A rumor has been circulating that disgraced designer John Galliano, 50, is collaborating on a collection for Topshop, reports Vogue.
On Friday (July 8), Philip Green, flamboyant CEO of the British retailer put the rumor to rest, stating, “I saw John Galliano at Kate’s wedding last Friday. I did not discuss any business with him then, nor have I since.”
Galliano designed the supermodel’s wedding dress for her July 1 marriage to Kills guitarist Jamie Hince. The bride, no stranger to controversy herself having survived and moved on from her 2005 drug scandal, wore a vintage-style cream-colored dress with intricate crystal-studded designs.
In March this year, Galliano was dismissed from his post as creative designer for upscale French fashion house Christian Dior, after a YouTube video surfaced of him making drunken anti-Semitic remarks at a Paris café. Since then, many retailers have distanced themselves from the designer, some refusing distribute his latest fragrance, Parlez-Moi d’Amour.
A spokesperson for Perfume Holding, which licenses the line, is hoping that the public will have a short, forgiving memory, and told WWD, “Everyone knows John was sick at the time,” and compared it to Kate Moss’ meltdown, now largely forgiven and forgotten, reports Fashionista.
“If the product is great, it becomes more important than the brand,” added the spokesperson. An eau de parfum version of the scent will be launching in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia this October, and Taylor Momsen will be still featured in the ads.
A spokesperson for Galliano also later denied the rumors, “His only focus for the foreseeable future is concentrating on his rehab. There is no truth in this rumor.”