After five years as creative director of Maison Margiela, John Galliano has extended his contract. The news was announced this morning in a release from Renzo Rosso’s Only The Brave, the conglomerate that owns Maison Margiela. “I am super excited for this new chapter and grateful to Renzo for his belief in me and the vision for Maison Margiela,” said Galliano. The exact length of his extension is unclear, but it is expected to be at least several years.
Galliano joined Maison Margiela in 2014, taking over the brand’s menswear, womenswear, and accessories and creating its Artisanal couture collection. Under his tenure, revenues have doubled, according to the brand, with accessories making up 60% of the label’s total profits. “Five years ago I believed that John was the only person who could take this house in his hands, and I am even more convinced of this today,” said Rosso 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.”
When Galliano arrived as creative director, his first task was rebranding. Not only did he swiftly clip the brand’s name to Maison Margiela—leaving out “Martin,” the name of the brand’s illusive founder—but he also worked to reestablish himself as one of fashion’s great couturiers, coming back from a rehabilitation period that followed his dismissal from Christian Dior for racist and anti-Semitic remarks. Galliano’s return to the runways was an all-red couture collection shown in London that put his craftsmanship and flair for deconstruction on display. What followed since has been a blurring of gender lines, appraisal of historicism, and focus on remodeling tropes of fashion from the staid British trench to the strict nuns habit. Expect all this and more from Galliano at Margiela in the future.
