When i think of real fashion, I think of John Galliano without a doubt. Who is John Galliano? He is a master-mind behind all the beautiful clothes Dior came up with for the past 15 years. Galliano has been an inspiration to all the avant-garde fashion designers all over the world since he started his brilliant career. Known for his over-the-top fashion statements, Galliano is the exact opposite of what we call the 'trend-setter'. His fashion is almost royally outrageous that it cannot be worn on regular day for mundane activities. Galliano's creations are strictly for the runway and sometimes for the red carpet. It always seemed to me that haute couture is in his blood. And therefore, he is simply born to dress women. Galliano is different from other well-known fashion designers (such as Thierry Mugler, Jean Paul Gaultier, or Emanuel Ungaro), because of his taste of luxury. He takes haute couture to the next level... the level where high fashion meets the ultra lavish exaggeration and spectacular dream-like past. In my opinion, he is the most amazing fashion designer to walk this earth. I have been a fan of him since i started flipping through fashion magazines and drawing stick figures. I remember thinking to myself how could someone be so talented and his creations so unbelievably iconic?
I had a tremendous respect for him. Over the years, his designs were becoming ever so powerful and he was taking fashion world by storm - having six collections for Dior every year and on the side, designing for his own label. Last week, Feb 24, 2011, Galliano got arrested over anti-semitic assault in a Paris bar. And the next day Dior announced that it had suspended Galliano (I can't imagine Dior without John Galliano or John Galliano without Dior). As it turned out, it is not a one-time drunken slur. Citizenside, Parisian journalism cite featured a video of Galliano's anti-semitic rant from the past December. I can't hide how disappointed I am. He was the idol I looked up to. I went to a fashion school where I found out that my designs were too outrageous and avant-garde compared to my fellow designer students. After flipping through my portfolio for the coming season, my instructor once told me "Only John Galliano would hire you. Why don't you design something down-to-earth... clothes that won't cost too much to make and can actually get sold to regular, everyday people?" To me this was a compliment rather than an insult. I never even tried to design the boring pret-a-porter; my collections were always the 'too big and too costly' and I was always so proud of them. I dreamed of meeting John Galliano and showing him what I can do. Because I idolized him in such a big way, he always seemed like a perfect person with perfect ideals. And then the incident happened. It completely shocked me and for a while I was speechless about the whole thing. I will not accept anyone with anti-semitic views (His rants were pure evil). I am hundred percent against anti-semitism, racism, and inequality. That being said, I cannot still idolize him in a way i did before. Although i still respect his role in the fashion world, and I envy his I have no respect for him as a person. 
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