Condé Nast to Take Producer Role on Galliano Documentary

Recently, it was revealed that “The Last King of Scotland” director Kevin Macdonald was making a documentary on controversial British fashion designer John Galliano. What wasn’t mentioned is Condé Nast’s involvement in the project.

WWD understands that the Vogue publisher’s entertainment arm, Condé Nast Entertainment, which is run by former Disney executive Agnes Chu, is working on the project in a producer role. Anna Wintour, Condé’s chief content officer and global director of Vogue and a longtime booster of Galliano’s, is also involved to an extent, helping introduce the director to fashion contacts, especially in Paris. It’s not yet known if she’ll appear in the documentary, which is in its very early stages.

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Condé’s involvement is all part of CNE president Chu’s plan for the legacy magazine publisher’s entertainment arm to be taken seriously in Hollywood as creative producers. Instead of simply selling its intellectual property to a studio, she wants to be involved in the process from beginning to end. Previously, its main focus was short videos, like its popular Vogue’s “73 Questions” series.

The documentary film will cover the British designer’s career, including his current work at Maison Margiela, and is being financed independently through TF1 film studio in France. It is being produced by Macdonald through his own company in association with CNE and is expected to wrap in spring 2023.

As well as movies such as “The Last King of Scotland,” “The Mauritanian” and “State of Play,” Glasgow-born Macdonald has made a number of documentaries including “One Day in September” about the murder 11 Israeli athletes at Munich Olympics in 1972, for which he won an Oscar for best documentary. He has also directed documentaries on musicians Bob Marley and Whitney Houston.

In a statement on the documentary, Macdonald said: “John Galliano is one of the great designers of our era and an icon of style and creativity for Londoners of my generation. I first started talking to him during lockdown 2020 about the possibility of making a film exploring his work, his-at times-controversial personal life, and the complexities of his cultural legacy.”

Galliano is most famous for his 15-year tenure at Dior. He was ousted in 2011 after uttering racist and anti-Semitic insults in Paris. He subsequently sought treatment for his addictions and returned to fashion in 2014 as creative director of Maison Margiela.

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