Support The Moscow Times!

Fired at Dior for Anti-Semitism, Galliano Joins Russia's L'Etoile

John Galliano, the former head designer at French fashion houses Givenchy and Christian Dior.

Cosmetics chain L'Etoile is bringing French chic to Russia with the appointment of celebrity designer John Galliano as its new creative director, a newspaper report said Wednesday.

Citing a source close to the company, Russian newspaper Kommersant said Galliano, the former head designer at French fashion houses Givenchy and Christian Dior, will be starting at L'Etoile on May 22.

L'Etoile said Galliano would be responsible for developing the retailer's house cosmetics brand, Kommersant reported.

Though widely revered for his sense of style, Galliano fell from grace in 2011 after he was caught on tape making antisemitic remarks and declaring his love for Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler at a Paris cafe. Galliano later apologized for the incident, for which he was fired from Christian Dior, and attributed the rant to drug abuse.

L'Etoile's parent company Alcor & Co is Russia's largest cosmetics chain with about 850 branches —nearly four times more than nearest competitor Rive-Gauche, which has 224 stores.

In 2013, L'Etoile reported a revenue of 56 billion rubles ($1.61 billion), marking a 16 percent increase from the previous year, Kommersant reported, citing data from INFOline-analitika.

… we have a small favor to ask.

As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just 2. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. Thank you.

Continue

Read more