……………………..There were so many beautiful dresses on display that the mind boggled!!! All of the dresses except the gold lame at the lower left are Galliano. One was more spectacular than the other. The hand dyed petal dress at the upper left was extraordinary….The pink mohair dress with the orange draped flowers was in an unexpected combination of fabric and color, and the Peacock dress at the lower right was a work of art with extraordinary embroidery. Galliano was in a league of his own……..I recall a small group of designers from the US, England, and France were invited to spend, what turned out to be a 4th of July weekend, in a castle that had been turned into a hotel many many years ago….The Scottish fabric mills organized it. Fireworks were displayed one evening for the American designers…..It was a classy touch. The designers were broken down into small groups and we were taken on different tours of factories each day. I was acquainted with many of them. John was one of the guests that weekend. We would all gather in the evening for dinner and drinks. Afterwards we would have more drinks and talk until the wee hours of the morning. It was wonderful to meet all of these designers I would have never had the chance to spend so much time with……I remember John as a funny friendly very down to earth young many with a wonderful sense of humor….Years later I remember thinking how much John had changed. His appearance changed with each new collection and his personality became more and more affected. Once he looked like Johnny Depp’s pirate character with the black kohl eyes, long hair, head scarf and clothes…..When the whole fiasco came about that evening in the restaurant……..I couldn’t help but think how he changed so much from the wonderful guy I met that weekend in Scotland.
* Francois Hollande
According to the Wikipedia entry on John Galliano, his anti-semitic outburst was more than a one off event, on one evening in February 2011. After the initial event was reported, a video surfaced of Galliano making a similar anti-semitic rant at the same bar the previous December. Galliano denied the allegations and started a defamation case against the couple who had accused him of anti-semitism. It is illegal in France to express anti-semitic ideas, and Galliano was brought to trial. His defense was that his public anti-semitic outbursts were caused by work-related stress and addictions. He was found guilty. There was subsequent legal action, with Galliano’s company suing Dior. The outcome of that litigation was not updated on Wikipedia. His French Legion of Honour medal was withdrawn in 2012 by decree of the President of France, who was Francoise Hollande at that time. Wikipedia noted that Galliano has tried to atone for his actions, and the Anti-Defamation League has praised his efforts to better understand himself and learn from his past mistakes.