John Galliano Returns to the Fashion Fold

Controversial fashion designer John Galliano has a new job as creative director of Maison Martin Margiela, a Paris-based fashion house.

Galliano had been out of commission ever since he was ousted from Christian Dior in 2011 after his arrest and subsequent conviction in France for uttering anti-Semitic remarks, which are illegal there.

But his most recent move appears to signal that he may be finding his way back into the fashion world.

“John Galliano is one of the greatest, undisputed talents of all time — a unique, exceptional couturier for a maison that always challenged and innovated the world of fashion,” Italian industrialist Renzo Rosso, who runs Margiela’s owner OTB, told Womens Wear Daily. “I look forward to his return to create that fashion dream that only he can create, and wish him to here find his new home.”

Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, told WWD the designer had attempted to atone for his remarks since his conviction. “He certainly has tried hard enough to apologize, to put the past behind him, to rehabilitate,” he said. “I think it’s time for people who care to move on. If this is the place for him to succeed, I only wish him the greatest of success.”

Galliano’s new designs for the fashion house are expected to debut during Paris Couture Week in January.

[WWD]