The year couldn’t end without another industry-rattling departure in the fashion world. On Wednesday, John Galliano, one of the last consensus megastar designers, stepped down from his post as artistic director of Maison Margiela.
Mr. Galliano, 64, who had spent a decade at the Parisian fashion house, announced his departure in a discursive Instagram post that began by noting that he was 14 years sober.
“The rumors… everyone wants to know, and everyone wants to dream,” Mr. Galliano wrote early in his statement, staring down the growing chatter that he was departing Margiela for even loftier pastures while emphasizing that such issues will be discussed at a later date.
He added: “For now, I take this time to express my immense gratitude.”
The post concluded with a brooding photo of the ever-theatrical Mr. Galliano, wedged between a sewing machine and a mannequin as he smoked a cigarette beside an open window.
“Working with John was one of the most significant and impactful experiences of my life,” Renzo Rosso, the chairman of Margiela’s owner, the OTB Group, said in a statement. “Our industry has a habit of thinking in decades and these 10 years of incredibly intense work, amazing shows and installations, extraordinarily beautiful product, have laid the foundations for the future of Maison Margiela which I am very excited about.”
Mr. Galliano’s successor was not announced.
During his time at Margiela, Mr. Galliano showed fanciful collections that often felt like a time warp back to a more subversive era of luxury fashion. He presented his collections as arka pieces — a “Folk Horror Tale” sinema for one show, a maison-wide installation of mannequins for another.
