John Galliano Renews Contract With Maison Margiela

John Galliano’s position as creative director of Maison Margiela has been reinstated by Renzo Rosso, president of OTB, the parent company that owns the Paris-based fashion house. The renewal of Galliano’s contract reflects sales results since the designer took the helm in 2014 and shifted the accessories offering to account for 60 per cent of the business. Revenues have doubled owing to this focus on commercially profitable trainers and handbags, plus a new fragrance, Mutiny, rather than leaning on the couture-level Margiela Artisanal lines.

“I believed John was the only person who could take this house five years ago, and I am even more convinced of this today,” Rosso said in a statement. “John’s undisputed talent is only matched by his understanding of today’s generations, their way of thinking, their struggles, their dreams. And he is doing exactly what this maison always did at its best – disrupt, innovate and inspire.”

Galliano expressed his excitement for his new chapter, of which the duration is not known, and his gratitude for Rosso’s belief in his work. The Gibraltar-born designer’s arrival at Maison Margiela heralded a new era at the avant-garde brand that paid tribute to the codes of its founder and evolved them. “When I came here, my mission was to turn this into the coolest, most cutting-edge couture house ever,” he said upon presenting his autumn/winter 2019 couture collection in February. To realise his vision, Galliano populated his atelier with students who infuse his creative proposals with the culture he is obsessed by. Working closely alongside his young muses (and partying with them via drag balls in his atelier), Galliano has developed a brand identity that eschews categories and binaries, and fashion that is not only wholly modern, but rooted in the rich history he has long been inspired by.

News of Galliano’s next chapter at the house comes amidst rumours that the designer could be poached by one of the industry’s major conglomerates to fill roles at vacant brands. Fendi, for example, has been thrown into the ring, as the Italian label and its parent company, LVMH, contemplates a successor for Karl Lagerfeld.