words by DEMET KAMBUROGLU

Last Thursday, Numéro Netherlands organised a special evening featuring a film screening of “High & Low: John Galliano.” Held in collaboration with Mubi Nederland, the evening was not just limited to the screening of the film; the guests had the opportunity to participate in a Q&A session with the talented filmmaker Kevin Macdonald. This allowed the audience to delve deeper into the behind-the-scenes aspects of the story of Galliano, Kevin’s intentions as a filmmaker and a culture enthusiast, making it an enriching experience for everyone present. With a group of special guests from Amsterdam’s creative community, the premiere of the documentary in the Netherlands hosted moments of celebration for the culture.

The event was a tribute to fellow culture enthusiasts in the city who share a profound love for arts and fashion. Hosted at the cosy salon of the Marionette Theatre, the premiere provided a moment to cherish and was accompanied by an intimate dinner setting. Our guests from diverse backgrounds such as fashion, film, photography, and art, thoroughly enjoyed the warm atmosphere of the Napoleonic-influenced decoration, which highlighted John Galliano’s interests in the quest.

If there were one way to describe the experience of “High & Low,” it would be, at the very least, thought-provoking. It’s hard to escape the prospect of dramatic events within his professional and personal life that echoed through decades. Presenting his life in sincere detail and shedding light on the fallout from his position at Dior as a Creative Director, the film reflects on the highs and lows of Galliano’s indelible life.

Taking us back to the 2011 incident at Rue de la Perle in Paris, the film begins with the recording of a boozed John participating in an antisemitic argument with strangers, saying, “People like you would be dead.” The cards are spread on the table; John’s aggressive tirade is evident in the clips that reached a global audience. The very beginning of the lows in John’s professional life dates to this moment: an unapologetically antisemitic commentary he makes, directing to a group of young women. This is what we primarily know about John now, a turbulent moment that led a fashion legend to disappear from the public eye for the years following. Macdonald shows the nature of the story with no manipulation and justification: before delving into John’s story, we witness the repellent moments that lead to the destruction of his reputation. Starting the conversation with a camera closely directed at his face, Galliano takes a deep inhale from his ambered cigarette. Hidden from the public eye, we now watch the turbulent story of his inner living.

The narrative presented in the film is cut to the chase direct. The camera is set on an eye level with John, inviting you for an intimate chat with the designer. Parallels with Abel Gance’s 1927 “Napoleon” and Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s “The Red Shoes are drawn through John’s telling of his success, creating an environment of thrill for the audience to experience.

Coming from a place of pressuring tensions throughout his youth, John seemingly seeks a new world to bloom in – a world of creativity and art. Indeed, that’s what went down in the archives: John didn’t only create fashion collections; what he prepared was an artistic drama around the fashion imagination. The lucrative vision he held went against and beyond the norms of haute-couture, morphing the high-end class into a new shelf of vision in the world of fashion. 

You set that bar and then “What are you going to do next time, John?” And then the bar gets set higher. Shapes, volumes, structures, sizes. Dresses with no waist seam, dresses on the bias. The detail, the ‘finissions.’ The cut, the line, the casting. The length of the eyelash. I became obsessed.

John Galliano in “High & Low: John Galliano”

Without any covering or objection, Macdonald invites us to observe the rest of John. Kevin admits, “I was sceptical.” Sharing his hesitation on the context of making a film with John, he explains how they went to Southern France to film him for a test shoot. That trial shoot became one of the fundamental scenes of the film, where we see John walk on the hillside of France and sit on the rocks with a book of Jewish literature in his hands. John then talks about his shame for the incidents mentioned in his past and how he holds this embarrassment forever. 

film artwork MUBI

In our Q&A, director Macdonald shared his fleeting doubt around a scene from the film where John seems to have difficulties remembering his antisemitic incidents: “My first response to that was ‘Oh, he’s trying to trick me.'” This is what comes off as interesting to me as I listen to Kevin. The film does not suggest any clear opinion or sides, nor does he. Kevin’s work is a masterful exploration of ambiguity that deftly avoids the temptation to provide clear-cut answers. Instead, it opens a mystery box to the public eye and lets us decide what we believe in. “High & Low” stands out as almost a thrilling mystery, a quest to solve a puzzle that will always remain individual.

You have to do some work yourself to think, what’s your interpretation of that? It’s kind of a detective story. We can never know what’s going on inside somebody’s head. It’s a mystery. John’s a mystery even to himself because he doesn’t remember most of the events because he was under the influence of alcohol.

Kevin Macdonald

During our Q&A with him, Kevin explained how John’s fame went beyond the realm of fashion: “I knew about him back in the 80s. I was a teenager then. He was this rebellious anarchic, glamorous figure in British fashion. I was not particularly into fashion, but if you were interested in popular culture, you were aware of him, and he had a huge influence.” The highs of Galliano’s career might be one to dream for most designers.

Kevin says, “I find these characters more interesting and complex as a film director.” Anti-heroes are what we’re talking about. When asked about the possibility of a separation between an artist and their work, Kevin takes a moment to highlight the danger of public censorship in an era of limitless media consumption: “It’s not only about separating art from the artist; it’s about understanding that none of us should be judged for the worst things we do or say. None of us can be perfect, and none of us are perfect.”

In an endless quest to unlearn the societal paradigms embedded in our collective memory, the film takes you on a journey to discover your own beliefs. With no justification, only through observation, you are invited to experience the highs and lows of a journey that shaped the norms of popular culture and inescapably influenced a global audience.

photography DANIEL SARS