vallierojas: Did you launch a racist, antisemitic rant? I can't remember, Galliano tells French court

Shocking nature of alleged outburst captivates France as fashion designer could face six months in jail

The British designer John Galliano told a Paris court he remembered nothing of an alleged antisemitic, racist rant in a bar because of his triple addiction to alcohol, valium and sleeping pills.

The flamboyant couturier told judges he had been "pushed to the edge" by financial and emotional pressures.

The case has captured France's imagination, both because it involved a fallen British fashion star ? Galliano was immediately sacked from the top job as creative director of Paris fashion house Dior ? and because of the shocking nature of the alleged racist and antisemitic ravings by a supposedly inclusive designer in the heart of Paris's historic Jewish district.

Galliano, 50, was dressed in billowing black satin trousers, a black waistcoat, jacket and silk scarf, but no shirt as he arrived in court to face the charges of making "public insults" based on origin, religion, race or ethnicity. The designer could face up to six months in prison and a fine of as much as ?22,500 (�21,000). But the prosecutor did not request jail time for Galliano, asking instead that he be fined no less than ?10,000. While the three judges hearing the case are not required to follow the prosecutor's request, it is rare for a first-time offender to receive the maximum sentence.

Galliano stared determinedly ahead, composing himself, swallowing hard and clenching his jaw during evidence, but he looked frail after two months in an Arizona rehab centre. He is currently attending a daycare centre for recovering addicts in Switzerland. Under French law Galliano is not required to enter a plea.

The judge asked Galliano about the incident on 24 February when a French couple having a beer outside a bar in Paris's Marais district claimed he repeatedly insulted them with lines including "dirty Jewish face", "fucking ugly Jewish bitch" and "fucking Asian bastard".

He replied "I have no recollection." Asked why he couldn't remember, he said had a three-fold addiction to alcohol, sleeping tablets and valium. He said there were many reasons for his addiction, including the success of Dior. He started drinking "in a cyclical way" in 2007. "After every creative high I would crash and the drink would help me to escape. At this point I had managed to turn creativity into a billion dollar business at Dior. Then the financial crash happened," he said.

He described having "two children": Dior and his own label Galliano, owned by the same group. To save them from the financial crisis, he had to sign deals with "businessmen" and branch out into a bewildering list of new lines, including menswear , kidswear, beachwear and perfumes. He described a manic schedule of working through the night then going directly to early morning starts on shoots, meetings and endless haute-couture fittings.

In 2007, his assistant and closest friend, Steven Robinson, died and he lost a kind of "protection". Galliano said: "With his parents, I buried him ? then I went back to do my fittings. The same happened with my father's death, I had to bury him and then come back that very night and work on the haute couture ... I really didn't take time to mourn."

Galliano said his body became so used to prescription pills, he increased his intake. "I actually can't remember how many I was taking". He said he needed sleeping pills to sleep but took them in the day, too.

He went into rehab at the end of February after he was arrested by police following the alleged bar altercation. He said his reasons for rehab were various: "I started having panic attacks, I couldn't go to work unless I had taken some valium."

Geraldine Bloch told the court she was sitting on a terrace at La Perle bar in February when Galliano sat a table near them, drinking a mojito, and quickly said: "Could you shut up please, I can't stand your voice, fucking bitch," before insulting her clothes, hair, thighs and make-up.

She said he used the word "Jewish at least 30 times" including calling her a "fucking Jewish bitch" and "Jewish cunt". She argued back at Galliano and refused to move table. Galliano's driver came over and gave her a mobile, saying it was the designer's lawyer trying to defuse the situation, but she refused to talk to him. She said Galliano had not seemed drunk but was acting weirdly.

Her friend, Philippe Virgitti, told the court Galliano called him a "fucking Asian bastard" and threatened to kill him. He thought the designer used the world "Jewish" 10 times while insulting Bloch. He admitted threatening him with a chair.

The court also heard the case of another woman who claimed that in the same bar in October 2010, Galliano had called her a "fucking ugly Jewish bitch".

Asked in court about a separate video in which he insulted a bar client and said "I love Hitler", Galliano replied: "These are not views that I hold or believe in ... I see someone who needs help, who's vulnerable. It's the shell of John Galliano. I see someone pushed to the edge." The judges are expected to deliver a verdict on 8 September. Several French anti-racist associations have also lodged civil complaints against the designer.

Dior succession

Almost five months after Galliano's alleged rant was first made public, fashion's most talked about job is unfilled. This week it emerged that legendary Tunisian designer Azzedine Alaia, 71, had been offered the role of creative director at Dior, Galliano's old job. Alaia, famed for his sculpted dresses and laser-cut leather pieces, declined due to the anticipated pressures of the role. The Dior designer is expected to oversee at least six runway collections a year as well as countless other lines and mid-season collections. Alaia has been an outspoken critic of fashion's increasingly relentless schedule, eschewing catwalk shows and delivering orders to stores at his own pace instead.

Sources at Dior have indicated that an announcement will not come until the autumn.

Angelique Chrisafis

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds