Late last month, disgraced fashion designer John Galliano arrived in New York City with little fanfare and no red-carpet appearances. Instead, paparazzi photographed him in an underground car garage in a baggy dark-brown suit that wouldn’t look out of place in a Bowery flophouse.
Two years after the once revered designer unleashed an anti-Semitic tirade at a Parisian bar, he is now quietly working in the studio of Oscar de la Renta in the run-up to the designer’s Fashion Week show tonight.
“John Galliano coming to Jew York — that’s just chutzpah!” cries influential Orthodox Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, upon being told the news.
“In a city with 2.2 million Jews, I’d hope he would undertake some real positive action in the community to demonstrate his reversal while he’s here.”
Galliano has been in exile ever since a video of him hurling outrageous insults to fellow diners in a Parisian bar surfaced in February 2011.
“I love Hitler,” he slurred to customers, with the shocking exchange caught on a cellphone camera. “People like you would be dead today,” he ranted. “Your mothers, your forefathers would be f - - king gassed and dead.”
He was promptly fired from his position at the helm of Dior, where he had worked for 15 years, in a move that was praised by the Anti-Defamation League.
The French courts later found him guilty of “public insults based on origin, religious affiliation, race or ethnicity,” and he was fined $8,400 and enrolled in an Arizona rehab clinic for alcohol addiction. While in Paris, he’s been seen regularly at AA meetings held in a church down the block from Dior, according to a source.
Vogue editrix Anna Wintour, a close friend of both Galliano and De la Renta, has reportedly facilitated the collaboration. And her choice of atelier for Galliano’s second act is a savvy one, say insiders.
“His is one of the few independent companies left in fashion. He doesn’t have shareholders telling him not to take on such a potentially explosive position, p.r.-wise, that it will destroy the value of their shares. “The only person Oscar answers to is Oscar.”
Both Wintour and De la Renta declined to comment for this story, but the designer recently gave Galliano his vote of confidence.
“So when Anna asked me if I would have John in my studio, I said yes. I also believe that everyone should have a second chance, especially someone as talented as John. And he has worked so hard on his recovery.” Details of the partnership are vague: Is Galliano, 52, being tapped to take over the house of the 80-year-old De la Renta? And will the pair come out and take a bow after De la Renta’s fall 2013 fashion line debuts this evening?
“I haven’t missed an Oscar show for years,” says socialite Jamee Gregory, a contributing editor to Elle Decor. “I think it will be interesting to see what sort of an effect Galliano’s presence will have on his collection, if any. I am sure Oscar values his artistic experience, while not condoning his disturbing past behavior.”
The mounting intrigue has led a De la Renta show producer, who declined to be named, to crow: “It’s the hottest ticket in town.”
But not all fashionistas are clawing each other for tickets.
Galliano has remained mum on the issue ever since offering a public apology days after he was axed from Dior. “Anti-Semitism and racism have no part in our society. I unreservedly apologize for my behavior in causing any offense,” he said back in 2011 of his drunken outburst.
Last month the Anti-Defamation League issued a statement applauding the designer’s rehabilitation and recovery process: “We believe that individuals can change their hearts and minds as long as they demonstrate true contrition.
“Mr. Galliano has worked arduously in changing his worldview and dedicated a significant amount of time to researching, reading and learning about the evils of anti-Semitism and bigotry. Along his journey to recovery he met with us on numerous occasions. He has accepted full responsibility for his previous remarks and understands that hurtful comments have no place in our society.”
When pressed as to what specific steps Galliano had taken for the League to lift its earlier condemnation of his actions, they declined to elaborate. And now that Galliano is possibly eyeing a teaching stint at Parsons The New School for Design in New York, as Page Six reported yesterday, some critics would like to see Galliano do more than just pay lip-service and truly make amends in the city.
“I know what he said then, but what does he feel now? I need to see a statement that shows growth,” he adds. “That would give me a degree of comfort. This whole thing is a little weak for me.”
As fashion designer Tobi Rubinstein Schneier, puts it: “Good luck and mazel tov, Mr. Galliano — we are watching you very closely.”
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“In a city with 2.2 million Jews, I’d hope he would undertake some real positive action in the community to demonstrate his reversal while he’s here.”
Galliano has been in exile ever since a video of him hurling outrageous insults to fellow diners in a Parisian bar surfaced in February 2011.
“I love Hitler,” he slurred to customers, with the shocking exchange caught on a cellphone camera. “People like you would be dead today,” he ranted. “Your mothers, your forefathers would be f - - king gassed and dead.”
He was promptly fired from his position at the helm of Dior, where he had worked for 15 years, in a move that was praised by the Anti-Defamation League.
Dior brand ambassador Natalie Portman said at the time, “I am deeply shocked and disgusted by the video of John Galliano . . . In light of this video, and as an individual who is proud to be Jewish, I will not be associated with Mr. Galliano in any way.”
So, what could possibly have changed the court of opinion regarding the shunned designer?
Vogue editrix Anna Wintour, a close friend of both Galliano and De la Renta, has reportedly facilitated the collaboration. And her choice of atelier for Galliano’s second act is a savvy one, say insiders.
“Oscar’s the only one who could have done this,” says fashion writer Dana Thomas, author of the book “Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster.”
“His is one of the few independent companies left in fashion. He doesn’t have shareholders telling him not to take on such a potentially explosive position, p.r.-wise, that it will destroy the value of their shares. “The only person Oscar answers to is Oscar.”
Both Wintour and De la Renta declined to comment for this story, but the designer recently gave Galliano his vote of confidence.
“I think John is one of the most talented men I’ve ever met. I like him very much. The years I was doing Balmain in Paris, I went many times with Anna [Wintour] to his shows,” De la Renta told New York magazine’s fashion blog “The Cut” two days ago.
“So when Anna asked me if I would have John in my studio, I said yes. I also believe that everyone should have a second chance, especially someone as talented as John. And he has worked so hard on his recovery.” Details of the partnership are vague: Is Galliano, 52, being tapped to take over the house of the 80-year-old De la Renta? And will the pair come out and take a bow after De la Renta’s fall 2013 fashion line debuts this evening?
“I haven’t missed an Oscar show for years,” says socialite Jamee Gregory, a contributing editor to Elle Decor. “I think it will be interesting to see what sort of an effect Galliano’s presence will have on his collection, if any. I am sure Oscar values his artistic experience, while not condoning his disturbing past behavior.”
The mounting intrigue has led a De la Renta show producer, who declined to be named, to crow: “It’s the hottest ticket in town.”
But not all fashionistas are clawing each other for tickets.
“Galliano is without question one of the most talented designers of our time, and I plan to enjoy gazing at his work from afar, ” Bryce Gruber, editor of the Luxury Spot, tells The Post. “But why on earth as a proud Jew would I ever throw my money at a fashion house that supports a man who lashes out at a community that’s helped make him a superstar? It’ll be vintage De la Renta for me from now on, thank you very much.”
High-profile De la Renta fan Ivanka Trump won’t be attending tonight’s show, either, according to her rep — even though the socialite, who recently converted to Judaism, has been spotted all over Fashion Week, from Altuzarra to Carolina Herrera.
“People are talking about it — it’s a topic of discussion,” says Elie Tahari, the Israeli-born fashion designer who also shows tonight.
“People are wondering if he’s sincere or opportunistic. Time will tell. Time will always tell.”
Galliano has remained mum on the issue ever since offering a public apology days after he was axed from Dior. “Anti-Semitism and racism have no part in our society. I unreservedly apologize for my behavior in causing any offense,” he said back in 2011 of his drunken outburst.
Last month the Anti-Defamation League issued a statement applauding the designer’s rehabilitation and recovery process: “We believe that individuals can change their hearts and minds as long as they demonstrate true contrition.
“Mr. Galliano has worked arduously in changing his worldview and dedicated a significant amount of time to researching, reading and learning about the evils of anti-Semitism and bigotry. Along his journey to recovery he met with us on numerous occasions. He has accepted full responsibility for his previous remarks and understands that hurtful comments have no place in our society.”
When pressed as to what specific steps Galliano had taken for the League to lift its earlier condemnation of his actions, they declined to elaborate. And now that Galliano is possibly eyeing a teaching stint at Parsons The New School for Design in New York, as Page Six reported yesterday, some critics would like to see Galliano do more than just pay lip-service and truly make amends in the city.
“He should categorically retract his comments. He should explain that no one should hate,” says Rabbi Dovi Scheiner, who presides over the city’s most fashion-forward congregation, the Soho Synagogue.
“I know what he said then, but what does he feel now? I need to see a statement that shows growth,” he adds. “That would give me a degree of comfort. This whole thing is a little weak for me.”
Adds Boteach: “Let him bring some supermodels and designers to go to a home for the aged or to a Jewish school — or visit the beautiful Holocaust Museum in Battery Park. Any of those actions would be far more convincing than he’s involved himself in therapy and rehab.”
But some believe in redemption for Galliano.
“Jews believe in repentance — in this way, we are the people of second chances,” says Rabbi Elie Weinstock, associate rabbi at Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun on the Upper East Side.
“If the ADL’s Abe Foxman is publicly giving John Galliano a second chance, that is akin to the Good Housekeeping seal of approval. Plus, he seems to be trying harder than Mel Gibson,” after the director was accused of anti-Semitism in the wake of his film, “The Passion of the Christ.”
Either way, New Yorkers will be monitoring his every move.
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