“Today is the day I say goodbye to Maison Margiela.” So begins John Galliano’s announcement on his Instagram profile, confirming once and for all the rumors and fears that had been swirling over the past year. Part farewell, part love letter, the post reflects the creative director’s gratitude for the fashion house that, as he put it, “mended his wings” for the past ten years, protecting him, nurturing him, and allowing him to grow and transform. It was in 2014, after Martin Margiela’s official retirement, that the maison turned to John Galliano – then at one of the lowest points of his career. His dismissal from Maison Dior in 2011, following the scandal surrounding his anti-Semitic remarks, had not only ended his 15-year reign at Dior but also left him in a prolonged exile from the fashion world.

The appointment of John Galliano as creative director for Maison Margiela marked his long-anticipated return to the fashion world – a moment that seemed nothing short of perfect. Galliano’s style, at once dramatic and playful, rich with theatricality and historical references, had found the ideal stage to express its full potential. Galliano was the natural successor to Martin Margiela: the faceless visionary who refused any public appearance, known for his artistic experimentation reminiscent of the poetics of 1960s conceptual art, and for creating one of the most eclectic and influential brands in contemporary fashion. The following ten years proved to be the ultimate confirmation of these premises. Galliano’s almost religious reverence for the maison’s legacy, blended with his unique artistic identity, elevated Margiela to one of the most celebrated fashion houses of all time. Each runway became a spectacle – a place where fashion, at once unconventional and baroque, reigned supreme as the undisputed protagonist.

Galliano’s departure, however, was anything but quiet. The haute couture show held this January under the Pont Alexandre III in Paris remains the fashion world’s most talked-about moment. Corsets and padded hips, vaporous hairstyles, and Pat McGrath’s now-iconic porcelain skin effect makeup dominated the runway. Critics were unanimous: this was John Galliano at his finest. The collection echoed his early days – a nod, perhaps, to his 1984 graduation show at Central Saint Martins, where French Revolutionary themes collided with Far Eastern influences.

What comes next for both Maison Margiela and John Galliano remains a mystery. Speculation, as always, abounds. But as Galliano himself wrote in his farewell letter, “When the time is right, all will be revealed.”