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Lots of people seem to think that it was the students of Parsons that pushed Galliano away, and I’d like to correct that misconception.
While some students, completely reasonably, did not want Galliano to teach at Parsons due to the remarks he made a few years ago, I would say the majority of students at this school were ecstatic to have such an innovative designer teach at our school.
Personally, I do not believe Galliano is actually anti-Semitic. The man was doped up, drunk, and pre-rehab before he made those comments, and, based on his character, likely the things he said were meant to be entirely ironic — a kind of joke, if you will. That does not necessarily excuse the things he said, which can be taken as dangerous and racist. That will invariably true for anyone who says anything anti-Semitic, regardless of context. But that’s a bigger conversation.
I for one was one of the MANY students in support of Galliano coming to Parsons. The fashion industry today lacks the kind of passion and innovation we saw in Galliano’s time, and being an educator at such a big school could have been one of the best things for the fashion world.
HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED: According to the official e-mail sent to us, Parsons would only do the workshop with Galliano if he agreed to sit down in a forum and discuss with anyone at the school who wished to attend anything they wanted to know. I believe this was likely intended to be a litmus test of Galliano’s character so that the public could judge for themselves. From the beginning, this was a contract condition. The workshop would not happen if this forum could not happen, as a sign of concern and respect for students and their families.
The school and Galliano could not agree on some details of the forum (we weren’t told exactly what that means), and so the school’s hands are tied, and now the workshop can’t happen.
I am one of those incredibly upset by this. I think Galliano being an educator would have been invaluable to future fashion designers, and once again, I do not think he’s actually anti-Semitic. But words have power, and people in power saying those words matters, and that can’t be discounted.
Don’t think for a second that most of us here aren’t torn up about this, too.
The official reason for Galliano not teaching here is NOT due to the petition but in fact due to them not being able to reach an agreement with Galliano about the forum that was integral to the workshop moving forward.
But by the way, despite being a supporter of Galliano and believing fully that his remarks were not at all made in earnest, let me remind you that if you are part of a group that is oppressed and ridiculed by one of the most influential voices in the industry you want to work in, A PETITION IS A PERFECTLY FUCKING ACCEPTABLE THING TO DO, and the idea of silencing the voices of people who feel wronged IS FUCKING WRONG. When we do that, we let the most horrible people in the world ) get away with the most horrible things. I do not believe Galliano falls in that category, but people need to accept that a fucking petition in defense of what and who you are as a people IS FUCKING IMPORTANT AND SHOULD NOT BE PUT DOWN OR RIDICULED.
it was a shame signing of this petition
You should never judge someone on their actions- I understand why one would be offended by what he said but that doesn’t take away from his amazing skill, and raw talent that would be very ideal to learn in a classroom.
