Will John Galliano Take Maison Margiela to New Heights?

LONDON, United Kingdom — Even with all the red carpet antics at the Golden Globes, the menswear shows in London and Florence, and the ongoing debate about who will take the creative reins at Gucci, there was one topic that the fashion flock seemed to obsess about most this week, namely the return of John Galliano as the creative director of the newly renamed Maison Margiela.

In a pared back, anonymous space in a new office tower near Buckingham Palace, the British designer staged his return in the comfortable environs of London, surrounded by friends and supporters whose presence must have helped to ease him back into the fold. The PR coverage alone, online and off, has placed the Margiela brand under a potentially lucrative (if not unusual) global spotlight.

But now that Galliano's much anticipated (and successful) debut for Maison Margiela is behind him, there remain much bigger questions for the brand. Will Renzo Rosso and his cohort of senior executives at the OTB group (which owns Margiela) be able to capitalise on this newfound visibility (which must not have come cheap — Galliano's salary at Dior was millions of euros) to take the brand to new heights?

Watch this space. This is only the beginning.

Please enjoy our top stories for the week gone by:

Colin's Column | Galliano's Return
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And don't forget to check out BoF Weekly, a week in review published with Flipboard and updated every Saturday.