At Paris Fashion Week, disgraced designer John Galliano –who is now seeking help for his alcohol problems– didn’t hit the runway at the end of the Christian Dior show with his signature stance. Instead, the staff from the Dior ateliers in white lab coats took the final bow.

Meanwhile Galliano’s own show was underattended. And the clothes were astoundingly beautiful, as this photo demonstrates. That Galliano is sublimely talented is clear. But whether he can weather his stormy anti-Semitism screeds is another matter. Granted, there are vast number of people –famous and otherwise– who have said incredibly horrific things under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and regretted them deeply once sober.

One fashion insider who was in Paris for the shows, and asked to remain anonymous said they have never known the designer to be anti-Semitic and doesn’t believe he truly is, adding that in their belief

He was goaded, egged on and is very troubled…And I do feel that with the death of McQueen and now Galliano who may never work again, the brilliance of creativity is dimming in Paris.

But business is business.  And if art can redeem a sinner, and the market will bear it, Galliano may be back.

All photos: John Galliano, used with permission