Galliano, McQueen are "fashion hooligans", Says Rabanne

British fashion designers Alexander McQueen and John Galliano may have made it to The Independent’s fashion power list, but as far as Spanish fashion designer Paco Rabanne is concerned, they’re “fashion hooligans”.

With Balmain, Balenciaga, Givenchy and others, you can once again see that vein of chic and elegance which had deserted the capital with the arrival of those fashion hooligans, Galliano and McQueen," he told an Intercontinental hotel magazine, referring to recent collections at those fashion houses.

And although he regards McQueen and Galiano as “extremely talented”, he thinks the provocative designs churned out by the two do not mesh with “the Parisian spirit”, and had turned many people off to Paris fashion.

What’s amusing about this is the fact that the 72-year old Rabanne is himself no stranger to provocative designs. He came up with futuristic designs using materials such as paper, plastic and metal, and his creations made of these have caused quite a stir some 40 years ago.