John Galliano Fired From Dior

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Mar 1st 2011 at 11:01AM

Dior fashion designer John Galliano has been fired from his role as head designer at Christian Dior after video of him using anti-Semitic language surfaced. In a short statement Sidney Toledano, Dior's president and chief executive officer, said that the remarks made by Galliano were a "total contradiction with the essential values that have always been defended by the House of Christian Dior.

Galliano also has his own eponymous label which is set to have a show on Sunday during Paris Fashion Week. According to Vogue UK, Natalie Portman, who is the face of Dior's Miss Dior Cherie fragrance, also came out against Galliano and said that she will no longer be associated with him in any way. She had planned to wear Dior on the red carpet for the Academy Awards but made a last minute switch to a Rodarte gown in light of the controversy.

Galliano spent part of Monday in a police station in Paris with his lawyer begin questioned about the incident in which he got into a scuffle with another patron at a restaurant. The video shows Galliano telling two women at the Paris cafe, "I love Hitler" and going on to say that people "like them" wouldn't be alive today because their mothers and forefathers would be gassed. Galliano appears to be drunk in the video which has surfaced on YouTube.

The shocking incident has stunned the fashion world. Galliano has always been considered a bit avant garde but he has also been credited with bringing excitement and drama to the world of couture. He has also served as a designer for Givenchy.

UPDATE: International Herald Tribune fashion writer Suzy Menkes says that Galliano is headed to rehab.

Tags: christian dior, dior, john galliano, john galliano arrested, natalie portman