Fashion designer John Galliano was arrested by the police yesterday in Paris after he allegedly uttered anti-Semitic insults and engaged in violent behaviour.
According to witnesses, the creative director of the Christian Dior maison and “enfant prodige” of fashion allegedly attacked a couple seated on a cafe terrace and made anti-Semitic remarks.
While the reasons for accosting the couple and attacking them remain unknown – though police stated he was found to have been drinking alcohol – there have been some speculations about Galliano’s behaviour.
Friends of the designer stated such assaults are out of character as he never displayed any violet behaviour, but one policeman said the outburst was caused by stress ahead of the approaching Paris Fashion Week.
Galliano currently faces criminal charges and will have to appear in court on a date to be fixed, so we will hear more about this story in the next few weeks.
Not having witnessed the scene, it's difficult to say anything in defence or against the designer. Yet I find it interesting how the police linked his behaviour to the pressures for the coming fashion week (though if you are a major fashion designer you should be able to handle such pressures...).
The rhythms of the already fast fashion industry have somehow been upset by the new technological developments and nowadays if you aren’t able to put online the new collection 30 minutes after it has been on the runway you are considered a loser. Yet maybe the time has come to slow the machine down a bit, use technology at our advantage and maybe recreate a new kind of fashion industry that focuses on quality rather than quantity (New York Fashion Week was a ridiculous affair of bulimic proportions...).
In the meantime, I would advise Galliano - currently suspended from his duties by the Dior maison, well-known for its zero tolerance policy against racism - to sit down and relax for half a day at least, possibly listening to some interesting music like the works of Luigi Nono, a socially engaged composer and the author of "Intolleranza 1960" (Intolerance 1960), a drama against racial segregation.
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