don't call it a comeback

John Galliano Gave a Bizarre Interview on French TV [Updated]

Photo: Prokofyev Vyacheslav/Corbis

Viewers of the French news program Le Supplément were treated to another Galliano apologia last night. Sporting platinum tresses, the designer dubbed this period in his career his “renaissance” and said that he is returning to fashion “step by step.” Galliano, who is currently the director of Russian beauty chain L’Etoile, called himself “an alcohol-free J.G.” and said he has been sober for three and a half years, indicating a coffee cup filled with water.  “I am not responsible for my illness, but I am responsible for my recovery,” he added. Everything about this interview is bizarre, from the producers’ choice to include a Greek chorus of silent French everypeople scattered around the studio, to Galliano’s response when asked if he could imagine working with Bernard Arnault again: “Who knows?” (You can watch the partially French-language segment here.)

Correction: An earlier headline said that this was Galliano’s first TV appearance since 2011. It is his first French TV appearance since then; he did an interview with Charlie Rose in 2013.

Galliano Gave a Bizarre Interview on French TV