Kevin MacDonald’s assuredly crafted new documentary feature, High & Low: John Galliano turns a probing eye on the eponymous fashion behemoth. At times frustrating in its unrelenting balance, the film recounts the hard-fought ascension of Gibraltarian-born Juan Carlos Antonio Galliano-Guillén’s rise to becoming the venerated fashion designer John Galliano, alongside his subsequent fall from grace after a series of anti-Semitic outbursts made by the figure became public in 2011. The film begins and ends with footage from Galliano’s Fall 2022 Couture collection for the luxury fashion house Maison Margiela – the site of his return to designing post-hate crime convictions. The choice to bookend the piece with this material makes clear the ideas at its heart: forgiveness, redemption, and the timely question of how deserving a figure such as Galliano is of these privileges. Throughout the documentary, all of this is sent swirling within the context of an industry shown to endlessly exploit its creatives in the ruthless pursuit of commercial gain.
The film’s non-fiction narrative is composed in the highly conventional format of the talking-heads documentary. Predictably utilising a range of interviews spliced between archival footage to tell a familiar story of a young misfit turned renegade creative genius who quickly won major industry cred from the likes of successive American Vogue editors Anna Wintour and André Leon Talley. One of the documentary’s most interesting details is its clear-eyed illustration of how these powerful connections would prove invaluable in the preservation of Galliano’s career, both in the face of waning financial viability in the 1990s and again after its momentary implosion during his 2011 scandal. The celebrated designer’s staunch insider backing is evidenced robustly by the formidable roster of fashion icons and industry heavyweights – Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Wintour, to name a few – willing to vouch for his character on camera unflinchingly. Therefore, it’s all the more impressive that the resulting documentary is far more complex than the manipulative PR recon mission it so easily could have been.
The most prominent and revealing interview featured is of course that of Galliano himself, ambiguously shot looking straight at the viewer in a way which alternately signifies objectivity at times and performativity at others. Somewhat conversely, the designer’s stripped-back attire feels too obviously designed to manufacture a sense of ‘authenticity’ around Galliano’s testimony. This feels particularly apparent coming from a man infamous for being meticulously styled and whose dress is often imbued with symbolic meaning. As a result of this concerted effort to appear honest and sympathetic, the film’s most startling moments occur when the subject’s own version of events is called into question – such as when he seems not to know that he was caught in more than just one anti-Semitic incident, despite insisting that he has done extensive work to learn and grow from them.
At times a more critical eye from MacDonald feels necessary to delve further beneath the surface of certain matters. This is especially true in moments where the reasoning lobbied by Galliano and his disciples – his addictions, his inhumane work schedule – don’t seem like entirely adequate explanations for his viral display of bigotry. However, the decision to let the viewer come to their own conclusions on Galliano’s swift re-acceptance into the fold of high fashion proves to be a shrewd one in the end. His depiction of the designer’s return is frank and unsentimental, stating plainly that it happened rather than contriving to present a forced agenda of either forgiveness or condemnation. By allowing the viewer to determine their own stance on the matter, MacDonald creates a far more effective portrait.
[Fergus Kane, he/him]
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