Galliano on McQueen: "I Understood"

Hiya All,

Recently I shared with you with some gossip about John Galliano, you can read it here. Today I'm bringing you a bit more about his interview with Charlie Rose.

John Galliano says that he identifies with the anguish that he believes Alexander McQueen was battling prior to committing suicide. The designer spoke candidly during an hour-long interview with US chat show host Charlie Rose, which was filmed last night.
When asked what went through his mind when he heard the news of McQueen's death, Galliano answered: "Many things."
"I knew Alexander - I knew Lee. I understood.  That loneliness, that pain," he said. "I mean as addicts we're in such perfection - we're setting that bar impossibly high, we don't understand how we're doing it and people say, 'Wow, how are you going to top that?' And we're like, 'Well yeah we're going to, don't worry.' That's what makes us wake up in the morning. I was very sad."

The appearance was the designer's first broadcast interview since being dismissed from his position as creative director at Dior in 2011 - after being filmed making anti-Semitic comments in a Paris café, a moment that he says he fully regrets ("I apologise, and I'm trying to make amends. In the best way that I can.") He adds that the incident - which he describes as a "very big breakdown" - enabled him to take stock of his lifestyle.
"I'm so grateful that I am alive - not for what happened, but as a result of what happened, I have been able to spend some time on myself, understand these emotions that I couldn't express - the difference between emotions and feelings and how I could change that," he said. "Before, I would be upset or angry and it would go on for four days or five days. Now I know that I can change that. I wasn't aware of that before. I was emotionally, spiritually, physically and mentally bankrupt. I didn't know it, but I had a very big breakdown."
The British-born designer also went on to describe the downward spiral that lead to his drug and alcohol addiction, and his "acting like God". 

"In the early days I was incredibly creative and productive - I loved the research trips, I loved the creation and finding technical solutions to creative challenges. I didn't need alcohol and the pills for that," he explained. "What changed was, I was afraid to say no - that little word, N.O. Because I thought it showed weakness. And with more and more success I would just say yes. And keep on taking more work on - which took its toll."
Galliano talks of the immense pressure he felt at the time of the incident - which he describes as "blackout drinking" - a time when he was creating 32 collections a year, for both Dior and his eponymous label ("I should have said, 'It's getting too much'"). He credits his "dear, dear friend", Condé Nast International's chairman and chief executive, Jonathan Newhouse, for helping with his recovery.

So what of the future for the designer? Having recently completed a residency with Oscar de la Renta on his latest collection, he admits that working long-term for the fashion house would "be wonderful". He also says that he'd love to teach ("I'll continue to try - maybe one day that will happen"), and says that it's "a real shame" that his arranged masterclass with Parson's design school in New York fell through. The designer reveals that he has repeatedly tried to reach out to LVMH boss Bernard Arnault and Dior CEO Sidney Toledano, but fears it is still "too early".
For now, Galliano says he must concentrate on his sobriety - he's currently two years and three months sober - and his "atonement", before he's able to fully commit to design again, which is his ultimate goal.
"I am concentrating on recovery daily - that will be a lifetime of work," he said. "I'm trying to make amends. I have upset many people. I need to reach out them... I hope through my atonement I will be given a second chance." Watch the full Charlie Rose interview here.


Have a great weekend
xxx
Ewelina

source: http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2013/06/13/john-galliano-interview-charlie-rose---alexander-mcqueen-death