John Galliano brought back to relevance and rejuvenated the Dior brand, which was credited with saving the French couture industry after WW2. The Dior brand provided clothing to Nazi wives and French collaborators. For 15 years, Galliano has continued to provide his creative insights into fashion for the Dior fashionhouse. However, in 2011 Galliano was arrested for hate speech, which is a crime in France. His alleged statements were aggressive and the Dior CEO was unforgiving to him in the press release. Galliano was released from his position. Lesson: no matter how creative or talented he was, the presentation and credibility of the Dior fashionhouse was ultimately held to a higher priority. While they could have put him on probation or made him publicly apologize, it undoubtedly would have affected the sales of the company. From a PR standpoint, the fashionhouse did the best they could to preserve the good name of their company, especially when hate crime is illegal in their country, which can be used as a scapegoat. The CEO was thinking about the public opinion regarding their company which is what a good PR person does. She kept open a link of communication and full disclosure.
I liked how they handled it. I thought it was accurate and thoughtful. And the stats proved that everyone can be replaced and a company does not rely on the talents of a single person. According to Vogue Australia, among many other sites, Dior sales actually RISED after the Galliano scandal and firing. 27 per cent, in fact.
Sorry, Galliano...play with fire, you can get burned.
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