High & Low: John Galliano review – Fragile, drunk, ranting, anti-Semitic. So why did no one try to save him from himself? writes ALEXANDRA SHULMAN

There’s a telling line in High & Low: John Galliano, when Sidney Toledano, former CEO of Christian Dior, reflects on the designer’s time as the brand’s creative director: “You never thought that man had a problem, because he never said, ‘I don’t feel well.'”

That seems extraordinary – considering that anyone who met Galliano during most of those fifteen years at Dior could see that he had numerous problems. Take your pick: drugs, alcohol, mental health.

My memory, as editor of Vogue at the time, is that John was extremely late or missed appointments altogether.

He was accompanied by an entourage of minders, often looked unhealthy, turned from depressed to manic, and hid from the outside world behind a cohort of employees and enablers.

The gilded cage of his life isolated him from all but the chosen few, while the demands of constantly performing for Dior took its toll on his fragile personality.

There’s a telling line in High & Low: John Galliano (pictured with Anna Wintour in 1993), when Sidney Toledano, former CEO of Christian Dior, reflects on the designer’s time as the brand’s creative director: ‘You had never thought the man had a problem because he never said, ‘I don’t feel well’

In the new documentary about Galliano’s life, directed by Oscar-winning Kevin Macdonald (whose previous films include Whitney and One Day In September), he admits he wants to escape for a drink after every show.

For one season, he locked himself naked in a hotel elevator and pretended to be a lion – for four hours.

When the most powerful man in fashion, LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault, suggests that his “problem” could lead to serious damage, Galliano rips apart his shirt to expose his obsessively sculpted body and asks, “Is this the body of a alcoholic?’ We don’t find out what Arnault did next.

Macdonald’s documentary charts the rise, fall – and re-emergence – of Galliano, pulling some punches from the early, shocking images of John’s drunken, anti-Semitic rants to a lonely-looking Galliano backstage at a show for Margiela.

In his high-pitched voice – an amalgam of Parisian hauteur and South London twang – Galliano looks straight into the camera and tells us he will reveal all. I expect the truth of his memories depends on who is listening and what he can actually remember.

I met Galliano after he was fired from Dior, following the events of 2011, when he was filmed directing anti-Semitic insults at a couple in his local bar.

We used to say hello occasionally, but I had little contact with the man who was considered by many to be the most talented designer of his time.

In 2013, I felt it was time to give him the second chance we all deserve and invited him to guest-edit a story for the Christmas edition of Vogue.

He was wary and still nervous about his public humiliation, but it gave me insight into how his imagination worked. From his retreat in France, pages of notes arrived, sent by the local priest who had the only Wi-Fi in the area.

The notes were chaotic. Kate Moss would model, there would be an amalgam of boisterous Russian muses, he would act as a pianist and photographer Tim Walker would capture the fantasy.

Until the day of the shoot I wasn’t sure it would happen, but he showed up on time and delivered a beautiful story. About a year later I interviewed him on stage at the Vogue Festival.

John Galliano and Editor-in-Chief of American Vogue and Chief Content Officer of Conde Nast Dame Anna Wintour attend a cocktail reception ahead of the 2021 Fashion Awards at the Royal Albert Hall on November 29, 2021 in London

British-born fashion designer John Galliano was asked to leave Dior in 2011

To prepare, I visited him in his glorious Parisian apartment, where the walls were hung with gilded mirrors, exotic treasures on every surface, vases of rich peonies and roses, and enough candles to fill a cathedral.

He was friendly and cordial and offered cookies and ginger tea. He was still nervous, but realized that if he wanted to lead a new life in fashion, he had to come out of hiding.

High & Low certainly tries to reach the real Galliano, understand what went so wrong and wonder if redemption is possible.

It was made in partnership with Conde Nast Entertainment – ​​​​Conde Nast is the publisher of Vogue – and features an interview with one of Galliano’s biggest cheerleaders, global editorial director Anna Wintour.

Ultimately, this film tells you more about the fashion industry than it does about Galliano. We see his beautiful creations and an environment where anything was allowed as long as the cash registers were ringing.

Galliano’s rants were shocking, yes – but they only mattered to the world at large because he was a famous designer who headed a leading fashion house.

Model Kate Moss pictured in 1993 wearing one of Galliano’s designs

John Galliano pictured with Naomi Campbell, Helena Christensen and Kate Moss in Paris in 1996

Here the designer is pictured with Anna Wintour and Charlize Theron in 2008

Although Galliano tries to be as honest as possible, there are several “memories may vary” moments.

For example, he felt he had apologized to the recipients of the tirade, although he made no attempt to contact them outside the courtroom. He only remembered two instances of his terrible outbursts in the café, although there were three.

The fact remains that he allowed his outrageous behavior at Christian Dior because, as far as they were concerned, he got the job done.

The film depicts an industry full of glitz and grime that happily ignored the fact that the award designer needed help.

Until the fateful moment when his behavior threatened the brand’s profitability. Then they threw him out unceremoniously, like a piece of worn-out cloth that no longer served any purpose.