Christian Dior finds John Gallianos replacement in minimalist Belgian designer Raf Simons
The boots have been filled. Finally. Over a year after firing fashions loved-up genius John Galliano over racial comments made during an inebriated bar brawl,legendary French fashion house Christian Dior appointed Raf Simons as its new artistic director. Simons,like Galliano before him,will head the couture lines,womens wear and accessories for the very profitable luxury label,making him one of the most powerful designers in the world.
The Christian Dior label,on the other hand,is the absolute opposite of Simonss aesthetic. It is rich,opulent and excessive. Dior founded the label just after World War II,an escapists daydream after Europes physical and fiscal ruin. Since the passing of its founder,the Christian Dior label suffered this image for too long,until 1996,when Bernard Arnault,chairman of the Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy group that owns a majority stake in Dior,appointed British rebel Galliano.
Galliano pored over Diors archives,tore up its avuncular image,and reconstructed it with his own sensational signature. He was modern and historic at the same time,he drew from cultures across the world and yet was supremely French,he was witty and classical at once. Dior was in the black again. And Galliano was God.
Last March,after 15 years at the top of his game,Galliano was sacked after some customers at a bar in Le Marais lodged a police complaint against his anti-Semitic comments. A cellphone video grab was the clincher: a punch-drunk Galliano slurred insults at a Jewish woman and said I love Hitler. Many in the fashion industry,especially the press,felt sorry for him and thought that his sacking was severe. This was quiet,albeit rude,private banter in a pub,not a public place. Wasnt Prince Harry let off with just an apology for wearing a Nazi suit to a costume party? Supermodel Natalia Vodianova defended Galliano by saying he is under the influence of a disease. This is beyond his power.
The malaise being a tortured creative soul among an office of suit. The house of Dior,one of the top three most-successful fashion labels in the world,was known to be a tough taskmaster. Multiple store openings in emerging Asian markets,added to the stress of designing several (critically acclaimed) lines each year,took its toll.
It was typical of the suits to build someone up and bring them down with an ear-ringing thud. Tom Ford was ousted from Gucci for becoming bigger than the brand. Alexander McQueen was pink-slipped from Givenchy for being too modern; but he died as one of the most important designers of the 21st century.
The first few months after Gallianos dismissal,it seemed as if Dior was waiting for the smoke to settle. Then reports of other designers refusing to head Dior came to light. The first was Tunisia-born,Paris-based Azzedine Alaia,a reclusive designer revered by fashion absolutists as a visionary. Alaia would have been a coup for Dior,but the designer stated he didnt agree with the marketing-driven logic of luxe conglomerates and rejected the offer. Haider Ackermann and Alber Elbaz of Lanvin were other names that were bandied about,Ackermanns presence at Diors spring shows this year only added to the speculation. Louis Vuittons Marc Jacobs was in the news too,but the American star designer refused,reportedly over money. (Getting Jacobs to leave his beloved muse New York for Paris would have been an Augean task.) Diors in-house designer and Gallianos former right-hand,Bill Gaytten,kept the seat warm. Diors collections last year were stupendous in technique but lacked a vision. Menkes called their January couture line emotionless. All of last year,Dior advertised its money-churning handbags,almost as if to deflect attention from its runway shows. Joining Natalie Portman and Marion Cotillard was American actress Mila Kunis. Dior rang up a profit of $1.39 billion last year.
Last November,Arnault and his daughter,Delphine,the deputy director of Dior,began talks with Simons. This February,Simons was forced to leave Jil Sander when the labels founder,Sander herself,decided to return to her label (she had lost the title when the Prada group bought it over). The New York Times fashion critic Cathy Horyn,who is close to Simons,tweeted from the Milan Fashion Week on February 23,saying this would be Simonss last collection for Jil Sander.
If his vein is dissimilar to Diors,his temperament is contrary to the flamboyant Gallianos. Simons is known to answer his office phone in Antwerp,while Galliano was a fashion star with moods,whims and indulgences. Like many others around him, Simonss talent is unquestionable. He is hugely influential and draws from street-style fashion. He comes from the Antwerp school of deconstructionist design,widely respected as intellectually appealing. All eyes will be trained on him as he makes his Dior debut this July in Paris.
Simons will be welcomed alright,but it will be a melancholic,nostalgic cheer.
Namrata Zakaria is a writer on fashion and luxury
