John Galliano

John Galliano born 28 November 1960

John Galliano was born in Gibraltar to Spanish parents. As a child, he moved to London. In 1984, he graduated in Fashion design from the St. Martin's School of Arts, with a collection inspired by the French Revolution called Les Incroyables and was bought in its entirety and sold in the London fashion boutique Browns. Following that, he started his own label under his own name and began his career as a fashion designer. He was awarded British Designer of the Year in 1987, 1994 and 1995. In 1997, he shared the award with Alexander McQueen, his successor at Givenchy.

In the 1990s, Galliano relocated to Paris in search of financial backing and a strong client base. In 1995, he was appointed as the designer of Givenchy by Bernard Arnault owner of luxury goods congolmerate LVMH becoming the first British designer to head a French couture house. Less than two years later, on 14 October 1996, LVMH moved Galliano to Christian Dior.

He has been quoted as identifying his love of theatre and feminity as central to his creations - 'my role is to seduce,' he has said. His couture collections are meticulously researched and often inspired by historical costumes and cultures. He is a popular choice for actresses looking to make a red carpet splash in something more unusal and Charlize Theron, Cate Blanchett and Nicole Kidman have all worn dresses created by him to the Oscars in the past.

Between his own label and Dior, Galliano produced several couture and ready-to-wear collections a year and a new mid-season range under his own name.

His incredible personal discipline and highly distinctive personal style also marks him out as a maverick genius.

In February 2011 Dior sacked Galliano following an alleged anti-Semitic racist outburst in a Parisian cafe just before Paris Fashion Week. Galliano strongly denied the allegations. Galliano subsequently reportedly left France for rehab in the States.