Parsons Cancels John Galliano's Class Over Q&A Disagreement

The rehabilitation of John Galliano’s image was expected to take another step forward thanks to an upcoming three day master class he was scheduled to give at Parsons The New School For Design. Unfortunately, that much-hyped event has now been cancelled thanks to a disagreement over a Q&A.

Part of the offer the school extended to the designer once arrested for making anti-Semitic remarks was that he participate in a discussion with students, staff and faculty members about how his career has been affected by the comments he made, what he’s done to rectify the situation and why the upcoming generation of designers should avoid his pratfalls. No doubt that forum would have been awkward and uncomfortable at moments, but the hope was that session would allow everyone to heal enough to truly embrace a three day class taught by a legend of fashion. Sadly, however, it seems that Q&A was ultimately a deal breaker.

According to New York Magazine, the school sent students an email this week letting them know the Galliano class had been cancelled. Here’s a portion of that text…

There’s no excuse for making racist, bigoted or sexist comments, but that doesn’t mean someone should lose their chance at earning a livelihood. Most us have jobs that don’t fire us or fine us over our choice in language. I wish Galliano would have used this forum to continue the healing process, but since he didn’t, I hope he’s able to find some other way to keep moving forward.