John Galliano’s long run at Maison Margiela is coming to an end. The brand’s teams learned the news Wednesday, right before the holiday party—an announcement bound to set a certain mood for the night. Margiela has yet to confirm a successor, and Galliano, who steered the house for nearly a decade and injected it with his own irreverent perspective, remains silent on his next steps.
This departure hits a moment when the luxury landscape is shifting unpredictably. In recent months, names have shuffled at Chanel, Celine, Dries Van Noten, Bottega Veneta, Fendi, Alberta Ferretti, Missoni, and Helmut Lang. For Margiela’s parent company, OTB Group, this is another chapter in a year marked by change. OTB controls Diesel, Jil Sander, Marni, Viktor & Rolf, Staff International, and Brave Kid, and holds a stake in Amiri. Within the group’s luxury segment—anchored by Jil Sander, Maison Margiela, and Marni—sales surged nearly 18 percent this year at constant exchange rates, a clear signal of strong momentum across key markets.
While exact numbers remain under wraps, market talk pegs Margiela’s annual sales around the half-billion mark, buoyed by a network of directly owned boutiques and healthy online channels. Compare that to roughly a hundred million euros a decade ago—there’s no denying Margiela’s business soared under Galliano’s watch. Its eyewear hits, including high-demand drops with Gentle Monster that drew lines around the block, and a fragrance range that moves briskly, all factored into the brand’s upswing.
As Galliano steps away, Margiela stands at a crossroads. Its identity, shaped by him over the last ten years, continues to resonate, even as new leadership looms. The industry waits, watches, and wonders what’s next.
