John Galliano was, of course, absent from the Christian Dior Fall 2011 fashion show on Friday, held at the Rodin Museum in Paris.

The collection turned out to be the designer's last for the iconic French label, after his recent public anti-Semitic rant (slammed by Natalie Portman a day after she won an Oscar). Amid an international uproar, the designer was dismissed by the label this week.

But the Dior show did go on, albeit with non-traditional twists.

Instead of a Fashion Week finale which would normally feature Galliano strutting down the runway, Dior brought out the atelier's huge army of master crafters -- dozens of seamstresses and pattern makers -- who crowded the stage in their white work coats as if to point out that one famous designer hardly builds a beautiful collection by himself.

And before a model even took her first step, a much more direct acknowledgement of Dior's leadership crisis opened the show. According to the New York Times, Dior's CEO Sidney Toledano, addressing the audience in French, read solemnly from a written statement that omitted Galliano's name while condemning his behavior.