John Galliano for Dior - Essay Example

John Galliano for Dior: A Public Relations Crisis Part Background Introduction The House of Dior was founded by designer Christian Dior who officially opened the doors of his business in 1947. Both haute couture and perfume was sold by the company from near its beginning, with Dior being named “The New Look” when his collections hit the public’s attention. The business expanded rapidly with a house opening in 1948 in New York, and agreements for opening houses in Canada, England, Cuba, Australia, Mexico, and Chile (92). However, the pressures of the business took its toll and in 1957, ten years after the House opened, Christian Dior died of a heart attack (Blaszczyk 92). In ten years Maison Dior had become one of the most powerful design houses in the industry with Seventh Ave depending on Dior to lead them in a mutually beneficial relationship. In 1957 the company was grossing 17 Million dollars per year, which increased to 22 million by 1958. Yves Saint Laurant, Dior’s handpicked Head Assistant became the head of Dior, but soon left after only six collections when he was called to join the French Army. He had taken up the reigns of the Dior house when he was only twenty-one years old (Blaszczyk 93). Although the design vision of the company has had to change through the transitions of designers over the years, the company pioneered a concept that secured its position in the fashion industry. According to Blaszczyk “Maison Dior’s achievement in the history of the fashion industry lies in the creation of a format for producing profits while continuing to operate the maison as a viable business for licensing” (105). What the House of Dior did was to create the first example of the power of branding and the idea of licensing was the foundation of how the profits for branding were established. Therefore, one of the most important aspects of the nature of the business is in the perceptions that the public holds for the name of Dior. This is why the crisis that occurred with John Galliano had to be handled with care and surgical precision. The House of Dior Christian Dior is currently owned by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, which is owned by Bernard Arnaul. Sidney Toledano, Dior Couture’s chief executive, and the board of directors were responsible for the decision to fire Galliano during the crisis (Saltmarsh). The demographics for Dior are wide and varied, depending on what branch of the company is being discussed. However, the core of the demographics are affluent with an upper class income, varying from those who buy from the runway and are represented by the elite to those with upper middle class incomes that can afford higher designer level prices. The House of Dior includes Miss Dior, which is geared towards the younger woman, J’dore, which is currently the perfume that is represented by Charlize Theron, and Diorskin Forever, their skincare line represented by Natalie Portman. Dior lines include accessories, jewelry, watches, baby wear, men’s wear, and of course, women’s wear (Dior). Dior represents glamour, wealth, and couture. The house has always strived to serve the elite of the world. Christian Dior, in defiance of a restriction on fabric during World War II, created pieces in his collection that uses as much as 20 yards of fabric (Blaszczyk 93). While this suggests a sense of social defiance during a time when people were needed to band together, it also represents a belief in the luxury of life and that to live in a restricted form is to limit the possibilities. Dior’s first releases also revolutionized the look of woman. He embraced the large breasts, small waist, and long silhouette with skirts that ended at mid-calf that now still have power in women’s wear creations. His company was run with smart business moves in mind, licensing the products in order to create lines that could extend the brand. Dior is a company to be admired for the products that they produce, the luxurious lifestyle that is the cornerstone of their brand, and the ingenious methods of business structures that helped to create a company that has lasted long past the early death of its originator. John Galliano The latest head designer for the company, John Galliano, created a media debacle that cost him his job. The lines of Dior depend on public image, the branding of the company being the most important asset in the survival of the firm. According to Saltmarsh, “Known as the ‘‘bad boy’’ of the fashion world for his flamboyant and provocative style, Mr. Galliano helped to energize Dior after he joined it in 1996 as creative director, increasing sales and making it a jewel of the LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton luxury-goods empire run by the French billionaire Bernard Arnaul”. The scandal was begun when Galliano began spouting racial derogatory remarks and video was taken of the event. The video surfaced through the website of the British tabloid The Sun in late February, creating a publicity nightmare for the company and resulting in Galliano’s release from his position. Galliano was filmed “declaring in a slurred voice that ‘‘I love Hitler’’ and that ‘‘people like you would be dead,’’ and ‘‘your mothers, your forefathers’’ would all be ‘‘gassed.” (Saltmarsh). Some of the fallout included a statement by Natalie Portman, who is of Jewish descent and had just signed to represent their perfume called Miss Dior Cherie, stated emphatically that she would have nothing to do with Galliano, choosing to wear a gown by Rodarte to the Academy Awards that occurred shortly after instead of the planned gown designed by Galliano. This was not the first time that Galliano had been accused of saying anti-Semitic comments, but it was the first time that proof other than from an eyewitness was available. Not only has Galliano lost his job, but it is illegal in France to make statements that are based upon racial hatred and Galliano has had legal problems in addition to losing his job. The bad publicity will follow his career where there are always a hundred talented designers waiting in the wings to take the place of someone who has abused their popularity. Part 2: Public Relations Managing the Crisis Analysis of the Events The nature of John Galliano has always provided for a risk for the company. Galliano must be considered for the talents of someone that is extraordinary, but with a mind that tends to be unpredictable and behaviors that label him as the ‘bad boy’ of fashion. These characteristics brought huge benefits in publicity when he was being adored for these traits, but created a set of circumstances that had the potential to set events in motion that could end up embarrassing the company. Galliano was a risk worth taking, but with the video of his inappropriate and illegal behavior, the crisis had to be dealt with swiftly and with precision. The only choice was to quickly divorce the company from Galliano and sever all ties with him in a very public hiring. The fact that Natalie Portman had signed an agreement with the company before the incident shed a favorable light on Dior because she was able to state in public that she would have nothing more to do with Galliano, creating a specific distinction between Galliano and Dior. She did not sever ties with Dior. However, LVMH had been put in the position to navigate the same type of events when Jean-Paul Guerlain, a ‘nose’ for the Guerlain perfumery which is also owned by LVMH had also made racial slurs on public television in 2010. The parent company, LVMH had put into place a no tolerance policy against racially hateful comments. Galliano was fired under those policies. However, the only real recourse at that point was to hire a crisis PR firm called Kekst which had worked for AIG during their financial crisis and Borders during their bankruptcy (X17: The Source). Galliano Crisis Management The crisis for Dior was swift as the focus of the outrage was positioned directly on Galliano. In managing the crisis, the first steps that Galliano had to perform were to take responsibility and be apologizing for the behavior. Unfortunately, his first public statement denied that he had behaved in this manner which was clearly refuted by the video (X17: The Source). His alternative would have been to use a share/diffuse method of stemming the crisis but as this would require a certain level of shared responsibility and an ability to diffuse the situation through diminishing its importance, this is not a possible avenue of management. The three most important aspects of managing this crisis where Galliano is concerned is tho apologize, take responsibility, then to try to find some way in which to prove that he was handling the problem through an external means. This would mean publically showing that he was taking steps to have his anger and drinking issues looked into through rehabilitation, therapy, or some other form of help from a professional outside resource. Another effective move would be to shift blame to an aspect of his behavior, thus separating it from his own belief systems. This could be in shifting the blame to an anger problem, a drinking problem, or some other treatable problem. This will divorce him from the statements to a degree, allowing some people to take pity on him for his problems Public Relations Plan In taking on the problem of the Galliano video, the first thing to do, which was done by Dior, would be to remove Galliano from having any further support from the company. This leaves Galliano out of the company umbrella and shifts the focus from the firm to the man. Galliano needed to be handled as well; however, Dior needed to be in control of his public appearances and his road to crisis management in order to best serve the needs of both the company and Galliano. Even though he would no longer be a member of the Dior Company, it would be in Galliano’s best interest to follow a plan that was managed by Dior to weather the storm. This would include sending him directly into rehab to manage his problems and to provide a public display of an attempt to change his behaviors. Theory The theories of crisis management that can best be used to manage this crisis is that of the idea that “in a process similar to analyzing fractal patterns, issues managers look for relationships between emerging social concerns and then seek correspondence between industry or organizational actions on a micro scale, and the social context on a macro scale” (Gilpin and Murphy 60). In looking at the Galliano problem, it is necessary to look at the social issues that are raised by the event which are not only those centered on the statements that he made. The statements that he made were foul, but the opportunity was available to assess his actions from the perspective of the abuse of alcohol, from social problems that are involved with hate commentaries, and from the perspective of what the company would do about those problems. Although their action was to divorce themselves from Galliano, the use of the opportunity would then be the secondary mission of the company so that they could show themselves as a socially relevant firm, active in global issues that are of concern. Gilpin and Murphy remind their readers that keeping the event in historical context is what is important in managing the event. Without keeping the relevancy of the event in historical context, any remedy will have no meaning. In keeping the meanings of the evoked historical event in context, Dior creates a powerful position against the belief systems that Galliano represented in his tirade. Through an understanding of how to respond, which in this case was to invoke a policy of no tolerance for such behaviors, Dior was able to stand on their integrity through the crisis, keeping the focus on Galliano and his behavior and keeping it separate from reflecting on the culture of the company. Works Cited Blaszczyk, Regina L. Producing Fashion: Commerce, Culture, and Consumers. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008. Print. Dior. 2011. Web. 2011. Gilpin, Dawn R, and Priscilla J. Murphy. Crisis Management in a Complex World. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print. Saltmarsh, Matthew. Dior Fires John Galliano After Bigotry Complaints. New York Times. 1 March 2011. Web. 17 November 2011. X17: The Source. Christian Dior Hires Crisis PR Firm after John Galliano Outburst. X17: The Source. 3 March 2011. Web. 16 November 2011. Read More