The chatter is raging. And, usually with prattle this potent, there could be a grain of truth in it

All morning, we have been seeing in our news feed the speculation that John Galliano may go to Dior. Mr Galliano has apparently not signed on with Only the Brave (OTB) to remain at Maison Margiela. Reportedly, he will step down sometime this autumn, which is really soon. He has been with Margiela for ten years, and it is understandable that he may wish to be with another house, if he still desires to design. The surmise that is exciting anyone who cares about fashion, especially the few gifted designers, such as Mr Galliano, is that he will be headed for the house of Dior next. Fuelling this conjectural hope, now considered “the gossip of summer”—has been LVMH’s no-comment stand. Dior has not said anything either. To make matters more interesting, John Galliano and Kim Jones have wiped clean the contents of their respective personal Instagram accounts.

All this rumour-sharing really began when a few days back, the webzine Miss Tweed—a subscriber-only site—claimed that “several sources with knowledge of the matter said” that Mr Galliano might make the move back to his previous employer. Miss Tweed is one Astrid Wendlandt. She is a journalist based in Paris and was also a “former Reuters European luxury goods editor”, who apparently has well-placed sources to break fashion’s ins and outs, and is an especially keen follower of the luxury business. It is not know if LVMH, employer of some of the biggest names in fashion, is a forgiver, as they appear to be. If Galliano’s going back to Dior turns out to be true, it could be the biggest pardon and comeback of the whole fashion industry, and would interest many who derive immense pleasure watching designers move from maison to maison. Mr Galliano is apparently sober now and is totally dedicated to his craft, and ready to leave his weakness for outbursts behind—way behind.

If Galliano’s going back to Dior turns out to be true, it could be the biggest pardon and comeback of the whole fashion industry

What is also engrossing to follow is the suggestion that a huge supporter and close ally of Mr Galliano has once again engineered his possible move (back) to the biggest luxury conglomerate in the world. According to Ms Wendlandt, it is Anna Wintour, who has spoken to Bernard Arnault and his daughter Delphine, the CEO of Dior. When such a meeting was conducted is not known. The current rumour may explain why Mr Galliano had dressed so many guests in Margiela couture at the recent Met Gala: six in total, which is reportedly higher than the number event sponsor Loewe outfitted. The rumour before that first Monday of May was that the Vogue editor had originally wanted this year’s exhibition to solely feature the work of John Galliano. But the powers at the Met, fearing public backlash, shot the idea down. Many people, they believe, remember that Mr Galliano was fired from Dior in 2011 for anti-Semitic and racists rants in a Paris bar. He was, at age 50, almost immediately relieved of his duties.

If Ms Wintour’s help to push Mr Galliano to the fore again is accurately reported, it would prove once more that, at 75, and after more than three decades at American Vogue, she is still the power player she is reputed to be. The one even Bernard Arnault listens to. Or the resuscitator-in-chief for those talented few felled by personal folly or missteps. It was she, in 1995, who convinced LVMH to install Mr Galliano at Givenchy, making him the first British designer to helm a French house. In less than two years, he moved to Dior. After his dismissal, Ms Wintour again tried to secure a position for him—this time, at Oscar de la Renta in 2013. But that did not quite work out; it was a mere three-week “designer-in-residence” stint. Perhaps the brief shot at a comeback did not matter, Maison Margiela would soon come calling.

Anna Wintour is determined to rehabilitate her friend’s reputation, seemingly convinced that his true talents and social media impressions of him are two different worlds. She saw to it that Mr Galliano would not remain “exiled”, as he called it, indefinitely. In fact, while he has stayed somewhat low-key at Margiela, he created massively wondrous work. In the midst of his professional consolidation, there seemed to be unseen hands furtively plotting his return. Most eye-opening was the images of him attending the Monet—Mitchell exhibition at the Foundation Louis Vuitton in 2022. He was also photographed with Ms Wintour and—a huge gasp at the time—Bernard Arnault and Sidney Toledano, Dior’s former chief executive. Many people believe it was Mr Toledano who decided that Mr Galliano had to be removed from Dior. In a statement to the press at the time, he said, “I condemn most firmly the statements made by John Galliano which are a total contradiction with the essential values that have always been defended by the house of Christian Dior.”

And then came the Margiela couture show in January that grabbed headlines the way Mt Galliano at Dior’s did in the ’90s. The data analytics company Launchmetrics, placed the media impact value for the show in the region of US$18.5 million, a reported 90 percent leap for any OTB brand. Commentators raved about the show because they were truly impressed, not because they were afraid to offend a powerful label and, as a consequence, no longer be invited to its shows. If that near-cinematic Margiela presentation was not a career high, two months later the trailer for the documentary film High and Low—John Galliano began popping up in news feeds. Ms Wintour, willing to be interviewed for the film, was heard saying, “it is not often that you meet a great designer. But when you see what John was doing, you realised that he was one of them.” This generosity of praise and depth of friendship, surprisingly, was not extended to the late Andre Leon Talley (not when he was alive) on such a scale. John Galliano is luckier—a lot luckier.

Update (23 June 2024, 20:30): Now, conflicting reports have emerged that John Galliano may go to Fendi instead. While it is known that the reception to Kim Jones’s Fendi womenswear is, at best, lukewarm, the Italian label might be an odd fit for Mr Galliano, who tends to gravitate towards brands with a more groundbreaking back story. At the moment, much that is out there are rumours. Both LVMH and Mr Galliano have not said anything. Stay tuned for further updates

Illustrations: Just So