John Galliano loses £10m unfair dismissal against Dior
Fashion designer John Galliano loses £10m unfair dismissal case after Dior sacked him for telling Jewish woman he 'loved Hitler' and her parents should have been gassed
54-year-old was fired from design house after abusive video surfaced
He was filmed making anti-Semitic remarks to woman he thought was Jewish
Told her he 'loves Hitler' and her parents should have been 'gassed'
He was fired by Dior and later convicted of making anti-Semitic insults
He was spared jail after blaming his actions on drink and drug abuse
Designer had claimed he had lost £10m in earnings through dismissal
Court rules in Dior's favour and orders Galliano to pay brand one euro
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Filmed in December 2010 at restaurant La Perle and uploaded the next February, the video shows Galliano nursing a drink while sitting alone at a table, and then referring to the Nazi Holocaust.
Galliano says to two unnamed Italian women : ‘People like you ought to be dead, your mothers, your forefathers would all be ****ing gassed. I love Hitler.’
When one of the women asks ‘Do you have a problem?’, Galliano replies: ‘With you, you’re ugly.’ The same woman says : ‘Where are you from?’, and Galliano replies: ‘Your ****hole’
One of their male companions started videoing the incident because he was so shocked.
At his one day trial in June, 2011, he admitted two instances of making anti-Semitic and racist comments and that September was given two suspended fines totalling 6,000 euros.
The court was told he had abused museum curator Geraldine Bloch about being Jewish dduring a trip to the cafe in February 2011, as well another incident the previous October.
Judge Anne-Marie Sauteraud said the low damages and fine reflected his lack of previous convictions, and attempts he had made to overcome his drug and alcohol addiction.
He told the court: 'They are not views that I hold or believe in. I apologise for the sadness this whole affair has caused.'
Despite his 15 years at Dior, he lost his job after the video emerged, costing him up to £10million in lost earnings, according to his lawyers.
Actress: Natalie Portman, one of the faces of the brand, was among those outraged by his remarks
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John Galliano transcended his humble roots to become one of the most powerful men in fashion.
The Gibraltar-born designer, pictured, who once defined style as wearing 'an evening dress to McDonalds', grew up in south London the son of a plumber who had come to England looking for work.
He has often mentioned the influence of his Spanish mother who dressed him and his sisters in immaculately pressed and starched clothes whenever they left the family home.
He worked as a dresser at the National Theatre and threw himself into the London club scene - experiences that left their mark on his sense of style.
But it was as a student at the capital's Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design that he was first noticed with a degree collection influenced by revolutionary France.
He was a runaway success but became disillusioned with the British fashion scene after a financial backer withdrew support, and moved to Paris in 1990.
Five years later he was appointed head of Dior - the first Englishman to head one of France's fashion flagships.
The news sent shockwaves through the fashion world but did not seem to affect the supremely confident Galliano.
His long-time creative collaborator Amanda Harlech once described disagreeing with him, saying: 'I did only once and I can only compare it to being hit by a massive surfing wave. His indifference was absolute.'
His confidence brought him celebrity supporters with actresses including Charlize Theron and Marion Cotillard wearing his designs.
He also designed Kate Moss's dress for her wedding to Jamie Hince in July 2011 after asking him while he was still at Dior.
