By Gregory Crofton
Director Kevin Macdonald (A Brief History of Errol Morris, One Day in September, Touching the Void, Marley) must have thought carefully before plunging into the life story fashion wunderkind John Galliano.
It was probably Galliano’s magnetism on screen that turned the light green. Think Mickey Rourke with a knack for cutting fabric — a vain man who drank, smoked and worked out to excess, but still churned out wearable art.
Galliano, now sober, 63, and head designer at the Parisian fashion house Maison Margiela, is as skilled as Alexander McQueen, another legendary designer from his same generation.
Watching the McQueen documentary (read our review here), I was shocked at the quality and standards of haute couture (high sewing). I had no idea Galliano’s work was equally as impressive. I only knew the story from 2011 about him being drunk in public and making anti-Semitic slurs.
Turned out the people he lashed out were not Jewish. That didn’t matter. The point was “What is wrong with this man?” Galliano lost his job at Dior, was shunned by society for several years, and convicted of a crime by a French court for being anti-Semitic.
Galliano’s downfall likely began four years earlier when his dedicated and hard-working assistant Steven Robinson died at 38 from cocaine use. His death blew up Galliano’s production line like a missile would have.
The world of high fashion is an endless sprint of seasonal collections, new accessories and ready-to-wear outfits. Mix those market demands with alcoholism, pill addiction and Robinson gone — the trap was set.
The work of McQueen and Galliano had enormous impact, setting new standards while kicking open the Parisian doors of the industry to let the whole world in. The way Macdonald frames it, the top fashion houses over work designers like McQueen and Galliano and inevitably things get ugly. The death of Kurt Cobain comes to mind.
McQueen, who lived with depression, died from suicide at 40 in 2010. Galliano, despite being fired and shunned, has proven resilient. Apparently he’s been back at work since Maison Margiela hired him in 2014.
This film was produced by Conde Naste Entertainment, which also owns the fashion magazine Vogue. Of course you have to think they backed the film to help revive Galliano’s career and sell clothes. Like a well-coiffed rat crawling from the hull of a sunken ship, the talent of this man lives on!
So does the fashion icon’s noncommittal attitude toward exploring the root of his anti-Semitic comments and actions (he was seen dressed like a Hasidic Jew on his way to a fashion show in New York City in 2013).
From a young age, his parents abused him regarding his homosexuality. Did this abuse circle back years later and fuel the hateful drunken rants?
Macdonald’s film gets as close to the truth of the situation as humanly possible. It also reveals how pain, talent, competition and obsession produces such beautiful works of art.
Macdonald relied on the increasingly popular celebrity doc genre to get this film made, but he has transcended it. “High & Low – John Galliano” is one of the best docs of this year or any other.
****
Check out Kevin Macdonald’s top 10 films at Criterion.
Watch the trailer below.