More Designer Moves: John Galliano Is Stepping Down From Maison Margiela

On Friday night, I clinked glasses with Renzo Rosso at an Art Basel party in Miami Beach. The billionaire founder of Milan-based fashion conglomerate Only The Brave was in a reflective mood. He was in town to celebrate the anniversary of the Pelican, a beachside boutique hotel he bought 30 years ago. But it seemed like the Italian tycoon had other properties on his mind. With a glimmer in his eye, the man with Diesel, Maison Margiela, Jil Sander, and Marni in his portfolio told me that big changes are coming to fashion, and soon.

Now it’s clear just what Rosso was referencing. On Wednesday morning, his star designer, John Galliano, announced he is departing Margiela. In a humdinger of a statement that could only have been written by the mustachioed icon of aughts high fashion, Galliano declared, “My heart overflows with joyous gratitude, and my soul smiles.”

Galliano’s plan to step down had been rumored for some time, but the news is no less momentous. On the Instagram post where Galliano published the statement (along with a photo of him smoking a cigarette out the window of the Margiela studio), Galliano’s creative director peers, industry grandees, veteran fashion critics, and multitudes of fans commented with a tidal wave of affection.

The letter does not read like it was written by someone who is planning to retire, though it also doesn’t shed specific light on his future plans, only acknowledging (somewhat archly) “The rumors…”

“Everyone wants to know, and everyone wants to dream,” he wrote. “When the time is right, all will be revealed. For now, I take this time to express my intense gratitude. I continue to atone, and I will never stop dreaming. I, too, need to dream.”

Rosso brought Galliano to Margiela in 2014, ending the designer’s time in the wilderness following a 2011 anti-semetic scandal that rocked the one-time untouchable mastermind. In his letter, Galliano hailed Rosso for throwing him a lifeline, “the opportunity to once again find my creative voice when I had become voiceless,” and noted that he is 14 years sober as of today.

Galliano’s decade-long tenure at Margiela fully solidified his creative comeback. He revitalized the house’s legacy, re-introducing Martin Margiela’s conceptual approach to clothesmaking to a new generation of customers. Remember the Tinder date Tabi swiper? Over the years, Margiela once again took its place at the center of the conversation for high fashion nerds and more casual menswear enthusiasts alike. The brand’s notorious cleft-toe shoes are now an inescapable urban staple. With his artistry at the top, Galliano drove energy through the rest of the rest of the brand, which culminated in a deliciously risky couture show in January that was widely hailed as a monumental fashion moment of our time.