Disgraced John Galliano to restart shattered career at top fashion house Maison Martin Margiela

PARIS - Disgraced British designer John Galliano is to restart his shattered career by taking over the creative direction of the fashion house Maison Martin Margiela, the label said on Monday, three years after he was sacked by Dior following a drunken anti-Semitic tirade in a Paris bar.

Galliano, 53, who spent nearly 15 years at Dior, is widely considered to be one of the most brilliant fashion minds of his generation.

He has been rarely seen since being convicted in September 2011 of anti-Semitism for hurling abuse at people in a bar in Paris' Jewish quarter.

The Paris criminal court found him guilty of proffering anti-Semitic insults in public - an offence under French law - on two occasions in February 2011 and October 2010.

Although he faced a maximum of six months in jail, he received a far lower sentence with suspended fines totalling 6,000 euros (S$9,676) after the court accepted he was sorry for his actions which he blamed on drink and drugs.

"Margiela is ready for a new charismatic, creative soul," Renzo Rosso, whose OTB group controls the house, told industry journal Women's Wear Daily.

"John Galliano is one of the greatest undisputed talents of all time - a unique exceptional couturier for a maison that has always challenged and innovated the world of fashion. I look forward to his return to create that fashion dream that only he can create," he added.