Christian Dior’s Jewish chief executive Sidney Toledano has described designer John Galliano’s departure over alleged antisemitism as “an exceptional tragedy”.

The Dior show at Paris Fashion Week went ahead but John Galliano’s collection was shown without the presence of the designer who supervised it.

A catwalk show dedicated to Mr Galliano’s label scheduled for Sunday will not take place, although the work will be displayed at a presentation instead.

Mr Toledano, who sacked the British couturier on Tuesday after a video emerged of him declaring his love for Adolf Hitler, made the comments at the beginning of the Dior show at Paris’ Rodin museum.

He praised the “immense work” of those who had helped finish the collection in the wake of the controversy and said it was "deeply painful to see the Dior name associated with the disgraceful statements attributed to its designer."