Fashion Designer John Galliano Loses French Title Over Anti-Semitic Tirades

[Image: AP]

Paris - British fashion designer John Galliano has been stripped of the prestigious Legion d’Honneur (Legion of Honor) medal.

Signed by French President Francois Hollande, the decree follows Galliano’s conviction last year for making anti-Semitic comments on three occasions.

At trial, the court heard details of incidents in February 2011, at La Perle cafe in Marais, where Galliano hurled insults at Jewish museum curator Geraldine Bloch, and also at her South African companion - before police came to break up the argument.
In a third incident, the court viewed amateur video of Galliano declaring a love for Adolf Hitler and ­referring to concentration camps.

Galliano was charged and given suspended fines totaling 6,000 euros ($7,500), and in the process lost his job as artistic director of fashion house Dior.

Galliano claimed at the time that he had no memory of the outbursts and denied he was a racist. But he also admitted making the comments in 2010 and subsequently ­apologized, blaming addictions to both drugs and alcohol.


He told the court: “They are not views I hold or believe in. I apologize for the sadness this affair has caused.”

Mr. Galliano took over the creative helm of Dior in 1996 and won British Fashion Designer of the Year on four occasions. The fashion designer, originally from Gibraltar, has kept a low profile since the conviction. But some reports say he is considering a full-time move to Los Angeles.


The Legion d’Honneur, France's highest award, is given to those who have served France or the ideals it holds of liberty, equality and ­fraternity, the country’s motto.

To be stripped of the Légion d’Honneur is roughly the French equivalent to the United States’ Presidential Medal of Freedom, or a knighthood in Britain.