Post date: Feb 28, 2011 2:11:30 PM
Star fashion designer John Galliano arrives at a Paris police station to explain himself over accusations he hurled racist remarks at a couple in a Paris bar.
PARIS, FRANCE (FEBURARY 28, 2011) REUTERS - Star designer John Galliano was mobbed by an army of cameramen and photographers as he arrived at a Paris police station on Monday (February 28) answer questions about an incident in which he is alleged to have hurled racist remarks in a Paris bar.
Galliano has been suspended as Dior's main fashion designer pending an internal inquiry.About a week before Galliano was due to present Dior's collection in Paris, police were called to a bar in the city's trendy Marais district last Thursday evening where they found the designer doling out a drunken torrent of abuse to a couple, a police source told Reuters at the time.
Galliano's lawyer Stephane Zerbib said two complaints had been filed with police against his client for making racist or anti-Semitic comments -- a crime in France -- but he said Galliano "firmly and formally" denied doing so.
Within hours, Dior said it had suspended Galliano saying it had zero tolerance towards any anti-Semitic or racist words or behaviour.
The British designer was out at a no-frills drinking spot popular with wannabe models when the incident took place.
He was taken to a police station for a sobriety test, which confirmed he had been drinking, but was released without being charged and police escorted him home, the police source said.
Christian Dior, which hired Galliano as its top talent more than a decade ago, is due to present its autumn-winter collection on the Paris catwalks next Friday, March 4.
Galliano's pret-a-porter show is one of the most highly anticipated events of fashion week in Paris, which runs from March 1 to 9, and Dior shows consistently receive favourable reviews from both clients and the fashion press.