In a poignant comment on the trials and tribulations of the modern designer, John Galliano has been reduced to a puppet for a staged recreation of his post-slur interview on the Charlie Rose Show.

The performance comes courtesy of Vestoj magazine, a Paris-based annual bridging fashion and academics, to celebrate the launch of issue four and its theme of fashion and power. Says editor-in-chief Anja Aronowsky Cronberg, “What was remarkable about the interview Galliano gave on TV was the level to which it seemed manipulated, controlled, spin-doctored. The whole affair seemed shrouded in smoke and mirrors, like things in the fashion industry often are.”

The aim of the 20-minute puppet show is to explore who’s pulling the strings in this situation, who’s got control. Segments of the interview have been appropriated and restaged as a dialogue between Little John (played by puppeteer Raphaël Bouvet) and the interviewer Charlene Rose (Ruth Vega Fernandez). They occasionally break character to speak to the audience and explain their characters’ actions and motivations. Puppet-maker Etienne Bideau-Rey created Little John’s outfit based on the Napoleon garb that Galliano wore to take his bow at the spring 2007 Dior couture show.

The first performance of Little John Talks took place at Cité de la Mode, Paris. Two more shows are scheduled: December 10 at Silencio and February 4 at the London College of Fashion.

Videos by director Alexandre Senequier…