic tirades.
Galliano was looking for $2.4 to $13 million in damages. According to WWD, now that his claims have been rejected by the court, he’s been ordered to pay a “symbolic Euro” to both of his former employers.
[via WWD]
