Shoot At Spite

News has it that Galliano was drinking alone at La Perle café,near his home in the Marais district,when he got into an altercation with a woman and her male companion. Galliano has denied the lady’s allegations entirely and has in turn counter sued her for defamation.

But Dior’s chief executive Sidney Toledano has already issued a statement saying Dior has a strong policy of zero tolerance towards anti Semitism or any racist behaviour. The French label’s Fall-Winter 2011/2012 show was scheduled for March 4,and Galliano’s eponymous label on March 6. The future of both is undecided so far.

If the domino-style collapse of any sort of autocracy in the Arab world tells us something,it is,loudly and clearly,the world is moving towards a place where dominance is abhorred and that no voice is a minor one. France,under Nicolas Sarkozy especially,is trying hard to shed its image of an intolerant nation with its government’s reactions to the Romas and banning of burqas.

The ‘suits’ at Dior know better than shooting from the hip,but a suspension seems a little harsh on the grounds of what is no more than a pub brawl. According to French law,a person found guilty of anti-Semitism can face up to six months in prison. But French law also states that a person is innocent until proved guilty. Dior surely needs a little more than this to push their star designer off the train,especially since Galliano has been their creative head since 1996 and has brought much-needed freshness,flamboyance and youth to the label. At Milan Fashion Week,even Giorgio Armani and Roberto Cavalli showed their support for Galliano.

Reports suggest that the designer — one of the most high profile names in global fashion — and the couple,started talking about fashion when the latter insulted him and his trade. Galliano,inebriated,reportedly responded by calling her and her handbag (seriously) ugly and then went on to say he loves Hitler and that the lady’s forefathers should have been gassed.

The Sun,an English tabloid,has managed to acquire what looks like genuine footage from an eyewitness’s cell phone camera. Thin moustache and funny voice. It wasn’t Hitler,it was Galliano alright.

Fashion is a cruel place filled with vile people. It’s supremely size-ist,even though it may try to make amends by gimmicky shows for jiggly-wiggly women. Its treatment of models is shockingly bad: this is true,most models lead terrible lives and suffer at the mercilessness of the business. Most of the fashion is known to pay its back-end staff poorly,if at all,and often to employ child labour. And fashion will probably never abandon fur and precious leather regardless of whether they are in demand or not. Anything that’s exotic is also very exciting.

It’s as Karl Lagerfeld stated,“If you want social justice,get a civil job.”

But racist,the fashion world is arguably not. Most Western designers come from ethnic or poor origins — Galliano included,he was born in Gibraltar and has Latin roots.

He may or may not be guilty,but let’s not hang him just yet.

namratanow@gmail.com