John Galliano

He was once involved with fashion designer John Flett who he called his “soulmate”. Flett died in 1991. Currently John Galliano is in a relationship with style consultant Alexis Roche with whom he shares a home.

John Charles Galliano was born on 28 November 1960 in Gibraltar to a Gibraltarian father, Juan Galliano who worked as a plumber, and a Spanish mother, Anita. He has two sisters.

His family moved to England when John was six years old. His mother, a flamenco teacher, always dressed him in his best clothes even for running small errands. He was sometimes made fun of because of his outfits, but this habit of his mother’s also inculcated in him a sense of style and fashion.

He attended St. Anthony's School and Wilson's Grammar School in London following which he entered Saint Martin's School of Art in 1980. He graduated in 1984 with a first class honors degree in Fashion Design. His graduation collection, titled Les Incroyables, inspired by the French Revolution received positive reviews and was purchased by the owner of an exclusive London fashion boutique.

Boosted by the sale of his graduation collection, he set up a studio in a warehouse in London’s East End and started his own fashion line in collaboration with Amanda Harlech, at that time stylist with Harpers and Queen, and Stephen Jones, a milliner.

Initially he found considerable success and was named British Fashion Council Designer of the Year in 1987. John Galliano however lacked business acumen and this, combined with his extravagant lifestyle and excessive love for nightlife led him to bankruptcy.

He moved to Paris in search of financial backing to resurrect his failing career. He was able to get the support of Paris-based Moroccan designer Faycal Amor and with his backing held his first show in 1989 as part of Paris Fashion Week. He went on to make his Paris catwalk debut in 1991 and was once again named the British Fashion Council Designer of the Year in 1994.

During this period he was able to establish connections with some prominent personalities such as American ‘Vogue’ editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and André Leon Talley, then European Correspondent at ‘Vanity Fair’. With their help, he met Portuguese socialite and fashion patron Sao Schlumberger who helped him gain financial backing.

Soon he was able to successfully re-establish himself as a prominent fashion designer and attracted the attention of Bernard Arnault, owner of luxury goods conglomerate Louis Vuitton Möet Hennessy (LVMH). Arnault appointed Galliano as the designer of Givenchy in 1995, making him the first British designer to head a French haute couture house.

John Galliano is best known for the bold and dramatic creations he presented at the couture show for Givenchy at the Stade de France, and the Haute Couture and ready-to-wear collections he designed for Dior. Some of Galliano's designs for Givenchy were licensed to Vogue Patterns.