Galliano: Spectacular Fashion 9781474277860, 9781474277877

Table of contents :
Introduction: The Genius of John Galliano
Early Days
1984 Graduation Show
Les Incroyables, BA Honours Degree show
1985 Spring/Summer
Afghanistan Repudiates Western Ideals
1985–86 Autumn/Winter
The Ludic Game
1985 The Courtelle Collection
The Courtelle Collection
1986 Spring/Summer
Fallen Angels
1986–87 Autumn/Winter
Forgotten Innocents
1987 Spring/Summer
Untitled (Panniers)
1987–88 Autumn/Winter
(The Rose)
1988 Spring/Summer
Blanche DuBois
1988–89 Autumn/Winter
(Hairclips)
1989 Spring/Summer
(Charles James)
1989–90 Autumn/Winter
Nancy Cunard
1990 Spring/Summer
(Greek widows, African football,50s cocktail)
1990–91 Autumn/Winter
(Fencing)
1991 Spring/Summer
Honcho Woman
1992 Spring/Summer
Josephine Bonaparte Meets Lolita
1993 Spring/Summer
Filibustiers
1994 Spring/Summer
Princess Lucretia
1994–95 Autumn/Winter
Black
1995 Spring/Summer
Misia Diva (Pin Up)
1995–96 Autumn/Winter
Dolores
1996 Spring/Summer
Galliano Ready-to-Wear L’École de Danse
The Move to Givenchy
1996 Spring/Summer
Givenchy Haute Couture The Princess and the Pea
1996–97 Autumn/Winter
Galliano Ready-to-Wear Baby Maker
Givenchy Ready-to-Wear Toreador
Givenchy Haute Couture Empress Josephine
1997 Spring/Summer
Galliano Ready-to-Wear A Russian Gypsy Named O’Flanneghan (Circus)
Givenchy Ready-to-Wear (Jane Austen goes to Marrakech)
Galliano Arrives at Dior
Dior Haute Couture Maasai
1997–98 Autumn/Winter
Dior Ready-to-Wear Dior’s Little Sweetheart Pin-Ups
Galliano Ready-to-Wear Suzy Sphinx
Dior Haute Couture The Edwardian Raj Princesses chez Dior or Mata Hari
1998 Spring/Summer
Dior Ready-to-Wear In a Boudoir Mood
Galliano Ready-to-Wear Haute Bohemia
Dior Haute Couture A Poetic Tribute to the Marchesa Casati
1998–99 Autumn/Winter
Dior Ready-to-Wear Sportswear on Heels
Galliano Ready-to-Wear Cabaret
Dior Haute Couture A Voyage on the Diorient Express or Princess Pocahontas
1999 Spring/Summer
Dior Ready-to-Wear (Communist/Constructivist)
Galliano Ready-to-Wear Ballets Russes
Dior Haute Couture Surrealism
1999–2000 Autumn/Winter
Dior Ready-to-Wear Sportswear
Galliano Ready-to-Wear (Maori)
Dior Haute Couture The New Generation or Matrix
2000 Spring/Summer
Dior Ready-to-Wear Logomania
Galliano Ready-to-Wear Music Icons
Dior Haute Couture Les Clochards or Homeless
2000–01 Autumn/Winter
Dior Ready-to-Wear Fly Girl
Galliano Ready-to-Wear Welcome to Our Playground
Dior Haute Couture Freud/Fetish
2001 Spring/Summer
Dior Ready-to-Wear Trailer-Park Chic
Galliano Ready-to-Wear Picasso
Dior Haute Couture Comic Strip Warriors
2001–02 Autumn/Winter
Dior Ready-to-Wear (Boxers, Boho & Rave)
Galliano Ready-to-Wear Techno-Romance
Dior Haute Couture Rebel Chic
2002 Spring/Summer
Dior Ready-to-Wear Street Chic
Galliano Ready-to-Wear (Africa)
Dior Haute Couture From Mongolia to Russia
2002–03 Autumn/Winter
Dior Ready-to-Wear Funky Folklore
Galliano Ready-to-Wear Esquimeau
Dior Haute Couture New Glamour
2003 Spring/Summer
Dior Ready-to-Wear Tough Chic
Galliano Ready-to-Wear Bollywood
Dior Haute Couture Hardcore Romance
2003–04 Autumn/Winter
Dior Ready-to-Wear Hardcore (Fetish and Japan)
Galliano Ready-to-Wear In the Mood
Dior Haute Couture Creating a New Dance
2004 Spring/Summer
Dior Ready-to-Wear Homage to Marlene
Galliano Ready-to-Wear Pretty Baby
Dior Haute Couture Egyptian
2004–05 Autumn/Winter
Dior Ready-to-Wear (Teddy Boys & Poiret)
Galliano Ready-to-Wear Mapping the World
Dior Haute Couture Empress Sissi/Zsa Zsa Gabor
2005 Spring/Summer
Dior Ready-to-Wear The Latest Blonde
Galliano Ready-to-Wear Too Rich Too Walk
Dior Haute Couture Edie Sedgwick Meets Empress Josephine
2005–06 Autumn/Winter
Dior Ready-to-Wear Off Duty Icons
Galliano Ready-to-Wear Renée
Dior Haute Couture Monsieur Dior’s 100th Birthday Anniversary
2006 Spring/Summer
Dior Ready-to-Wear Nude
Galliano Ready-to-Wear Everybody’s Beautiful
Dior Haute Couture The Passion
2006–07 Autumn/Winter
Dior Ready-to-Wear Gothic Chic
Galliano Ready-to-Wear Gothic Americana
Dior Haute Couture Planet Botticelli
2007 Spring/Summer
Dior Ready-to-Wear Back to Basics
Galliano Ready-to-Wear The Work of Fabergé, As Seen Through the Eyes of Jeff Koons and Roy Lichtenstein
Dior Haute Couture Madame Butterfly
2007–08 Autumn/Winter
Dior Ready-to-Wear (Return to Luxury)
Galliano Ready-to-Wear The Family That Eats Together, Stays Together
The Death of Steven Robinson
Dior Haute Couture Le Bal des Artistes
2008 Spring/Summer
Dior Ready-to-Wear Gangster Girls
Galliano Ready-to-Wear It’s All in the Stars/Grey Gardens
Dior Haute Couture Madame X & Klimt
2008–09 Autumn/Winter
Dior Ready-to-Wear Pure Glamour
Galliano Ready-to-Wear Pleasure Dome
Dior Haute Couture Contemporary Couture
2009 Spring/Summer
Dior Ready-to-Wear Tribal Chic
Galliano Ready-to-Wear British
Dior Haute Couture Flemish Old Masters
2009–10 Autumn/Winter
Dior Ready-to-Wear Orientalist
Galliano Ready-to-Wear Ukrainian Brides
Dior Haute Couture Cabine Fever
2010 Spring/Summer
Dior Ready-to-Wear Film Noir
Galliano Ready-to-Wear (Silver Screen)
Dior Haute Couture Equestrienne/Charles James
2010–11 Autumn/Winter
Dior Ready-to-Wear The Seduction of the Libertine
Galliano Ready-to-Wear (Nomadic Tribal Princesses)
Dior Haute Couture Floral Line
2011 Spring/Summer
Dior Ready-to-Wear South Pacific
Galliano Ready-to-Wear Portrait of the Muse
Dior Haute Couture René Gruau
2011–12 Autumn/Winter
Dior Ready-to-Wear (English Romantic Poets)
Galliano Ready-to-Wear (Untitled)
Renaissance
Galliano and Maison Margiela
Margiela Artisanal collection 2015 Spring/Summer
credits
index

Citation preview

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BLOOMSBURY VISUAL ARTS Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP, UK 1385 Broadway, New York, NY 10018, USA BLOOMSBURY, BLOOMSBURY VISUAL ARTS and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc First published in Great Britain 2020 Copyright © Kerry Taylor Auctions Ltd, 2020 Kerry Taylor Auctions Ltd has asserted its right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as copyright holder of this work. For legal purposes the Acknowledgements on p. 7 constitute an extension of this copyright page. Cover design by Adriana Brioso Cover image: John Galliano for the Christian Dior Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2000. (© JEAN-PIERRE MULLER/AFP/Getty Images) All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc does not have any control over, or responsibility for, any third-party websites referred to or in this book. All internet addresses given in this book were correct at the time of going to press. The author and publisher regret any inconvenience caused if addresses have changed or sites have ceased to exist, but can accept no responsibility for any such changes. Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and to obtain their permission for the use of copyright material. If any have been inadvertently overlooked, the publishers will be pleased to make the necessary arrangement at the first opportunity. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN: HB: 978-1-4742-7784-6 ePDF: 978-1-4742-7787-7 eBook: 978-1-4742-7785-3 Typeset by Lachina Creative, Inc. To find out more about our authors and books visit www.bloomsbury.com and sign up for our newsletters.

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The Collections

Introduction: The Genius of John Galliano  9

table of contents

Early Days  11 1984 Graduation Show: Les Incroyables, BA Honours Degree show   14 1985 Spring/Summer: Afghanistan Repudiates Western Ideals  20 1985–86 Autumn/Winter: The Ludic Game  23 1985 The Courtelle Collection  28 1986 Spring/Summer: Fallen Angels  29 1986–87 Autumn/Winter: Forgotten Innocents  35 1987 Spring/Summer: Untitled (Panniers)  41 1987–88 Autumn/Winter: (The Rose)  45 1988 Spring/Summer: Blanche DuBois  50 1988–89 Autumn/Winter: (Hairclips)  54 1989 Spring/Summer: (Charles James)  58 1989–90 Autumn/Winter: Nancy Cunard  63 1990 Spring/Summer: (Greek widows, African football, 50s cocktail)  68 1990–91 Autumn/Winter: (Fencing)  72 1991 Spring/Summer: Honcho Woman  77 1992 Spring/Summer: Josephine Bonaparte Meets Lolita  82 1993 Spring/Summer: Filibustiers  87 1994 Spring/Summer: Princess Lucretia  92 1994–95 Autumn/Winter: Black  98 1995 Spring/Summer: Misia Diva (Pin Up)  103 1995–96 Autumn/Winter: Dolores  109 1996 Spring/Summer Galliano Ready-to-Wear: L’École de Danse  114

The Move to Givenchy  118 1996 Spring/Summer 120 Givenchy Haute Couture: The Princess and the Pea  120 1996–97 Autumn/Winter 124 Galliano Ready-to-Wear: Baby Maker  124 Givenchy Ready-to-Wear: Toreador  127 Givenchy Haute Couture: Empress Josephine  130 1997 Spring/Summer 135 Galliano Ready-to-Wear: A Russian Gypsy Named O’Flanneghan (Circus)  135 Givenchy Ready-to-Wear: (Jane Austen goes to Marrakech)  138

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Galliano Arrives at Dior  141 Dior Haute Couture: Maasai  142 1997–98 Autumn/Winter 147 Dior Ready-to-Wear: Dior’s Little Sweetheart Pin-Ups 147 Galliano Ready-to-Wear: Suzy Sphinx  149 Dior Haute Couture: The Edwardian Raj Princesses chez Dior or Mata Hari  153 1998 Spring/Summer 156 Dior Ready-to-Wear: In a Boudoir Mood  156 Galliano Ready-to-Wear: Haute Bohemia  158 Dior Haute Couture: A Poetic Tribute to the Marchesa Casati  161 1998–99 Autumn/Winter 166 Dior Ready-to-Wear: Sportswear on Heels  166 Galliano Ready-to-Wear: Cabaret  169 Dior Haute Couture: A Voyage on the Diorient Express or Princess Pocahontas  172 1999 Spring/Summer 176 Dior Ready-to-Wear: (Communist/ Constructivist) 176 Galliano Ready-to-Wear: Ballets Russes  178 Dior Haute Couture: Surrealism  180 1999–2000 Autumn/Winter 183 Dior Ready-to-Wear: Sportswear  183 Galliano Ready-to-Wear: (Maori)  186 Dior Haute Couture: The New Generation or Matrix 189 2000 Spring/Summer 192 Dior Ready-to-Wear: Logomania  192 Galliano Ready-to-Wear: Music Icons  195 Dior Haute Couture: Les Clochards or Homeless 198 2000–01 Autumn/Winter 202 Dior Ready-to-Wear: Fly Girl  202 Galliano Ready-to-Wear: Welcome to Our Playground 205 Dior Haute Couture: Freud/Fetish  208 2001 Spring/Summer 212 Dior Ready-to-Wear: Trailer-Park Chic  212 Galliano Ready-to-Wear: Picasso  214 Dior Haute Couture: Comic Strip Warriors  217

2001–02 Autumn/Winter 220 Dior Ready-to-Wear: (Boxers, Boho & Rave)  220 Galliano Ready-to-Wear: Techno-Romance  223 Dior Haute Couture: Rebel Chic  225 2002 Spring/Summer 228 Dior Ready-to-Wear: Street Chic  228 Galliano Ready-to-Wear: (Africa)  231 Dior Haute Couture: From Mongolia to Russia 233 2002–03 Autumn/Winter 236 Dior Ready-to-Wear: Funky Folklore  236 Galliano Ready-to-Wear: Esquimeau  238 Dior Haute Couture: New Glamour  240 2003 Spring/Summer 243 Dior Ready-to-Wear: Tough Chic  243 Galliano Ready-to-Wear: Bollywood  245 Dior Haute Couture: Hardcore Romance  248 2003–04 Autumn/Winter 251 Dior Ready-to-Wear: Hardcore (Fetish and Japan) 251 Galliano Ready-to-Wear: In the Mood  254 Dior Haute Couture: Creating a New Dance  257 2004 Spring/Summer 260 Dior Ready-to-Wear: Homage to Marlene  260 Galliano Ready-to-Wear: Pretty Baby  262 Dior Haute Couture: Egyptian  264 2004–05 Autumn/Winter 267 Dior Ready-to-Wear: (Teddy Boys & Poiret)  267 Galliano Ready-to-Wear: Mapping the World  270 Dior Haute Couture: Empress Sissi/Zsa Zsa Gabor 272 2005 Spring/Summer 275 Dior Ready-to-Wear: The Latest Blonde  275 Galliano Ready-to-Wear: Too Rich Too Walk  277 Dior Haute Couture: Edie Sedgwick Meets Empress Josephine 279 2005–06 Autumn/Winter 282 Dior Ready-to-Wear: Off Duty Icons  282 Galliano Ready-to-Wear: Renée  284 Dior Haute Couture: Monsieur Dior’s 100th Birthday Anniversary  286

4   Table of Contents

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2006 Spring/Summer 290 Dior Ready-to-Wear: Nude  290 Galliano Ready-to-Wear: Everybody’s Beautiful 292 Dior Haute Couture: The Passion  295

2009–10 Autumn/Winter 345 Dior Ready-to-Wear: Orientalist  345 Galliano Ready-to-Wear: Ukrainian Brides  347 Dior Haute Couture: Cabine Fever  349

2006–07 Autumn/Winter 298 Dior Ready-to-Wear: Gothic Chic  298 Galliano Ready-to-Wear: Gothic Americana  300 Dior Haute Couture: Planet Botticelli  302

2010 Spring/Summer 353 Dior Ready-to-Wear: Film Noir  353 Galliano Ready-to-Wear: (Silver Screen)  355 Dior Haute Couture: Equestrienne/ Charles James  358

2007 Spring/Summer 305 Dior Ready-to-Wear: Back to Basics  305 Galliano Ready-to-Wear: The Work of Fabergé, As Seen Through the Eyes of Jeff Koons and Roy Lichtenstein 307 Dior Haute Couture: Madame Butterfly  309

2010–11 Autumn/Winter 361 Dior Ready-to-Wear: The Seduction of the Libertine 361 Galliano Ready-to-Wear: (Nomadic Tribal Princesses) 363 Dior Haute Couture: Floral Line  365

2007–08 Autumn/Winter 314 Dior Ready-to-Wear: (Return to Luxury)  314 Galliano Ready-to-Wear: The Family That Eats Together, Stays Together  317 The Death of Steven Robinson  319 Dior Haute Couture: Le Bal des Artistes  320

2011 Spring/Summer 368 Dior Ready-to-Wear: South Pacific  368 Galliano Ready-to-Wear: Portrait of the Muse  370 Dior Haute Couture: René Gruau  373 2011–12 Autumn/Winter 376 Dior Ready-to-Wear: (English Romantic Poets)  376 Galliano Ready-to-Wear: (Untitled)  378

2008 Spring/Summer 324 Dior Ready-to-Wear: Gangster Girls  324 Galliano Ready-to-Wear: It’s All in the Stars/Grey Gardens 326 Dior Haute Couture: Madame X & Klimt  328

Renaissance 380

2008–09 Autumn/Winter 330 Dior Ready-to-Wear: Pure Glamour  330 Galliano Ready-to-Wear: Pleasure Dome  332 Dior Haute Couture: Contemporary Couture  334

Credits 383 Index 387

Margiela: Margiela Artisanal collection Spring/ Summer 2015  380

2009 Spring/Summer 337 Dior Ready-to-Wear: Tribal Chic  337 Galliano Ready-to-Wear: British  339 Dior Haute Couture: Flemish Old Masters  342

Names in brackets are unofficial working titles

Table of Contents   5

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acknowledgements

I would like to express my gratitude to the lecturers and archivists at Central Saint Martins: Howard Tangye, Bobby Hillson, Anna Buruma and Alistair O’Neill. Thanks also to collectors and makers who allowed access to their personal archives – Steven Philip, Hamish Bowles, Iain R. Webb, Matthew Greer, Slim Barrett and Mark Walsh. I am indebted to those who shared their memories of working/collaborating with John Galliano: Johann Brun, Paul Frecker, Gail Downey, Tom Mannion, Neil Mersh, Deborah Andrews, Mark Mattock, Vanessa Newman, William Casey, Bouke de Vries, Dovanna Pagowski, William Casey, Patrick Cox, Lorraine Piggott, Sue Bottjer, Karen Crichton, Ian Bibby, Luiven Rivas-Sanchez, Patricia Belford, Hannah Woodhouse, Stephen Jones, Limpet Barron O’Connor, Maria Lemos, Julie Verhoeven, Danda Jaroljmek, Lars Nilsson, Katell le Bourhis, and the late Michael Howells. Special thanks to Olivier Bialobos, Jérôme Gautier, Philippe Le Moult and Dior Héritage for allowing me access to their archives – in particular, Soizic Pfaff and Solène Auréal-Lamy. Special thanks also to Yoox Net-A-Porter Group, Tara Tierney and Felicia Scicluna for providing access to the Runway Show Collection and archives of Galliano (1985–2010) and Dior (1997–2010) catwalk shows, interviews and backstage footage. Thanks to the Givenchy archive, and to Brett Croft at Condé Nast for allowing access to the Vogue archive. I am particularly grateful for the access to the Bloomsbury Fashion Photography Archive, which was invaluable, as was the encouragement and support of my Bloomsbury editors Lee Ripley and Frances Arnold. Thank you to Alex Dives who originally suggested me for this project. This book would never have got off the ground without the support of my colleagues Kate Osborn and Lucy Bishop; research assistants Waleria Dorogova and Alex Baddeley; and Olga Kott for studio photography. Thank you also to museums, archivists, dealers and auction rooms who kindly shared images with me: Jorge Yarur at Museo de la Moda, Brigitte Pellereau at Patrimoine John Galliano, Marilyn Glass, Resurrection Vintage Archive, Roger Vale and Brian Purdy, Cheryl Vick/MRS Couture, Cris Consignment, Gregory Chester, Doyle, Sotheby’s, and Tennants Auctioneers. Final thanks to my husband Paul Mack for his patience and forbearance whilst I switched off from daily life and became engrossed in the creative genius of John Galliano.

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A portrait of John Galliano from 1985 by Tom Mannion dressed in Ludic Game pieces.

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Introduction: The Genius of John Galliano There is something special about a Galliano garment – it could be the shape of a lapel, the curve of a sleeve, the play with proportions or the combination of unusual fabrics. It was at Dior that Galliano was given free reign to indulge his fantasies and ideas, which resulted in some of the most spectacular clothing ever to grace the Paris catwalks. Galliano is something of an alchemist, taking fabrics and transforming them into the most magical, romantic or cutting-edge fashions. Not only were the clothes spectacular – so were the shows. Weeks in advance, curiosity was piqued, the scene set and the fashion-fable behind the collection narrated when an intriguing invitation dropped through the mailbox. These included Victorian books with handwritten notes, tea-stained treasure maps, records, ballet slippers with tin whistles, Russian dolls and rusty keys with antiquated script tags. The “happenings” began with his degree show as his friends “stormed” up and down the St Martins catwalks dressed as Incroyables charging the barricades. Over the decades there were to be many great fashion moments, including Kate Moss, memorable as his Princess Lucretia fleeing imaginary wolves in a large swaying crinoline; the intimate miseen-scène created for his exquisite Black collection with just eighteen looks, where the models snaked through Sao Schlumberger’s eighteenth-century

hôtel particulier in borrowed diamonds; the outrageous lavishness of the Diorient Express, which included a real steam train, acres of orange sand and Moroccan tents; and the romantic beauty of “A Poetic Tribute to the Marchesa Casati”, staged at the Opéra Garnier, with a finale of fluttering paper butterflies cascading from the gilded ceilings. Over the years I have been frustrated at the lack of accurate information about this important and influential designer, despite the fact that he was made British Fashion Designer of the year four times, was awarded a CBE and also the Légion d’Honneur. In the past, Galliano’s early years (pre-internet) were often mis-catalogued even by prestigious museums. It became my mission to research each collection, to examine original garments where possible, note the key design features and record the changes in labelling with the passage of time. I hope this finished work will be of aid to collectors, museums and Galliano fans alike. For the early, London-based collections, I was privileged to meet and interview many of the people who worked alongside him in the studio. During the 1980s it was possible to produce collections with relatively small fabric orders using outworker machinists, when Galliano himself pressed the clothes ready for dispatch to the shops. How times have changed. In a sense, Galliano’s career reflects the changes in the fashion industry itself from something akin to a cottage industry to the multi-billion-dollar brands of today.

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Galliano in his role as Creative Director during the 2000s produced twelve collections a year: Dior haute couture spring and fall, plus Galliano and Dior ready-to-wear for both seasons, additional pre-collections, cruise collections and, from 2004, Galliano menswear. Galliano’s keen eye ensured that the stores, marketing, shops, perfume, handbags, shoes and jewellery reflected the “look” of each collection. Of course, Galliano didn’t achieve this all by himself. Even as a student Galliano surrounded himself with good people, and throughout his career he collaborated with some of the best in the business, including Amanda Harlech, Steven Robinson, Stephen Jones, Nick Knight, Michael Howells, Julien D’Ys, Pat McGrath and Patrick Cox, to name just a

few. Even with a team of talented, skilled individuals, his workload during the 2000s was extreme by any standards. Over many decades working as a specialist fashion auctioneer, I have been well-placed to handle numerous important garments both inside and out from all the greats – including Charles Frederick Worth, Paul Poiret, Madeleine Vionnet, Elsa Schiaparelli, Gabrielle Chanel, Christian Dior and Cristobal Balenciaga, to name but a few. In my opinion, John Galliano richly deserves his place alongside them in the pantheon of true Fashion Masters of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Spectacular Fashion is a tribute to the creative output and rollercoaster career of this fashion genius.

Fashion sketch by Galliano when a student at St Martins, 1982.

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Early Days John Charles Galliano was born in Gibraltar on 28 November 1960. As a child his daily trip to school was exotic – taken by boat via Tangiers due to a long-standing dispute between Gibraltar and its neighbour Spain. The smell of spices, the colours and textures of North African and Spanish textiles were to leave a lasting impression, influencing colour palettes for his collections in years to come. “I think all that – the souks, the markets, woven fabrics, the carpets, the smells, the herbs, the Mediterranean colour, is where my love of textiles comes from.” Interview with Susannah Frankel, Independent, 20 February 1999

However, when Galliano was six years old, the blue skies of Gibraltar were swapped for the grey skies of London as the family moved to the UK in search of a good education and better prospects for the children. He was the middle child of three, with sisters Rose Marie (five years older) and Maria Immacula (three years younger). His father John Joseph was a skilled plumber. They moved initially to Streatham before finally settling in East Dulwich, South London. The house was a spacious Edwardian three-storey brick terrace situated near good primary schools, with the St Thomas More RC church at the top of the hill. It was a traditional Roman Catholic upbringing, with church on Sundays, altar boy duties and a pristine white suit for his First Holy Communion (which was later to inspire his designs). His stylish Spanish-born mother Ana, née Guillen Ruida (but known to all as Anita), always made sure that the family was smartly turned out and taught her son to dance flamenco. The change of country must have been something of a culture shock, but Galliano’s mother strove to inject a little Mediterranean culture into their everyday London lives through the colours and clothes she wore and the meals that she cooked for them. “When we moved to London, my mother brought it all with us. Even the music. She had a big influence on the way I look at the world and the way I dress people . . . We were dressed as well as my mother could dress us for any event, even if it was just to go to the corner shop . . . That was very Spanish.” Michael Specter, “Fantasist” article, The New Yorker, 22 September 2003

In the 1970s, all of the good secondary schools in Dulwich were of the expensive fee-paying type, so at age eleven he sat the common entrance exam and won a place at the state-run Wilson’s Grammar School for Boys in nearby Camberwell. He was particularly gifted at languages and art, but disliked the school, where he suffered bullying from the other boys and harsh discipline from the teachers. “I don’t think people here understood where I was coming from and I certainly didn’t understand where they were coming from . . . They were Church of England. I was Roman Catholic. That’s a big difference, you know.” Interview with Susannah Frankel, Independent, 20 February 1999

Galliano left the school at the age of sixteen and moved to the City of East London College to study O-level and A-level languages with art as just a subsidiary subject. His natural sketching ability was spotted by his teachers, who advised him to drop languages, put together a portfolio and apply to St Martins School of Art to pursue an art foundation course. From the moment he started at St Martins, he loved it. “It met all my expectations and more. Suddenly, I was surrounded by like-minded people – really creative. I had come from an all-boys school and now there were girls as well as boys – really cool people and I started to let my hair down. It was a traditional art school and you were encouraged to move around and try all the different fields.” In conversation with Alexandra Schulman, Vogue Festival, 2015

Howard Tangye, his drawing tutor at St Martins, said of him: “It was in his first year that I met John and he immediately stood out to me as a huge talent. I was a relatively young teacher and I was very impressed by this ‘gift’ he had. The way I teach is about looking at the real body and its proportions. Always work from life. No making it up. Clothes look great in movement, on the body. When drawing the clothes, I’m looking for the body/bones underneath. Drawing also helps students get their ideas out of their heads – not just for illustration, but to exploit their ideas for design. John had/has a complete understanding or feeling for drawing. He demonstrated beautifully that he could use line to define form, silhouette, detail, proportion. They were beautiful drawings. When he went on to show his fashion collections, I felt he was still drawing but his medium was now fabric. It’s a bit like sculpture – he understood form – fabric cut, structure, weight.” Interview with the author, July 2016

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John Flett, also a student at St. Martins skilled at cutting and construction, and John Galliano became inseparable. Bobby Hillson, head of the MA course at St Martins at the time remembers, “They influenced each other. They were both equally talented and were marvellous together.” Interview with the author, July 2016

But of Galliano she said, “John was hugely talented but he had a capacity for hard work – really passionate. Talent isn’t everything, you also have to have the tenacity to stick at it and he did.” Interview with the author, July 2016

During his student years, he didn’t receive a student grant, and lived at home with his family. To earn a little extra money, he worked in the evenings as a dresser at the National Theatre on London’s South Bank. His duty was to prepare the costumes for the actors. “I was always on time. The clothes were always clean. If it was a period piece, the Eton collars were chalkwhite, things had been pressed, moleskin top hats would be smoothed with the oil of my own hands, I would be in the right place at the right time even if it meant lying under a fucking stage for two hours until the actor made his entrance. I worked with Judi Dench, Sir Ralph Richardson, and they were people who taught me very much about bodies and clothes. And how they commanded their space.” Interview with Michael Specter, “Fantasist” article, The New Yorker, 22 September 2003

Working in the theatre was also to prove influential in understanding historic dress, construction and how clothes were actually worn, as well as the presence and command of an actor on stage and the space an actor inhabited. This was to be crucial when prompting his models to act on the catwalks in later years and for staging his spectacular shows. Other valuable work experience was gained by student placements at Tommy Nutter on Savile Row and Stephen Marks, the brains behind French Connection. It wasn’t all work. The club scene in 1980s London was also highly influential not only on street fashion but on the young Galliano in particular. Punk

was dead, and “The New Romantics” were in. Out went the safety pins and bondage pants and in came swashbuckling frilled pirate shirts or avant-garde minimalist ensembles by the likes of Willie Brown or Chrissie Walsh. The club-goers mixed vintage, Westwood and homemade creations, finished off with lashings of makeup for all genders. Galliano’s favourite hangout was the “Taboo” club (1985–86), which took place on Thursday nights at Maximus in Leicester Square until the police closed it down. It was MC’d by the outrageous legendary Australian-born performance artist, the late Leigh Bowery, who told punters, “Dress as though your life depends on it or don’t bother.” Inside the club there was an amazing coming together of creative forces from the worlds of film, music and, of course, fashion. Boy George, by now a successful pop star and regular habitué of the club, said, “The fabulous side of Taboo was dressing up and dancing like no one was watching you. He (Leigh Bowery) liked to create chaos around him, and with Taboo he created a scene where there were no rules. Of course there was still a fascist door policy. Some of the door bitches like Mark Vaultier would hold a mirror up to punters and say, ‘Would you let yourself in?” Boy George interview with Mark Ronson, 20 January 2009

It was his lecturer Sheridan Barnett who finally persuaded John to turn his fabulous sketches into actual garments. During the day Galliano studied hard, spending hours in the college library sketching or in the archives of the Victoria & Albert Museum researching the construction of late eighteenth-century dress in readiness for his final degree show collection. For authenticity, he sometimes sketched by candlelight using a calligraphy pen on paper stained with tea. However, even up until the moment that the degree show took place, John still believed that his future lay in fashion illustration and had been accepted for a job in New York. He also asked Bobby Hillson whether, if things didn’t work out, she would accept him onto her course. She told him not to worry because she was “sure it wouldn’t come to that” (interview with the author, July 2016).

12  Introduction: The Genius of John Galliano

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Fashion sketch c. 1982, part of a St Martins college project, which illustrates young Galliano’s sensitivity and skills as a draughtsman.

Introduction: The Genius of John Galliano   13

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1984 Graduation Show

Les Incroyables, BA Honours Degree show June 1984, shown at 12 noon, 2 pm and 4 pm Jubilee Hall, Covent Garden 10 looks Incroyable sketch that Galliano was encouraged to turn into threedimensional fashion by his lecturers. The attached penny was given to him by his father.

First ever label.

“The talent was just so obvious. You know when you see something – and it’s very rare – where the talent is just shining through.” Sally Brampton of the Observer, who witnessed the show

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Galliano took inspiration for his degree show from French post-revolutionary fashionistas – many of them the offspring of guillotined aristocrats. In 1794 “The Reign of Terror” came to an end with the execution of Robespierre, one of its most brutal and radical protagonists. The mood in Paris had changed; decadence and luxury once more became part of the Paris scene. A group of arrogant and outrageous young men, the “Incroyables”, and their female counterparts “Les Merveilleuses” took to the streets in extreme fashions. Frock coats and waistcoats had exaggerated angular collars and large ornate buttons, worn with tall cravat-like neck stocks. Accessories included tall silver-topped canes, spyglasses and outlandish hats. These early fashionistas fascinated Galliano, who spent days in the college library obsessively researching them as well as making trips to the Victoria & Albert Museum to examine garments of the period and their construction. In the lead-up to the show, Galliano sewed the garments himself, assisted by his talented boyfriend John Flett and fellow students Deborah Andrews (neé Bulleid) and Hamish Bowles, who helped sew on buttons. Bobby Hillson recalled,

Charcoal grey, dove-grey and navy herringbone­ weave wool furnishing fabrics were used because they were cheap. The brightly coloured waistcoats were made from a mixture of striped and patterned brocades sourced from an upholsterer’s in Kensington High St, contrasted with sprigged calicos. These were cut high and loose, some left open at the back. The billowing ivory shirts were made from filmy, transparent organza cut along eighteenth-century lines in a simple T-shape with

“John had a way of attracting people to him – he always had lots of helpers; he was good at making them feel involved.” Interview with the author, July 2016

This was a trait that was to endure throughout his career: always working with the best people in a tight-knit team. Galliano’s enduring attention to detail was first witnessed in Les Incroyables. The interior seams of the coats were finished so they could be worn insideout if so desired. The buttons were formed from old British pennies, which had been left in bowls of salt to help them age/oxidize to produce just the right verdigris tinge. Galliano was later advised to remove them and to use plastic buttons or foreign coins as it’s illegal to deface an image of the Queen! The Incroyables coats were cut in outsized kimono shapes with contrasting printed or striped silk facings to the exaggerated lapels and poacher-pockets.

Incroyable coat with pocket flaps lined in chintz, the hems inset with buttonholes so the skirts could be pulled up in a variety of ways.

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elongated sleeves and double length cuffs, which were worn open and showing below the coat sleeves with large bow-tied cravats. These retailed at Browns for £150. These were worn with longjohn–style knitted cotton jersey breeches. The look was completed with accessories, including striped rayon tri-colour sashes in muted shades of ivory, cinnamon and mauve; revolutionary rosettes pinned onto burgundy wool knitted headbands; and broken spy glasses and pocket watches suspended on ribbons and long wooden staffs. Models wore knee-high riding boots or leather shoes with flounced leather edges and large self-bows, which were made to Galliano’s design by Trevor Hill. There were three presentations of the students’ work throughout the day. Galliano thought the first showing went well, but was confused to find he had been placed in the last spot for the second, not realising that the lecturers always liked to end with the strongest collection. By the third showing, news had spread and people were fighting to find seats.

The ensembles were unisex and the models were selected from fellow students, clubbing friends and friends of friends who had done a bit of modelling or had the right “look”. They included (now leading stylist) Camilla Nickerson, Paul Frecker (stylist and late nineteenth-century photograph dealer), Barry Kamen (model and artist) and Lorraine Piggott (who had worked for Vivienne Westwood and later went on to be Galliano’s studio manager). The first showing of the day was total chaos with models randomly charging around the catwalk, barging into one another. Paul Frecker recalled they didn’t have a clue what to do: “John gave us the mood – he wanted us to storm the barricades. He told us to be fierce and bold and charge up and down” (interview with the author), which they duly did – but for the second and third shows, Frecker choreographed them so they emerged in more orderly pairs, converging at the end to tumultuous applause and a standing ovation. It was a real fashion “moment”.

Paul Frecker and Camilla Nickerson leading the charge, with white mascara and make-up done by a girl called China.

16  1984 Graduation Show

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Lecturer Bobby Hillson and Joan Burstein (proprietor of influential, cutting-edge retailer Browns, of South Molton St) had their reserved seats taken by students and ended up standing on a platform to one side. However, the view was obviously not too obscured, as after the show finished Mrs. Burstein went backstage and announced “I’ll have it all,” purchasing the entire collection (author interview with Bobby Hillson, July 2016). The brief catwalk show launched Galliano’s career as he was proclaimed THE hot new talent. Overnight he went from student to designer and found himself catapulted into a business for which he was unprepared. “At St Martins they had something called the ‘Business Game’, which was the last two days of your degree so I didn’t go – and not many people did. I had to learn the hard way. I had to learn very quickly.” Interview with Alexandra Schulman, Vogue Festival, 2015

Galliano couldn’t afford the cost of even a taxi to deliver the collection, so next day he wheeled the rail of clothes down Oxford Street to Browns’ chic boutique on South Molton Street. Mrs. Burstein gave him the entire front window, and one of the first customers was Diana Ross, who purchased an Incroyable coat. The collection quickly sold out, so she advanced money so Galliano could buy more fabric. With the help of friends, he turned his home in Dulwich into a mini-factory, with fabrics cut out on the kitchen table and a sewing machine in the front room.

Years later Galliano said of this collection, “It completely overtook me. I still love it. I love the romance, you know, charging through cobbled streets in all that amazing organdie. There are a lot of things in that collection that still haunt me.” Interview with Susannah Frankel, Independent, 20 February 1999

Amanda Grieve and Madame Butterfly Just after his degree show, Galliano made a crucial, life-altering contact: Amanda Grieve (who later became Lady Harlech upon her marriage to Francis Ormsby-Gore, the sixth Baron Harlech, in 1986). Grieve became his most influential collaborator in these important, early years. At the time, she was working as Junior Fashion Editor at Harpers & Queen, but also did freelance styling work. Having heard of Galliano’s Incroyables collection, she sought him out and invited him for afternoon tea, which lasted until 1.00 am. He took sketchbooks, swatches of fabrics and myriad ideas to share with her. It was a meeting of kindred spirits.

As demand increased, the team worked day and night; the garment sections were delivered by his father to machinist outworkers scattered across London to be made up. The finished garments were collected and returned to Galliano for pressing before packaging up and dispatching to Browns. These garments, if labelled, bear a simple printed satin ribbon with his name in brown lettering. Although pieces from this collection are scarce, waistcoats occasionally appear at auction (these were popular sellers as they were more easily incorporated into a 1980s wardrobe), but the coats, in particular, are rare.

Madame Butterfly album cover.

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Amanda Grieve wearing Ludic Game pieces c. 1985.

Grieve recalls, “Suddenly it was someone who was talking, speaking the same language as me. And my feelings were: ‘I don’t want to let him go, I can’t possibly exist without him,’ because he electrified everything that I had felt. Here was the stuff that I dreamt of.” Interview with Alexander Fury, 22 January 2012

She asked Galliano if he would help her style the record sleeve of Malcolm McLaren’s 1984 adaption of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly. They adorned a huge oriental fan with torn-out fragments from the Chinese Morning Post and dribbled gold and red paint over it, Chinese calligraphy–style. Grieve said that it was a “beautiful, fragile ephemeral symbol of Madame Butterfly and her heartbreak” (ibid.). Grieve described how, as Galliano worked on the shoot, he pulled on a maroon sweater like a skirt and tied the arms “under his bum, just like a duckarse, (D.A.) which became a leitmotif in his collections all the way through” (ibid.). Dovanna Pagowski was their “Butterfly” and, although Polish and 6 foot 2 inches in height, she had bobbed hair, which they thought looked the part. She was photographed naked with the fan held before her.

Pagowski went on to model in Galliano’s first two catwalk shows, where she was paid in clothes as there was no money. Galliano was to later use the McLaren album as a soundtrack for his Christian Dior HC Madame Butterfly collection for Spring/ Summer 2007.

Financial Backing Arrives Johann Brun, a 24-year-old Ghanaian Dane with a retail fashion background in Denmark was in London with his sister, sourcing garments for a new shop they were opening there. They were transfixed by the Browns shop window filled with “Incroyables” coats. Upon entering and expressing interest they were told, “the designer is here”. Brun recalls, “He was sitting with his back against the window, looking very nervous. I asked if I could place an order, but he declined, telling me he had accepted a job as an illustrator in New York, so he wasn’t taking any orders. The next day I returned and purchased an ‘Incroyable’ coat for £400 and obtained his home telephone number. Some weeks later I tried to contact him. John was out but I spoke to his sister and again asked if there was any chance of making an order, but his sister said, ‘Oh there is

18  1984 Graduation Show

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so much interest, if only there was a backer’. I told her I would be willing to back John. We set up a meeting in a pub near Baker Street tube. John was adamant about just one thing – that the company should be under his name, so we made the deal and he said, ‘Let’s shake hands on it’ so we did. We never had a written contract’. With Brun’s backing Galliano was able to buy fabric, find a studio (to his parent’s relief) and hire experienced staff, which included Michael Collins, who had worked with Vivienne Westwood as studio manager, but was to stay for just two collections. Galliano’s boyfriend John Flett introduced them to photographers Neil Mersh (who went on to do music for the early shows) and Tom Mannion, who rented space in a large run-down Victorian warehouse in Earl Street, in the East End of London. Mannion recalls meeting John Flett – “He looked incredible – he was wearing Galliano clothes. He had on a brown striped wool jacket, which you could wear upside down or inside out and it had this amazing coloured lining.”

Mannion agreed to share his studio, “As I really liked the clothes and was struggling to pay the rent it seemed a good solution for us all… We were all very young – just trying to make a go of our careers. I was away on location a lot of the time, so it suited me.” (Mannion interview with author August 2016, all other Mannion quotes are same interview.) This new venture required a new label; woven in wine and turquoise, with large central coat of arms, which Galliano claimed was a modern rendition of his ancient family crest. However, the incorporated motifs were a literal translation of the roots of his name – the “galetto” (cockerel) and “leone” (lion). This early label bears the number “1” and remained in use until the SS 1987 collection. When Mannion returned from location shoots he found that gradually his studio had been taken over by Galliano: “I would come back to find Amanda dying muslin in Earl Grey tea in my dark room sink; there were buckets with various dyes everywhere and she had made washing lines

First label used for large-scale production.

out of string that crisscrossed the room; Amanda liked string! John was in awe of her. We were all in love with her, that pale skin, dark hair and blue eyes – if she smiled at you – you would do anything she asked. Every day John would come into the studio with yet another new idea – he had so many ideas and Amanda sort of filtered them and made sense of them. He worked incredibly hard. He started work at 8 am each day and worked late every night. He had one indulgence – he took a mini cab home to his parent’s place in East Dulwich because he knew if he took public transport he would get beaten up – dressed as he was and being openly gay. He didn’t go out clubbing that much – we were all broke and he wouldn’t do anything that would affect his work. There’s been a lot of talk about drugs – but we couldn’t afford them!” (Interview with the author, August 2016)

Mannion introduced Galliano to his photographic model – Gail Downey – who was an avid knitter. She became a loyal member of the team working on the knitwear collections from 1985 to A/W 1989.

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1985 Spring/Summer

Afghanistan Repudiates Western Ideals 13–16 October 1984 British Designer Show Olympia 2, London Static display of c.20 pieces

Invitation based on a vintage Punch cartoon.

“An uneasy mix of opposed cultures in colours of dried blood.” Galliano quote from ID magazine p. 44, 1984

Brun advanced £3000 to buy fabrics, get production started and rent the exhibition stand. They had just four months to put the collection together. Deborah Andrews, still studying at St Martins, helped when she could and he hired a freelance pattern cutter called Chris Alderson to ensure the most economic use was made out of each roll of fabric. Young Bill Gaytten started as a machinist. The inspiration for the SS 85 collection was triggered by a 1920s Punch caricature of a furious Afghan native jumping on a bowler hat that Galliano had chanced upon. It lampooned King Amanullah Khan who ruled Afghanistan between 1919 and 1929, a modernizer who decreed that his subjects should don Western European garb instead of their indigenous robes. Galliano liked the “tension and romance of wearing two different cultures” at the same time (Colin McDowell, “Galliano” p. 91). It also reminded him of the everyday multi-racial influences in the East End where his studio was situated:

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“Afghanistan servants and gentlemen robed in smart European clothes. Just like all the Indians round the East End now. Very Petticoat Lane … the thing to do is to take to cultures and mix and start anew.” (ID magazine October 1984 pp. 44–45)

Galliano also saw his collection as a reaction against the “hard Milanese androgyny we’ve seen in the last year and the ‘simplicity of shapes’ by Armani and others. Simple is boring”. He also made a dig at some of the more traditional art school teachings, “that colours have to be put together a certain way. That you cut fabric a certain way. That you can’t do this or that. I want to mix things up, fabrics, masculine and feminine. It’s been drummed into us that certain things are right and certain things are wrong. It’s usually the wrong things that are more fun.” (NYT interview 17.10.1984). He used outsized shapes, layered soft muslin or cotton separates combined with hard tailoring. Garments were unisex with both genders wearing skirts. Long, loose Rawalpindi muslin shirts with

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elongated sleeves and double-length cuffs that could also be worn as skirts with the sleeves tied around the waist, in saffron and shades of wine and purple, retailed for £130–180, which was expensive at the time. These were worn over matching Pukka dhoti-style trousers (the shape being a continuation from the previous collection). There were also highwaisted trousers with sashes that travelled through the legs. “I love the hip. My tops are baggy at the back, tight at the waist and loosing downwards after that. Thus the S-bend just like the flamenco dancers. That’s the kind of body I design for.” Early nineteenth-century-inspired long waistcoats in mauve and ivory empire-striped moiré furnishing fabric were lined with striped cotton shirting, and fastened ripple-effect with large mother of pearl buttons and tied at the rear waist. These retailed for £170–£196. Tailcoats and jackets were made from brown, finely striped worsted (which Galliano had driven up to Lancashire to buy), faced and overlaid with blue

roller-printed calico, over-printed in yellow with large tartan checks. Both had antler buttons, wide, sloping shoulders and elongated sleeves that grazed the floor, so they could also function like gloves if needed. The tailcoat had long asymmetric lapels and a central rear tail that folded back and buttoned up eighteenth-century mantua-style. The long coat retailed for around £500, which was equivalent to an average monthly wage at the time. The short, loose jacket was cut high at the front to reveal the waistcoat or shirt below, and the sleeve extensions were of patterned cotton. The lapels had contrasting cotton facings so the jacket could be worn inside out or upside down. The palette of browns, ochres, saffron, white and maroons he described as “The soul of my clothes lies in the colour – emotional dried blood.” Galliano asked friend and muse Amanda Grieve to style the exhibition stand at Olympia whereupon she resigned her job at Harpers and threw her lot in with him. Her role was quickly filled by Galliano’s

Galliano and friend modelling the collection, accessorised with Afghan hats, assorted pots and pans.

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Detail of waistcoat with ripple-effect fastening. Steven Philip Collection.

friend and fellow St Martins contemporary, Hamish Bowles. The Olympia stand was small; William Casey (friend and makeup artist) said the styling “must have cost all of two quid”. Grieve framed Galliano’s fashion sketches with intentionally broken glass, which were hung awry (to represent discord and rebellion). Straw was scattered over the floor. There were mannequins and a rail of sample garments for clients to browse, and over the four days, various friends took turns modelling the collection. They tied shirts to form skirts, or wore them in layers, complete with Afghan hats, woolly socks, leather lace-ups and specially broken wire spectacles which they bought in Oxfam shops, held together with sticking plasters. Michael Collins had assembled a group of accessories, including waist belts suspended with an eclectic mixture of wooden spoons, old pots and pans. From the moment Olympia’s exhibition doors opened, the stand attracted huge interest from international buyers, and WWD described Galliano

Long tailcoat with wide angular shoulders and elongated sleeves worn with striped cotton trousers and shirt. Steven Philip Collection.

as the “darling of the moment”. Orders in the region of £44,000 were taken – so a good return on Brun’s investment. He recalls that although Roberta Wagner from Bloomingdales expressed interest, Galliano refused to allow her to order telling him, “If we sell to Bloomingdales, we won’t be able to sell to Bergdorfs or Neiman Marcus. We need to sell there first”.

22  1985 Spring/Summer

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18 March 1985, 6.30 pm and 8.00 pm The Pillar Hall, Olympia, London 69 looks This collection is either unlabelled or bears the Galliano 1 label

1985–86 Autumn/Winter

The Ludic Game

Ludic Game invitation, designed by Mark Mattock.

“The moment you put on my clothes you should feel proud as a bird and move accordingly.” Harpers & Queen, July 1985

Both fashion press and buyers eagerly awaited Galliano’s first major commercial catwalk show. With a large number of looks, it seemed he could barely contain the riot of ideas. The combination of Galliano’s designs with Amanda Grieve’s styling and creative input meant that the collection had multiple

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themes which were interwoven to produce something entirely fresh and original. Paul Frecker likened it to “a Brueghel painting cavorting round a maypole” (quotations from Paul Frecker throughout this volume are from interview with the author, August 2015).

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The elaborate show programme became an instant collector’s item. Designed by St Martin’s graphic art student Mark Mattock, it included a photo portrait of Galliano by Tom Mannion (see p. 8), printed onto tracing paper with poems by Amanda Grieve, a faux game-board (based on an architectural plan for a French eighteenth-century brothel), pagan symbols and finger prints. It came in a brown paper envelope edged in Anglo-Saxon runes with a red wax seal. As he was still a student at St Martins, Mattock used their free facilities to print and hand cut each one, so they cost Galliano nothing. Mattock melted the red wax in tin cans over an electric fire and used Galliano’s signet ring to form the seal. The main theme was Angela Carter’s 1984 novel Nights at the Circus, set in London in 1899, whose heroine “Fevvers” is half bird, half woman. She joins a travelling circus run by “The Colonel”, whose partner is a clairvoyant piglet called “Miss Sybil” (Galliano’s friend Sibylle modelled in this show). The Colonel refers to his business as the Ludic game – its motto being, “A fool and his money are soon parted.” Johann Brun might not have liked this analogy if he’d known it! In Galliano’s own version of The Ludic Game, Pearly King and Queen costermongers from London’s East End were juxtaposed with the English countryside and rebellious farmers. Amanda Grieve wrote a poem reproduced in John’s hand on the show invitation which described “Darke Dutch DA (duck’s arse) skirts, Linton” (the ribbed woollen suiting fabric) which “tells of the evergreen pilgrim’s way . . . Pearly kings and queens, proud cockney sparrows”. The striped cotton fabrics were meant to represent a country mother taking her children to school still wearing pyjamas. The angular knee and shoulder shapes reflected his “bird woman”. The collection was unisex and included oversized double-breasted jackets cut wide over the shoulders, some with elongated sleeves. Short spencer jackets, cut high and wide with pocket vents sometimes inset into the shoulders, could be worn upside down or inside out.

Sibylle de Saint Phalle as a Pearly Queen.

Corks used as decorative fasteners on the knitwear.

24  1985–86 Autumn/Winter

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Skirts for men and women had draped, pointed pouches with vestigial sleeves or lapels as hem decorations. Some skirts had vertical dividers (Yamamoto-style) so they could alternatively be worn as trousers. Decorative sleeves could be tied bustle-style at the back (DA-style). Trousers with angular knees were cut to imitate the jutting angle of a bird’s leg and had flap details at the front waist and rear. Antler buttons or wine cork toggles were used for closures. The clothes were made of expensive fabrics and, as always, were exquisitely finished. Deborah Andrews, Galliano’s assistant, remembers, “John agonised over the Linton Tweeds woollen suiting fabric with white mohair checks because it was so perfect; he thought it resembled a bird’s eye view of ploughed fields, with the tufts of mohair representing the sheep’s fleece caught in hedges. He kept asking, ‘But can we afford it?’ In the end he couldn’t resist it.” Interview with the author, August 2015

Fabrics also included elephant cord in burgundy, purple, navy and tan as well as a dark blue moleskin. Pyjama-striped cotton shirting fabrics were used for linings and for trousers and “Big Shirts”, which were a feature of the collection. These were also made in contrasting patchworked cottons with elongated sleeves and buttoned panelled edgings to the sleeve backs. Printed flannelette kimonos, skirts and trousers were printed with large vultures in bright blue and white on a dark brown ground; the fabric was by former St Martins student Luiven Rivas-Sanchez.

Hand-knits in the 1980s were a key fashion trend. Gail Downey worked for three months in advance of the show to make the sample garments, working closely with Galliano. She showed him sample patterns from which he selected a variety of “fishermen’s cables”. He sketched designs for the garment, shapes that she then turned into finished garments with the aid of outworkers. For the show there were twelve hand-knitted designs, including a cable knit, cotton sweater dress in russet wool with deep collar; similar shorter versions; textured cotton knit waistcoats and halter necks inset with wine-cork toggles; and knitted cotton breast bands with old penny buttons worn over the Big Shirts. Dovanna Pagowski’s jumbo needlecord ensemble with skirt that could be worn as a jacket. The models were paid in clothes as the company had little cash.

Sibylle de Saint Phalle, Galliano’s clubbing friend and muse, modelled in his show for the first time. Tom Mannion said that “John was always dressing Sibylle up in fabrics like a doll. She would be asleep underneath the cutting table and he would wake her up”. Officially she was working as assistant to the milliner Stephen Jones. Her boyfriend was doorman at the Café de Paris nightclub in Piccadilly and used to let Galliano and studio friends in free on Wednesday nights.

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Galliano’s show was the hottest ticket of fashion week; every fashion groupie in town wanted to attend. A huge crowd of people built up outside the Pillar Hall, and it soon became apparent that not everyone would get in. Galliano’s friend and, by then, employee, Paul Frecker, manned the doors:

“It was a scrum – hundreds of people trying to get through a small door. The PR people supposedly organising it were nowhere to be seen. I managed to grab hold of Italian Vogue editor Anna Piaggi, buried in the throng, and yanked her inside.”

To appease those left outside, it was decided there would be two showings – the second one taking place around 8.00 pm. Important American buyers, unable to fight their way in for the first showing, complained bitterly and went back to their hotels; many refused to return. However, those lucky enough to make it inside were treated to yet another Galliano “happening”. Each showing lasted 30 minutes with no rehearsals. Galliano (incorrectly) told The Face magazine that the word Ludic came from the Latin translation for “spontaneity”: “Spontaneity which is what I wanted to bring back to London fashion with this collection. None of the models were rehearsed, we wanted to play with chance.” Interview in The Face magazine, issue 62, June 1985

The only advice models were given was to “take their time, not to rush” (William A. Casey, interview with the author, September 2016). The music mix was eclectic and included Irish fiddles and Elvis Presley singing “Wooden Heart”. The models emerged in groups, weaving and dancing their way down the catwalk, carrying candles, jam jar lanterns, clay pipes and macabre china dolls. The ashen-faced models (with makeup by Casey) had darkened brows and pronounced green-grey shadows around the eyes, their hands stained green with runes. Their tousled hair was inset with twigs, dried flowers, wheat ears, stuffed birds and clocks. The wigs, interwoven with stuffed birds and antique clock faces, were made by Rene Gelston. The hats were made by Bouke de Vries, a young Dutch fashion student who had previously worked with Zandra Rhodes and Stephen Jones and was studying at Central School for Art and Design for his MA. Amanda Grieve had seen his work, liked it and introduced him to Galliano.

Linton wool suit with antler buttons worn with a patchwork “Big Shirt”. Steven Philip Collection.

26  1985–86 Autumn/Winter

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De Vries recalled, “John is such a detailed thinker. He showed me hat sketches, basic ideas, and then left me to go off and make them. The felt hats accessorised with clocks and branches were John’s idea. I went to Craig’s in Soho and found this block that was a tall bullet shape, which I made into chocolate brown and forest green felts, which were then bashed in and sprayed to give them a feeling of shadows and age. Wired brims were pulled into a point at the front. John found the clock faces. On the eve of the show, we worked all through the night sewing on buttons and stitching branches to the hats. John had also asked me to bring from Holland some wooden clogs and traditional starched lace caps from Volendam, which I then spray painted green and brown.” Interview with the author, July 2015

Saint Phalle wore a black oilskin “Pearly Queen” coat adorned with buttons, a necklace formed from gilt cutlery and a belt of African beadwork, accessorized with a long wooden staff wound with buttons. The more voluminous “Pearly King” version had Ludic Games spelled out in buttons down the back. At the show’s finale, Mimi Potworwska (one of the models from the Z Agency, which specialised in quirky, cool girls) for no apparent reason decided to hurl fresh mackerel at the audience that she had bought that morning for her supper. A fish landed dangerously close to Galliano’s most important client – Mrs. Joan Burstein of Browns. Fortunately, she found the whole thing amusing, as did Galliano himself once he’d recovered from the shock. After all, he’d said he wanted spontaneity. At the end of the show, model and singer Lizzie Tear introduced Galliano to her boyfriend, the influential 80s musician and DJ Jeremy Healy, who had watched the shenanigans from the audience and loved it. Galliano asked if he would do the music for future shows, and so another vital part of the Galliano team fell into place. (Healy took over the music from S/S 1987.) Most of the models were paid in clothes, as there was never any ready cash. Bouke de Vries recalls catching a plane to Paris the next day to meet up with Stephen Jones, who was holding a party at the

Bains Douche nightclub. He wore his payment – a complete Linton tweed, checked green wool “birdman” ensemble. He must have cut quite a dash surrounded by fellow travellers wearing their sedate city suits. This suit now forms part of the permanent collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum. The quirkiness and eccentricity of the collection (not to mention the flying fish) gained mixed reviews in the fashion press. “John Galliano who emerged last season with something of a blast has come up with a silhouette he calls in all seriousness ‘half woman, half bird.’” WWD, 14 March 1985 “. . . clothes that are mind boggling . . . Imagine if you will skirts that look a bit like jackets with a pair of sleeves dangling down the back . . . Skirts, jackets and coats with projectiles of fabric that have simply no reason for being. It all adds up to a look that is at once confusing and pure folly . . .” WWD, 19 March 1985

The shirts and knitwear were more easily integrated into a non-clubbing mainstream wardrobe, so these items were better received by retailers and press and sold well. “There are some terrific items to be picked out of this idea strewn chaos: midriff high cropped cardigans, the biggest Big Shirts in town, sometimes in five or six different fabrics . . .” WWD, 19 March 1985

The lack of commercial success for the more extreme, tailored garments resulted in fewer being made. Consequently, these are rare and highly desirable. A little poem on the show programme seemed somewhat portentous when considering Galliano’s soon-to-be roller-coaster career: “Oh bad luck can’t be prevented Fortune she smiles or she frowns He’s best off that’s contented To mix, Sirs the ups and the downs”

Galliano took his bows (with Mimi the fish thrower) in a simple white t-shirt with short wedge haircut.

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1985 The Courtelle Collection

The Courtelle Collection Wednesday, 12 June 1985 The Whitbread Brewery, Chiswell St, London EC1

The Courtelle Award was ostensibly a prize-giving event for textile students in college who had produced collections using Courtelle yarns and fabrics. After the presentation and student catwalk, a group of up-and-coming designers were each asked to show eight looks from their current collections. These designers included Barbara de Vries, Wendy Dagworthy, Crolla, Body Map, Dean Bright, Helen Robinson at PX, Bernstock /Spiers, John Rocha and John Galliano. Galliano’s collection, entitled “Pearly Kings & Queens”, incorporated navy Courtelle fabric decorated with pearly buttons (similar to the last phase of the Ludic Game collection). As the brewery was quite close to the studio, the Galliano team wheeled their clothes rail through the streets to the venue. There were just four models: Sibylle de Saint Phalle and three male companions, Eki, Mark and Philippe. The photographer Neil Mersh provided the music.

Mimi Potworwska on flyer for the collection in grey mohair sweater dress.

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It was a smart sit-down lunch affair for the great and good of Courtelle and the fashion industry in general. Galliano’s ensembles were accessorised with empty tin cans, which were attached to peaked caps by floor-length pieces of twine. The male models (who had enjoyed a few pre-show drinks) left the catwalk and ran amok through the tables, causing the cans to fly into the faces of the startled guests, and the collection was poorly received largely in consequence.

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12 October 1985, 4.45 pm Duke of York Barracks, London 116 looks Label: unlabelled or with the Galliano 1 label

1986 Spring/Summer

Fallen Angels

Invitation by Mark Mattock: a copy of an Edwardian postcard with geisha beauties, with “John Galliano” postmarks providing the show date and time.

John Galliano like William Blake “looks at things with a ‘child-like eye’, using corks and coins as buttons he aims to re-interpret mundane objects, to revivify them with his own peculiar aesthetic vision.” (Taken from post-show flyer by Mark Mattock)

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Galliano took the name from William Blake’s paintings of Fallen Angels – rebellious followers of Lucifer – who were cast out of Heaven. Blake’s paintings and poems reflected his repugnance at a 1790s Britain sullied by pollution and the inhumane work practices of the Industrial Revolution, which included child labour. Galliano seemed to desire a return to simplicity in contrast with 1980s London, which he described as filled with “high heels, red nails and tight skirts . . . I wondered where the little girls had gone who used to dress up and play with clothes?” (The Face, December 1985). In April Galliano started work on the collection, with sketches and inspirational references pinned onto walls and paper patterns laid out over the cutting tables for all to see. Over the Easter weekend the studio door was forced and all the patterns and sketches were stolen. Commercial espionage had never occurred to Galliano, but from then on, no designs were left on display and people entering the studio were more closely scrutinized, whereas in the past it had always been a carefree place for friends to hang out and listen to music. Music was played loudly and continuously – something that was to continue throughout his career. As the show approached, great care went into the production of the clothes, with three cutters working on it – Mark Tabard, Chris Alderson and Bill Gaytten. As usual, everything was finished last minute with the team working until 3 am on the morning of the show. “Fallen Angels” included the introduction of signature features – the “circle” cut and the “Dior”, or “scissor” skirt (based on a 1949 Dior ballgown). Talented young Bill Gaytten progressed from machinist to pattern cutter and worked closely with Galliano.

Ecru linen dress with circle pockets and Dior, or scissor skirt. Steven Philip Collection.

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For the “circle” cut, sleeves were shaped to follow the curve of the arm. Jackets were cut to give a rounded fullness and even the little pockets placed on the breasts were gathered circles. During Galliano’s work experience (1982–83) with Tommy Nutter in Savile Row he saw “how tailors cut sleeves to swing forward. We just exaggerated it by pushing it as far as it would go” (Colin McDowell “Galliano” p. 97). Frecker believes that John Flett used the circle cut first in his degree show a year earlier, whilst others insist it was a natural cross-pollination of ideas between friends who spent so much time together. However, Westwood/McLaren “also used a circular sleeve in their ‘Witches’ collection of AW 1983/84. Westwood was hugely influential in mid 80s fashion generally and Galliano revered her.” One of the studio assistants remembered that there was a group of Westwood garments in the studio that people used to dress up in from time to time and which were later taken apart and analysed. The palette was soft – mainly white, ivory, greys, and beige with flashes of dark turquoise. The fabrics included draped cotton jersey, muslin or crisp, crumpled linen. There were empire-line jersey toga dresses with floating panels that traversed the bodice (retailing for £136), short spencer tops (retailing for £47) and skirts in cotton tubing, some with pouch-like flaps that could be pushed inside to form pockets, others with “octopus” fringed hems. Dior skirts had Y-shaped pleats forming peplums at the hips with shirred elasticated backs for a close fit (retailing for £93.50). Jackets with contrasting bindings and asymmetric lapels had bound seams so they could be worn inside-out or upside-down if desired. Lightweight wool jackets and full-length coats in pinstripe or plain weave were cut with angular sloping shoulders, the rear of the curved sleeves punctuated with plasticine buttons and worn over dungarees or trousers.

Linen dresses had shirred midriffs and wool pompom ties.

The buttons were either plain wood or in swirling “Fimo” plasticine. Dave Baby (contemporary artist, sculptor and clubbing friend) made several hundred of them in two sizes. Unisex trousers, cut long and baggy, had high waists, some with draped back flaps that tied at the waist. Knitwear by Gail Downey (18 pieces), assisted by Princess Julia (icon of the Blitz club scene), Liz Moran and Shaun Downey, included a farmer’s smock sweater dress, a “Garden Plot” patterned sweater (a pattern traditionally found on Victorian bedcovers), a knitted swimsuit taken from a 1930s pattern and others.

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For the show Galliano suddenly asked, “Wouldn’t it be great if the girls were branded like slaves?” (interview with W.A. Casey January 2016). Obviously, the models couldn’t be mutilated, but Casey came up with the idea of an inked rubber stamp bearing Galliano’s coat of arms copied from the label that could be applied to foreheads. Great attention went into the accessories. Galliano had seen and liked Patrick Cox’s for Westwood’s “Clint Eastwood” collection (AW 84–85) and they had become good friends. Cox designed “Hobo” shoes in two styles: brown leather with cut-aways exposing the big toe and heel, the other with

chisel-shaped soles and cotton-ticking flounces that peeled away from the heel. He made around six pairs of each style, which the models had to keep swapping throughout the show. These were advertised for sale at £136.50. Cox also made for the finale towering “medieval” sandals of carved wood and metal (inspired by Joan of Arc’s armour) lined in felt to protect the models’ feet. They were so labour-intensive, they were finished and delivered just before the show started – but the girls couldn’t walk in them so they were quickly jettisoned. Galliano had taken hat maker Bouke de Vries to the Tower of London to research helmets and suits of armour. He was asked to make five elaborate helmets composed of plaster-covered felt, adorned with ornamental ceiling motifs painted to look like metal. But because the shoes were no longer to be worn, the models were told to carry rather than to wear the helmets as Galliano felt they looked top-heavy with bare feet. Dovanna Pagowski (who had appeared on the Madame Butterfly album) was again modelling and, ignoring the advice, wore hers back to front. Backstage a team of hairdressers headed by Ray Allington and makeup artists led by William A. Casey began work. Galliano desired a medieval-style look with shaved high foreheads. The girls had their hair plastered back and a band of white mud (they used Boots face packs) was applied along the hairline, with their hair tied into tight buns with bailer twine. Model Veronica Webb appeared in this, her first Galliano show. Casey’s guidance from Grieve for the makeup was taken from the Ingres portrait of Madame Recamier c. 1800. The look was natural with peachy eye shadow, rose tints for the cheeks, berry colours on the lips and a dusting of white powder on the lashes and hair.

Menswear included charcoal grey underwear-like separates with contrasting banding. Sibylle de Saint Phalle with inked head stamp wears a linen ensemble tied up with string.

The show tent was again packed to capacity and opened with male and female models emerging in pairs, slowly promenading down the catwalk, throwing white talcum powder, accompanied by an eclectic mix of music by Neil Mersch that included the “Lillibulero” march (popular with Morris

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hand to mouth. I was furious – they weren’t new-looking any more, which meant I couldn’t re-sell them. When I tackled John he replied – ‘It’s designer mud darling – they’re worth more now! (Patrick Cox interview with the author, August 31, 2016).

However, he decided to forgive and forget as they were friends afterall.

Hobo shoes by Patrick Cox in leather and striped ticking.

dancers), Rap music and “Lord of the Dance”. Casey remembers Grieve briefing the models, “Amanda imagined the British countryside pre-industrial revolution. She told us, ‘It’s summer, it’s hot and people are walking slowly along a dusty road. They could be refugees escaping a war or just going to the fair.’”

Grieve’s styling was also inspired by Dorothea Lange’s photographs of vagrant cotton-pickers. The clothes were bound and tied with twine, and tucked into the breasts of some were small first holy communion prayer cards. They carried vintage suitcases, parcels wrapped in brown paper and car number plates. The girls wore cotton caps with “faggotted” lines with over-stitched edges. Michael Woolley took a portrait of Sibylle de Saint Phalle wearing one, which Galliano handed to Mark Mattock to further distress, and it was used as a postshow flyer. About halfway through the show Patrick Cox sensed something strange was going on, “John sent people to distract me but gradually I realised that a lot of the models had gone missing. He had told them to go outside the Barracks and drag my pristine shoes through the mud. These were MY shoes. I had paid for them and I had no money back then – it was really

For the show’s finale – the female models appeared wearing diaphanous, muslin empire-line dresses, some with ruched, elasticated cross-bands, side panniers and Greek key embroidered hems, which Galliano doused with tepid water backstage to make them transparent. Dovanna recalls that just before he tipped the bucket of water over their heads, he politely asked “May I?” The black forehead stamps ran down the model’s faces “like blood” (Sibylle de Saint Phalle). In early 1800s Europe so-called muslin fever was rampant as women caught influenza as a result of wearing nothing but these flimsy Grecian-inspired dresses, dampened to further enhance their voluptuousness. But of course, Galliano wasn’t just making another historic fashion reference, it was a clever ploy to shock the audience and attract press coverage. Even at the age of 25 he realized the power of the press. When Galliano emerged at the end of the show to take his bows, he wore a simple white t-shirt and black beret and was accompanied by Sibylle de Saint Phalle. American fashion editor Carrie Donovan went backstage and sobbed “at the beauty of it all, which we found a little strange” (William A. Casey). Despite some innovative, clever, original new looks and more moderate prices the press and market response was mainly hostile. The similarities to some of Westwood/McLaren’s previous collections were commented upon. Comparisons were made with Hobo-looks – Punkature SS 83, Y-front ensembles – Clint Eastwood AW 84–85, jersey toga dresses – Buffalo AW 82–83, white muslin “mauvaise” empire gowns worn with golden helmets – Pirate collection, AW 81–82. It was also noted that Westwood’s pattern cutter Mark Tabard

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and her shoemaker Patrick Cox now worked for Galliano.

We’ll get rid of the un-necessary extras. There’ll be a grown-up approach”. (ibid)

“There are not merely pages out of hero Vivienne Westwood’s book but whole chapters.” WWD, 15 October 1985

It was not to be. Johann Brun grew increasingly concerned, not only at the scarcity of orders. The clothes were relatively expensive whilst at the same time avant-garde, which didn’t appeal to the retailers. He also received increasing numbers of complaints from buyers because the sizing was wrong – the clothes just didn’t fit the customers and were returned. According to Brun, Galliano fitted them on himself, declaring himself a perfect size 8. Jean Bennett (their PR) told Brun “Women have breasts – you need to speak to him!”. Clothes could not be produced on time, so delivery dates were not met, which meant the orders had to be cancelled. With a regular monthly wage bill, studio rent and production costs to cover – the numbers just didn’t add up.

Frecker recalls that Galliano was really stung by the criticisms, but made the excuse that his collection was “in homage to Westwood”, to which Frecker replied – “it’s a f***ing copy John!” The avant-garde presentation also did not go down well, “The first models at his show appeared with matted hair, their clothes covered with chalk and tied with bits of twine . . . His finale was sheer white dresses that looked Grecian. They were wet, so they clung to the body. To many, this presentation looked as tired as the handful of punks on King’s Road with their spiky hairdos and studded leather clothes.” Bernadine Morris, NYT 15 October 1985

International buyers who in previous seasons had been amused by “Brit Wit” were now moving away from the experimental and back to more wearable mainstream classics. Out of 119 complete looks (not garments) – the shirred skirts and dresses, the little crop tops, the knitwear were some of the few commercially desirable and wearable elements in yet another challenging collection. Highly respected fashion writer Sarah Mower went further, calling them “A ghostly tribe of mentally disturbed eighteenth century refugees” (the Guardian, 17 October 1985). Whilst acknowledging Galliano’s immense talent she was concerned and frustrated by the un-wearability of the clothes: “The panelled construction in the wrapped skirt is an inspired piece of design that has been seriously worked out, proof enough of Galliano’s potential. In it he shows of his best: to rework a standard garment into something recognisable and wearable yet impressively new” And on the subject of one of the toga dresses: “We spent half an hour trying to work out how to fit the model into the garment’s octopoid limbs and mysterious pouches, without much success. Who will spend good money on such whimsy?” Guardian Style, October 1985

In response to her criticism Galliano replied, “My next show in March, will be like an old Paris collection. I’m hoping people will understand that.

Brun recalls, “The studio was Tom Mannion’s and we rented a part of it, but then John took over the whole studio and suddenly there were eight studio staff being employed. Our overheads increased without my knowledge. We would work out a budget together but every time I left, something would happen, and I kept being asked for more money. The sales began to stall. The elements we should have cashed in on – John dropped. In America, if something sells well, it is continued the next season, maybe in a different colourway. But with John each new collection meant a change of direction. There was no consultation or continuity for the buyers.

Brun began to spend more time at the studio to try to keep more of an eye on things, as Mannion recalls, “Although John worked hard he was great fun to be around, always happy – except when Johann was around which became more frequent. He became sullen, kept his head down and just worked. Johann didn’t know how to handle John – he was a bit out of his depth.” Interview with the author, August 2016

Around £80,000 of orders were taken, but the business relationship was to further deteriorate as work on the next collection began. Brun: “We were both in our early 20s. Because we were close in age, he wouldn’t accept my authority, I was inexperienced myself and of course I just wasn’t there. Galliano told me, ‘In twenty years time we can look at breaking even, but in the meantime we can just be legendary. If you’re worried about breaking even – then fashion is not for you.’”

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Friday, 14 March 1986, 9.15 am

Programme designed by John Hind.

1986–87 Autumn/Winter

Forgotten Innocents

“I wanted to get back to Innocence.” Interview with Marion Hume, Feb 87, pub’d June 1987

The invitation by Mark Mattock was a simple triangular “ticket” bearing the Galliano coat of arms. The programme incorporated a large portrait of aspiring young actress – Helena Bonham Carter – and fourteen-year old Thomas O’Driscoll from a local boxing school, both wearing metal crowns made from saw-shaped pieces of metal and wire coat hangers adorned with playing cards by Judy Blame. Carter also appeared on the front cover of Blitz magazine May 1986 wearing a Judy Blame crown. The inspiration for the collection came from Grieve and Galliano’s imaginings of a group of abandoned children left to their own devices in an old house – the Forgotten Innocents. With no one to supervise them, they took clothes from wardrobes and played kings and queens with crowns made from playing

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cards. The rolled back hems on the skirts in the collection redolent of the robes worn by the kings and queens on printed playing cards. Galliano had sketched medieval-inspired clothes (carrying on from the medieval slippers from the previous collection) and all these elements were combined in the collection. Despite Galliano’s assurances to Johann Brun that this time he would produce a more commercial collection, it was still more “dressing up box” than mainstream fashion. Tension was building in the studio. Patrick Cox recalls, “None of us could stand him (Johann) there was pretty much open hatred.” The looks Galliano had initiated in previous collections he evolved in this one – the use of the circle cut, the DA silhouette, high-waisted trousers

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and skirts with draped detailing and rolled back hems, extra sleeves used as wing-like decorations on shoulders or placed at the skirt hems and draped swags to trouser fronts. The wonderful double-breasted barrel-shaped jackets from the last collection re-appeared, but with shorter, sharper lapels and even fuller sleeves edged in buttons. The centre-back, vertical ruching seen on coats in the last collection was now used extensively – particularly on dresses. Dresses of heavy blanket-like boiled wool or brown Prince-of-Wales checked wool had rib-like pleats across the bodice front, curved circle-cut sleeves (some with additional sleeves for decoration), the skirts had rolledback hobble-hems. The heavy fabric combined with narrow hem openings made them both uncomfortable and impractical. Muff-like front pouches were used on these dresses, as well as on the eyelet-patterned knitted gowns and sweaters by Gail Downey. Knitted dresses with pouch details retailed for $700 – a fortune at the time. Circle shirts of parachute silk had small collars, V-shaped front cowl drapes, some with sailor collars or hoods. They were worn under the bulky dresses and jackets, as were striped cotton jersey tops with drawstring necks in navy and white. These were worn with striped rayon tubular dresses with the hems applied with decorative tarot or playing cards or matador high-waisted skirts, trousers and leggings.

Painted velvet dresses worn with playing card headdresses and Patrick Cox “Dolly” shoes.

There was a new use of corsetry with back-laced bodices (retailing at $425) sometimes teamed with striped Breton jersey tops, worn with

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Boiled wool dress with hobble skirt, rolled back hem, pouches and extra sleeves as decoration.

Knitted wool dress with ruched gathers and pounches.

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Elizabethan doublet-style shorts ($150) or longtrained velvet dresses with the train worn like a stole. Balloon coats and jackets for both genders were over-sized, generally double-breasted heavy wool which fell in handkerchief pleats down the back and were sometimes lined in contrasting striped rayon with wood, mother of pearl, or plain black or navy plastic buttons. Patrick Cox modelled a navy coat with nipped in waist and side drapes to the skirts worn over striped cotton leggings. Copper sequined tailcoats were also worn with the striped leggings. Sleeves were generally circle cut and elongated to be worn pushed back. Some of the short jackets had exaggerated curves at the shoulders, buttoned to give a puff effect. Lapels could be different shapes on the same jacket. The pocket flaps were set at high waist level, sometimes near to the shoulders. The clothes were finished at 3 am on the morning of the show for the presentation at 9.15 am – the first of the day. Neil Mersh was in charge of the music, assisted by Nick Michaels. The white backdrop was applied with “John Galliano” picked out in twigs. As the early morning slot was unpopular with journalists and buyers, the room was largely empty apart from the battalion of photographers. Galliano’s muse, Sibylle de Saint Phalle (who by now had become a permanent presence in the studio), opened the show playing “cat’s cradle” (weaving pieces of thread through her fingers) wearing an ivory blanket dress, with tarot cards carefully placed in her medieval style ankle-length real hair wig. For the first phase of the show, both male and female models were dressed in white – the colour of purity and innocence, with natural makeup, softly rouged cheeks and rosebud lips. Judy Blame provided the necklaces made from playing cards on string and crowns made from pieces of saw-toothed metal, found objects and coat hangers. Despite their tiff, Patrick Cox again made the shoes: “They were platypus-toed flatties trimmed with giant childlike buckles to give the feel of a doll’s shoe. I had first

made the Dolly shoes in 1985 (the previous year) for my degree show. I took a sandal last – which is quite square and made the shoes in mostly pony skin and plain or metallic leather. John really liked them.”

These were worn by both sexes with above-theknee stockings held in place with ribbon garters. For the finale, Saint Phalle re-emerged as “the bride” in an off-the-shoulder boiled wool dress with faux ermine hem – the groom in matching white coat with sailor collar, pleats emanating from the pocket flaps, matching trousers and parachute-silk shirt. “God Save the Queen” was played as Saint Phalle encouraged the tiny audience to stand up – which was met with laughter. Galliano took his bows in a Madonna t-shirt, jeans with unkempt, long hair. The New York Times was in the minority that liked the collection, “Mr. Galliano’s period is that of Robin Hood, but his collection looked like fashion’s future. His women’s clothes are gentle and coyly sexy, gathered and folded like swaddling clothes, yet still body conscious. Pouches and gathers droop down from shirts, forming sack-like tunnel pockets to warm the hands.” Michael Gross, 18 March 1986

Forgotten Innocents despite its romanticism and ingenious construction elements, was still a commercial disaster. The vastness of the collection, the use of expensive fabrics that hadn’t been budgeted for, the real hair wigs (which cost hundreds of pounds each) and Galliano’s insistence on fine finishes meant it was expensive to produce. The only element that sold consistently well as usual was the more wearable knitwear. Johann Brun finally reached the end of his tether and decided to shut the business down. At the end of the show, the models who’d been promised payment in clothes (author interview with Vanessa Newman, April 2016) were told they would have to wait. Brun refused to release garments, explaining he needed them to show to prospective buyers and then changed the studio locks.

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On 20th March, Gail Downey arrived for work at 11 am to find she couldn’t get in and found Galliano sobbing on the stairs. By this point no one had been paid for months. At Galliano’s suggestion, she and Nick Michaels (her assistant’s friend) climbed out of a window, picked their way along a 2-foot wide ledge and entered the studio via a window, which had no locks (being two floors up), to remove sackloads of garments. Later that evening (having first been to Leigh Bowery’s Taboo Club to drown his sorrows) Galliano, Paul Frecker, John Flett and a few other clubbing mates decided to clear what remained. Frecker recalls they were all “off their faces” and whilst he kept watch on the stairwell, the others repeated the stunt along the window-ledge until nothing remained. Galliano gave Frecker a black coat as a thank-you, “John believed the collection was his. At the time, he had no concept of how a business operated – that these were the assets of the company he was taking.” Paul Frecker interview with author, August 2016

On June 24th 1986, a joint press announcement was made confirming the dissolution of the partnership. Galliano’s spokeswoman said the split was by “mutual agreement” adding that it was difficult to have a partnership “when one of the partners lived overseas” (WWD 25 June 1986). Brun having invested so much in the collection, wanted to go ahead and produce it – but without Galliano. Although a few small orders were fulfilled, the majority were not, and Galliano wrote to retailers cancelling orders, “We wanted to do it as quickly as possible so retailers would not be inconvenienced” (WWD 25 June 1986) which only worsened Brun’s financial loss. Brun said, “I lost around £47,000, which at the time that would have bought a house. In addition, ‘John Galliano Brun Ltd’ also owed a further £33,000 and some suppliers and manufacturers were never paid.”

Consequently, clothes from this collection are exceptionally rare, as it was never put fully into production.

Blitz auction catalogue.

Blitz Denim Jacket Auction (15 June 1986) In aid of the Prince’s Trust with fashion gala at the Albery Theatre, St Martin’s Lane, London, followed by an exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum 10 July – 28 September 1986. Twenty-two designers were approached by Blitz magazine to customise denim jackets that would be auctioned later. They included mainstream favourites of the Princess of Wales, such as Jacques Azagury, Zandra Rhodes and Jasper Conran, as well as more avant-garde designers such as Galliano, BodyMap, Leigh Bowery and Vivienne Westwood. Galliano’s jacket, presumably influenced by Forgotten Innocents, incorporated tarot and playing cards with a rolled back hem. His was called The Queen of Hearts: “Once upon a time, there was a brave little jacket that was lost and lonely; we met each other one morning and I gave it a multicoloured magic coat so that it could happily pass through many mystic realms and eventually reach the wheel of fortune” – whatever that meant!

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The Aguecheek Deal Galliano, having lost his backer, needed another – and fast. He smartened up his appearance – cutting his by-then scruffy, shoulder-length hair into a neat wedge style – and donned a pinstriped suit, wireframed spectacles and looked every inch the sober young businessman. He was determined to make contact with Peder Bertelsen of Aguecheek, crowned the city’s “most powerful fashion entrepreneur” by the London Standard. The Danish born, British-raised businessman had built up a fortune based on oil and property development before turning his attention to fashion. He seemed more comfortable with spreadsheets than dresses: “Clothes, oil and potatoes are commodities” (Michael Gross interview, New York Times, 1987 January 2010). His company, Aguecheek Ltd, named after the comedic character in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night (who sighed, “Oh had I but followed the arts”), purchased properties, including a large tranche of Sloane St, Chelsea, and opened a string of seventeen designer shops selling Katherine Hamnett, Krizia, Valentino, Giorgio Armani, Ungaro and Comme des Garcons. He also directly backed Alistair Blair (favourite of Princess Diana and the Duchess of York) and menswear designers Richard James and Nigel Cabourn. Galliano, after weeks of fruitless attempts, finally arranged a meeting at Aguecheek’s swish headquarters at 15 Grosvenor Gardens, near Buckingham Palace, thanks to the help of Alistair Blair and his assistant Limpet O’Connor (Galliano’s friend). Bertelsen was on the lookout for a cutting-edge designer to add to his business, one to attract press interest as well as a trendy Browns clientele. “Bertelsen didn’t understand John. His idea of beauty was a Valentino-dressed woman. Initially he wanted Vivienne

Westwood, but when he met her, she was too bizarre – she frightened him.” Lorraine Piggott, interview with the author, December 2016

Galliano submitted sketches for approval, which were at first rejected. He redrew them, but this time sketched the figures with big earrings and bobbed hairstyles, which Bertelsen and his team duly approved, much to Galliano’s amusement. A deal was announced on 1 July, but Galliano was told to jettison menswear and design exclusively for women. Bertelsen made it crystal-clear that the clothes had to be wearable and needed to be stripped of superfluous (expensive) detail. He was interested in sales – not fairy tales. For Galliano, the agreement gave him the security and finance he so desperately needed to produce his next collection, which he promised would be his most important yet. Bertelsen brought with him a much more professional set-up, with accountants to keep track of Galliano’s expenditure, overheads, profit and loss. Patrick Cox said of Galliano, “He wanted to be a Paris couturier . . . He wanted to be successful, he wanted to be establishment, but at the same time he wanted to fight those (Aguecheek) people. But he liked the Aguecheek offices, which were grand with huge high ceilings, so far removed from the abject poverty that we were all living in. He wanted glamour. He was tired of being poor, tired of not being able to afford the fabrics he wanted.”

They had just eight weeks to put the collection together. Galliano’s team moved temporarily to the basement of Aguecheek’s offices in Berkeley Square (working around bombed-out walls that had never been repaired after the war) to get started on production. Sibylle de Saint Phalle was studio manager, with Deborah Andrews as studio assistant, Chris Alderson as pattern cutter, a single machinist and Ian Bibby, fresh out of St Martins, assisting everyone (he was later to become head of production).

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12 October 1986, 1.45 pm British Fashion Council Marquee, Olympia, London 120 looks

New label is introduced; “1” has been removed. This was the official Aguecheek label until it changed to the Paris label for the S/S 1993 Olivia the Filibustier collection. Occasionally labels with “1” are found on this and later Aguecheek collections as the machinists used up old stock labels.

1987 Spring/Summer

Untitled (Panniers)

“It is a much more disciplined collection – it had to be.” WWD, 15 September 1986

Significantly this collection had no name (Bertelsen’s back-to-basics edict) and the different designs bore pattern numbers for ease of production. As speed was of the essence, the fabrics were simplified using one main fabric, Bosch viscose rayon, which draped beautifully in different colour-ways, together with blouses in James Hare parachute silks and Bianchini Ferier polka dot chiffon. The clothes (mainly separates) had a smart-casual feel to them in a palette of terracotta, sky blue, mustard, grey, black and white with touches of forest green.

different colour-ways. Jackets were mainly single breasted, slimmer cut, with curved hems, wide padded shoulders and broad pocket flaps set at the high waist. He incorporated asymmetric rippleeffect buttoned closures (similar to the Afghanistan Repudiates waistcoats), sailor and “waterfall” flounced collars. Voluminous double-breasted gabardine and cotton drill barrel coats with “pannier” sides were cut shorter at the back, some with winged pleats over shoulders with mother-of-pearl buttons. The “pannier” pleats, which fell from the hips or pockets, formed draped petal shapes and were a key feature.

The power-suit was a major mid-80s fashion trend, but Galliano’s version combined the separates in

Sporty swimsuit-like bodies in black/white cotton jersey (retailing at £55–88); sports-influenced bra

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Soft viscose and pannier drapes were key features. Steven Philip Collection.

tops and cotton jersey bodies were worn with highwaisted skirts, shorts and trousers. The circle cut was again heavily in evidence, revealing transparent shirts of polka dot chiffon (Helena Bonham Carter wore one to the 1987 Oscars) or of parachute silk with deep triangular cowl fronts with large sailor collars to the back. The prices were more accessible than previously: skirt £60, ruched jersey top £45, circle-cut chiffon and silk blouses with cowl necks and sailor collars retailing for £75–85. There were six handknitted garments, but the remaining ten were machine knits by Joffe of London and “Cut and Sew” constructed knits made in Italy for the first time. Joffe produced the long, knitted cardigans with sailor collars and vertical ruching centre-front and back with matching long skirts. Successful designs from previous collections were repeated, such as farmer smock sweater dresses, skirts with Y-shaped pleats (now shorter and tight)

Circle cuts, rippled fastenings and barrel coats with contrasting separates were featured in this collection.

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and the barrel-shaped coat in emerald green cotton drill. Dresses were fewer in number. This was his first use of the bias cut, but as a design element, rather than the signature 30s-style look that he was to later develop. Skirts had draped polonaise (so-called pannier) sides and large pocket flaps; diagonal spiral pleating; “Dior” skirts had back shirring, sometimes with pinafore straps; dhoti-style skirts had draped swags similar to Afghanistan Repudiates. The show’s backdrop bore Galliano’s trademark coat of arms with “Aguecheek” below it. The show

programme was dedicated to the “Lady with red lips and the Gent from Paris” – Alistair Blair and his assistant Limpet O’Connor, who had made the initial introduction to Bertelsen. Neil Mersh was joined for the first time by Jeremy Healy (DJ and member of pop group Haysi Fantayzee), who took over the music for every Galliano show from then until 2010. The model used for the marketing was a pretty redhead called Victoria. She opened the show alone posing to the sounds of bird-like squawks. The models wore natural-looking make-up and wigs with ankle-length Hasidic-style ringlets. Gail Downey said that prior to the Aguecheek relaunch “John really admired Jewish orthodox fashions and had been wearing his own hair in a similar style” (interview with the author). Fifteen-year-old Naomi Campbell made her modelling debut, arriving to work in her school uniform. Patrick Cox recalled, “She was terrified and felt intimidated by the much more experienced models, many of whom were blonde or red heads. She burst into floods of tears and I kept reassuring her, telling her – ‘You’re beautiful’ as I did up her shoes.”

They wore Patrick Cox black and white corespondent lace up “Roll Tongue” shoes with brothel-creeper soles and ankle socks. Cox said, “That was me being a little bit Yohji, a little bit Vivienne, a little bit everything – they were my first big hit and they sold in quantity.”

Galliano had largely stuck to Bertelsen’s brief; the collection was more commercial and wearable than anything seen so far. He went slightly off-piste towards the end of the show by introducing an eighteenth-century–style black viscose open robes with wide, wired pannier hips (Galliano had been researching the court of Versailles) as though he had to have just the smallest of rebellions.

Bias-cut viscose dress with spiralling pleats, much admired by Bloomingdales (WWD, 14 October 1986). Steven Philip Collection.

He took his bows with neatly cut short hair in a black Galliano t-shirt. The collection sold well and appeared in British Vogue (May 1987). However, the Italian knitwear factories brought in to speed up production failed to produce garments on time, and many orders were cancelled.

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Large orders were placed by Browns, Harrods and Whistles in London, and the press response was generally favourable. At last the future looked positive. “John Galliano . . . who used to wear his hair to his shoulders and design clothes that looked as if they stepped out of Sherwood Forest, now sports suits and short hair. And amid his fairy-tale designs for romantic Alices in Londonland, he scattered perfect blazers, skirts, simple black dresses and a plain T-shirt or two, clothes that will surely sell well.” Michael Gross, ever the fan, New York Times, 13 October 1986

Galliano had to meet a sales target of £100,000 for this collection, which he easily achieved. The contract was accordingly extended to five years. Cox said, “It got more corporate and weird, which was not really John – but he quickly became the star at Aguecheek.” Even though Aguecheek were still unsure how saleable Galliano would be – in the first two years the sales tended to double season on season. In interviews Galliano announced that he had matured as a designer and “This year I will do five times more volume than last year.” He attributed the increase to lower prices and more disciplined lines. When asked to specify the volume, he replied, “I am the designer and do not get involved with the figures” (WWD, 14 October 1986).

As production and the demands on the studio increased, Galliano felt the need for more experienced help. In November, he contacted Lorraine Piggott (who had modelled in the St Martins Incroyables show) and asked her to join initially as Production Manager. She had worked with Vivienne Westwood as her personal assistant for one year in the early 1980s, and he felt her experience would be beneficial to the growing business. Up until that point, Sibylle de Saint Phalle had been Galliano’s right hand, but she lacked all-round experience. Instead, Saint Phalle was offered the job as head of sales based at Aguecheek’s HQ in Victoria. Divorced from day-to-day contact with the studio, she stayed just six months, after which time Sean Dixon took over her role.

Galliano in New York In November, the British Fashion Council paid for Galliano, Alistair Blair, Jasper Conran (British Designer of the Year), Wendy Dagworthy, Katharine Hamnett and Betty Jackson to travel to New York on a business-getting mission. It was Limpet’s idea, as the US buyers weren’t travelling to London. A spokeswoman for the group stated, “These designers are trying to dispel the notion that London is a source for only young, outrageous fashion. They are trying to draw attention to the more sophisticated aspects of London fashion. . .the show will not take away from the London shows, but we believe it will bring more business to the designers because smaller retailers who do not have the opportunity to come to Europe will be able to see their collections.” WWD, 29 September 1986

It was Galliano’s first time in New York, and he went out every night with his new close friend, Jasper Conran, his relationship with Flett having ended. Limpet O’Connor recalled the American buyers commenting, “The British came to sell but they showed us how to party!” (interview with the author)

Naomi Campbell’s catwalk debut.

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15 March 1987, 4.00 pm BFC Marquee Olympia, London 90 looks

Promotional muslin scarf printed with photographs by Carrie Branovan.

1987–88 Autumn/Winter

(The Rose)

“Winter roses blossoming when you least expect.” ID Magazine, issue 48, June 1987

In early 1987 the Galliano team moved to Ague­ cheek’s building at Shelton Street, Covent Garden, which already housed other labels owned by Bertelsen, Richard James and Alistair Blair. Lorraine Piggott and the existing team were joined by pattern cutters, Sue Bottjer (who replaced Chris Alderson, who had walked out), Sandy Shaw, John McLaughlin (shirts), Mark Tabard (jackets), Karen Crichton (bustle skirts), Koji Tatsuno (who worked on the complex rose jackets). Karen Crichton’s

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expertise was in historic dress construction, as her main job was in the wardrobe department of the English National Opera. Mark Tabard only worked nights, as he was moonlighting from his job as pattern cutter for Jasper Conran. Ian Bibby was cutting, but also in charge of production. And finally Galliano got his wish: there were five full time machinists in the studio so he could oversee every stage of the production of the show garments. Gail Downey, as usual, was in charge of knitwear, which was less prominent in this collection.

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Sue Bottjer recalls the design process at that point: “John would do quite a bit of drawing as well as stand work. His table was covered in pages torn out of vintage magazines, historic reference books and sketches. We would start with the sketch, then place fabrics onto the stand to manipulate and see how they draped. We would discuss the desired look; for example, he would say to me, ‘I want this coat to look as though it has been blown inside out by the wind,’ and it was up to me to go off and produce the toile. There were constant adjustments until it was right. John was skilled – he could cut patterns himself, too, so he was great to work with. He understood the technical challenges.” Interview with the author, October 2016

Historicist plaid “bustle” dress that was chosen as dress of the year by the Fashion Museum, Bath.

Galliano further adjusted the toiles on the stand until the desired silhouette was achieved. The collection used circle cuts, bustles and drapery to produce a look that exuded the romance of a bygone era whilst appearing totally contemporary. In advance of the show, hundreds of fresh roses were suspended from the studio ceiling to dry, their scent filling the air, for inclusion in special press packs. Although the collection had no official title, the workers named it The Rose not just for the flowers, but also for the fabric motifs formed into the clothes themselves. Rose knots were tied into angora cardigan hems and swirled into gabardine buds and petals on skirts and jackets.

Press pack which included a dried rose, fashion sketches, a muslin stole printed with photographs of the collection by Carrie Branovan, which had been shot on location at Amanda Grieve Harlech’s Welsh country house.

46  1987–88 Autumn/Winter

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Karen Crichton, who worked on Galliano’s “bustle” looks, said he wanted something “reminiscent of Tissot or Degas. We looked at engravings from Harper’s Bazaar 1867–1898. I adapted a classic Edwardian bodice pattern, nipped in at the waist, and produced calico skirt toiles that had a more balletic look to them – longer at the front and holding out at the sides. I sewed crin around the bottom of the skirts to keep the hem in the desired flowing folds. The back of the skirt was folded origami-style and stitched in place – it was really pleasing.” Interview with the author, August 2016

Fabrics included Deschamp gabardine, striped and plain navy wool, woven black and white cotton poly-viscose check, silk by James Hare and boldly printed cotton jersey by Luiven Rivas-Sanchez in “Feather” and “Daisy” patterns.

Printed and knitted fabrics designed by Luiven Rivas-Sanchez.

Veronica Webb in a plaid bustle dress and bonnet.

(The Rose)  47

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The dress bodices were low-cut and boned with the most extreme examples in black-and-white checks or navy striped wool with polonaised sides and bustle-backs, one of which was chosen as “Dress of the Year” by Fashion Museum, Bath. These dresses could also be worn as coats and retailed for £186. Accessorised with small Victorian-inspired bonnets with swallowtail bows made by Francis Wilson, these retailed for £50. Skirts came super-short and tight or spiral fashion formed from buttoned panels (the buttoning redolent of the Ludic Games shirts). Long draped “pannier” skirts, similar to the last collection with shirred backs, sold for £150/$400. Pinafores glimpsed in the previous collection become a major feature of this one, with looped asymmetric straps, worn with striped cotton shirts or circle-cut silk shirts (some with ruff-like collars first seen in Forgotten Innocents) or printed cotton jersey tops, often accessorized with jabot-like bows. A striped cotton shirt cost $200 or £92, with detachable bow £23. Sailor collars were cut deeper and often had contrasting edgings. Jackets and skirts of the same colour were worn together for the first time and some jackets included disappearing lapels – something that was to become a Galliano trademark. Long slim-fitting jackets with curved, cutaway fronts were worn over short skirts or leggings. Barrel coats, which had been a big feature of previous collections, were largely absent; just one grey cashmere example and another with a black-edged sailor collar. Amanda Harlech’s (née Grieve) input was as crucial as ever: “Amanda was employed for six weeks seasonally in the lead up to the shows to work with John as his muse, mentor, stylist and inspiration. He used to look forward to her arriving. He loved and respected Amanda. Aguecheek thought she was expensive, although for the most part we were getting good value for money; they were on the same wavelength, like twins. The collections and advertisements were better for her presence. She had a calming and positive effect on him. Whilst Aguecheek might have thought she was a luxury, in fact, she was a necessity.” Author interview with Lorraine Piggott, December 2016

The show’s white backdrop had a small Galliano coat of arms within a large shield, with “Aguecheek” below. A model called Apple opened the show in a circle shirt adorned with additional floral silk garlands by Francis Wilson. She wore no skirt but had oiled legs covered in white talcum powder. The show’s styling was influenced by the 1985 film Witness (Galliano watched it repeatedly), which explored the clash of Amish culture with 1980s America. The models included a more confident Naomi Campbell, Marie-Sophie Wilson (who was to become a Galliano stalwart) and Veronica Webb. Their hair was slicked back by Ray Allington and held in Amish-style, tight, knot-like buns adorned with handkerchief flowers, which intimated white lilies. Harlech’s poem, included in the press pack, made the connection: “Consider the Lilies. Like flowers this Collection is irregular or regular but always upright, flowing sensitive.”

The suede pumps, by Patrick Cox, in Wedgwood blue, lilac or black had low wedge soles embellished with a ruched cotton ankle strap. “I made these specifically for the show as by this point John had more input in the design. This slimmer, feminine look really wasn’t my thing.” Interview with the author

Aguecheek was a large, successful company, and Patrick Cox (not unreasonably deeming that things were now going well for Galliano) asked to be paid for the shoes. Galliano wasn’t happy about this, so Cox said, “Well, just pay me the cost of the leather, then,” so the paltry sum of just £12 per pair was agreed. On the day of the show, when Cox scanned the contributor’s list, he realized that his name was missing. When he tackled Galliano about it, he was told, “‘People who get paid don’t get a credit.’ As I hadn’t been paid, I told him I would take the shoes back there and then and began piling the shoes into bags. Bertelsen cut me a cheque on the spot for the leather and I never made shoes for them again.”

48  1987–88 Autumn/Winter

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The British Fashion Council, who had organized the show came in for a lot of criticism, as the runway was too high and the audience too low. This meant that, apart from the photographers, no one could clearly see the clothes. Alistair Blair also complained his team had been crammed into a small space shared with Katherine Hamnett and all the models with resulting mayhem. Front of house was no better: “Chaos was fine when London’s new fashion wave was fun but now that the designers have matured it’s a pity the (fashion) council does not have the same professionalism they do . . . As a result Peder Bertelsen . . . is expected to pull his designers out of the tents next season. If he does others are bound to follow.” WWD, 16 March 1987

Galliano appeared to applause at the end of the show in a black baker-boy cap and sailor jacket. The historicism elements in combination with practical wearability proved a winner, and the collection sold well. Ian Bibby, who oversaw production, recalled that, “Bertelsen was pleased. Everything was moving in the right direction” (interview with the author). The press also really liked it: “Most notably grown up was John Galliano, for too long a terrible enfant, whose stunning collection had each piece stepping smoothly and seductively from the one before. Fluid but not languid, floral without being florid, it garnered universal praise” The Face, May 1987 “John Galliano – whose clothes in the past seemed made for another culture, if not another planet – now offers softly draped jersey dresses and short, skinny jumpers. He still has fun with irregular hemlines, bloused skirts and other arresting designs.” New York Times, 17 March 1987

Fashion sketch for a blouse and pinafore dress, included in the press pack.

However, Patrick Cox recalled: “John was rebelling and starting to feel that there was an entire system against him, even though that was a system trying to get his clothes out.” Interview with the author

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1988 Spring/Summer

Blanche DuBois 11 October 1987, 6.00 pm B.F.C. Marquee, Olympia 2, London 96 looks

Interior of programme.

“From Anarchy to Wearability” Evening Standard, 15 March 1988

Galliano’s turnover was by now the largest in Bertelsen’s fashion group, with sales throughout Europe, Japan and North America. More space was required, so the design studio remained at Shelton St and the production team with six machinists moved to the floors above a working Art Deco Shell petrol station at 79-91 New Kings Road. Galliano also moved into a flat above the studio so that he could work as late as he wished. The studio benefited from a massive lift so that the delivery van could fit inside it. Many of the studio workers felt that the working atmosphere changed with the move.

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Amongst the intern intake was a seventeen-year-old student called Steven Robinson who had studied for a Diploma in Fashion at the Epsom School of Art. This rather awkward, over-weight young man worshiped Galliano and quickly made himself indispensable. Unbeknownst at the time, another key member of Galliano’s team was now in place (he was to remain at Galliano’s side until his untimely death in 2007).

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The inspiration for the S/S 88 collection, as the title suggests, was Tennessee Williams’ tragic, fragile heroine from his 1947 play A Streetcar Named Desire combined with the idea of “the English country lady”, complete with bee-keeper hats: “This was all based on manners, being proper and England, pruning roses, tea-dresses – the anonymity of bee-keeping, the art of apiary . . . We used soft colours, accents, we layered four different types of fabric just to get just the right shade, and the colours I liked the best were the jade and the eau de nil which I thought was really fresh.” Galliano, post-show TV interview with Anglian TV, 11 October 1982

The collection featured “Blown Away” hems, high waistlines defined by broad belts, big origami rosette corsages in matching fabric, disappearing lapels, lapels used as straps, high-waisted skirts and dresses, blouses with large bow or shawl effects, and bodies with multiple criss-cross straps. Galliano gave his pattern cutters a book on origami and asked them to make rosettes and corsages to incorporate into the clothes.

Veronica Webb in coatdress with “Blown Away” hem.

His pattern cutter Sue Bottjer recalls, “I remember him working with panels of muslin on the dress stand, pinning up the hem and telling the pattern team that he wanted the hem to look as though it had been blown up in the wind or blown away. This became known as the ‘Blown Away’ hem, which we used on sleeves as well as skirt hems.” Interview with the author

The irregular gores were joined and fastened onto stiffened hem tapes as well as linings to produce the full, undulating lines. Buttons and buttonholes were added to the hems and interior seams of some to allow the skirts to be even more draped and polonaised. A Prince-of-Wales checked skirt of this style retailed for £250. There was a small element of knitwear. Pastelcoloured, bias-knitted tops and short spencerlike sweaters first seen in Fallen Angels were reintroduced, and sometimes combined with Luiven Rivas-Sanchez print skirts and leggings. Jackets were also fewer in number – mainly short, single breasted with large origami rosettes.

Origami corsage on checked nylon dress.

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Karen Crichton, who had worked with Galliano on the toiles for the previous season’s “bustle” dresses, walked into the studio one day to find all the pattern cutters poring over a tiny scrap of paper torn from a 50s magazine, which showed a tiered, layered skirt, trying to work out how this process had been achieved. When Karen told them she had been taught how to do it (organdie strips cut on the bias, curving round a shape), Galliano asked her to

make some skirt samples. She recalled the moment she delivered them to him: “It was really late at night a couple of days before the show. I brought in three skirts, completely made. John manipulated them into shape and we sewed them into place, then the studio made simple bodices to attach.” Interview with the author

The skirts were formed from tiered, undulating bands of organdie, and the dress, which was to form the finale of the show, was named the “Clam”. The atmosphere back stage was understandably tense, and Galliano looked upset. The show opened with two models wearing stark, black, high-waisted short skirts with crisp white blouses against a white back-drop scrawled with large John Galliano signature and a portrait of Marlene Dietrich in a Galliano bow blouse and long black evening gloves identical to the first models’ ensembles. The models with natural-looking makeup had their hair held in slick 50s-style chignons, held in snoods or under chiffon-swathed, beekeeper-style bonnets. As the show began, Karen Crichton, who had never witnessed any fashion show before, having always worked in the theatre, eased herself into her seat and sensed an air of excitement and anticipation. “As the models wearing my ‘Clam’ dresses emerged, the room fell silent. My heart stopped and I thought – they don’t like this – but there was a standing ovation and my eyes filled with tears.” Interview with the author, September 2016

Romantic “beekeeper” look: tailored checked jacket with origami corsage worn over “blown away” skirt.

52  1988 Spring/Summer

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To receive his applause, Galliano appeared at the end of the show in a sober black tailored jacket, white collarless shirt, grey flannel pants, and wedgecut natural hair – every inch the businessman. The collection was met with universal critical acclaim and was Galliano’s most commercially successful to date, US Vogue stating that he had gone from “fashion cult to pace setter” (1 December 1987). The 50s-inspired, pretty, ladylike clothes were extremely wearable for both day and evening and found eager buyers in London, Europe and the leading US department stores, including Saks and Macy’s. Bloomingdales described the collection as “distinctive and original” (WWD, 13 October 1987). The “Clam” dresses were the stars of the show, made to special order at a cost of £747. Only twenty-five were made; they are thus extremely rare. The following evening after the show, Galliano was presented with his first “Designer of the Year” award by the British Fashion Council (Jasper Conran having won it the year before) at a reception in Whitehall, presided over by Lord Young. It had been a successful season all round and the maverick Galliano had, it seemed, finally been welcomed into the fashion establishment’s fold. As was their habit, the key design team took off to Amanda Harlech’s house in Wales to work on ideas for the next show.

Rare “Clam” dress made from tiers of organza. Steven Philip Collection.

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1988–89 Autumn/Winter

(Hairclips) 13 March 1988, 4.00 pm British Fashion Council Marquee, Olympia, London 91 looks New label, with the occasional Galliano 1 label

Interior of programme.

“Ingenious jacket shapes and beautiful colour palette” Tony Melville of Macy’s summary of the collection, WWD, 14 March 1988

Both the pattern cutters and Aguecheek management were surprised to learn that there were to be no skirts in this collection whatsoever. Instead there were shorts, one-piece short-jacket combinations and jumpsuits. After huge pressure, Galliano agreed to include two skirt designs, but he never put them into production. Tensions in the studio mounted as Steven Robinson was appointed Galliano’s right-hand man. The palette was quite different to previous collections – a subdued Biba-esque range of muted tones

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in grey, forest-green, brown, teal blue, violet, burgundy and chestnut brown. The Face magazine poetically described them as “subtle shades of mint and lichen, burnt berries, powdered roses and dusty aubergines” (May 1985). There was a heavy emphasis on tailoring and asymmetry using Dechamp moss crêpe, gabardine and grey and brown suede. The moss-crêpe jumpsuits with sharp lapels and broad belts also came in shorts versions.

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The jackets had wide draped shawl effects and ripple-effect buttoning details with asymmetric hems, interesting shawl effect collars or floating panels that could be looped through the waist. A grey suede jacket with shawl collar sold for £875 (expensive for those times). Blouses and tops were soft and light in contrast to the hard tailoring, and often revealed the breasts. Fine black cobweb knits formed tops and transparent tunics. Most importantly Galliano created his first statement bias-cut evening gown. This was to become a leitmotif that he was to repeat throughout his career and with which he will always be associated. The bias cut, where the fabric is cut diagonally across the weave, gives the clothes great stretch whilst at the same time clinging close to the body and was made popular by Madeleine Vionnet in the late 1920s-early 30s. Galliano had long been fascinated by this cut. When young model Vanessa Newman went for a casting interview for the Forgotten Innocents collection, A/W 86–87, she was wearing a black chiffon bias-cut dress she had bought for just a few pounds from Portobello market. “I think he was really much more interested in the dress I wore than me. He spent a long time looking at the construction and asked me about it in great detail.” Vanessa Newman, interview with the author, April 2016

Double-breasted, wide legged gabardine jump suit finished just above the ankle, Greta Garbo–style.

Galliano’s first assistant Deborah Andrews recalled that at St Martins they had only been taught to cut very straightforward shapes based on the kimono, and so Galliano asked Karen Crichton to assist in creating the first toiles. He told her that he wanted the clothes to look, “as though they had no beginning and no end” (interview with the author). They were made in various fabrics. The bestsellers (retailing at £340) were in deep burgundy and bottle green Deschamp satin-backed crêpe with trained hems and horizontal back straps. Galliano was to keep to this fabric even in later years when he could afford fine silks as he preferred its excellent stretch and hold. Shorter versions and tunics were made in Luiven Rivas-Sanchez “Lace” print on chiffon, which were also further embellished with Corelli ribbon-work. Studio sketch by Julie Verhoeven illustrating the complex tailoring.

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The bias-cut gowns were popular sellers and made by Jan Leroyd and her team of six machinists on the outskirts of London. Frustratingly, production still relied on small independent companies such as these, despite Aguecheek’s backing. UK manufacturers who produced large-volume orders for the big chains were unwilling to take on small orders from independent labels who often made complex demands. Perhaps the most beautiful of all was the dress that opened the show, of eau de nil silk with Luiven Rivas-Sanchez “Cherry” print, which was further embellished by hand with tiny red seed-beads by London College of Fashion student Joanna Wright. Only five of these were ever made (retailing at £1030) as not only was the embroidery time consuming, but they had to be made in the Galliano studio rather than given to Leroyd and her team as the fabric was difficult to handle – the smooth diagonal seams almost impossible to achieve at speed. The masculine coat worn over it (retailing at £800) had been specially commissioned from Savile Row to Galliano’s design. For the show, the white backdrop was painted with Galliano’s scrawled signature and the figure of a woman with an umbrella blown inside-out (also used on the invitation cover), which was to presage a key look in the following show. The marketing, makeup and styling was inspired by Brassai’s Paris by Night book and Jean-Henri Lartigue photographs of 1930s Paris beauties: Bibi, LouLou, Irene Arlette and his special muse Renée Perle. A large-format press handout was made with black and white photographs shot in Paris cafes and interiors by Xavier von Vallhonrat in Lartigue style. The models were styled with 30s-style Jean Harlow plucked eyebrows, heavily shaded eyes and rosebud lips in dark berry colours. Their hair was shingled, greased back and held in multiple metal hair-clips – hence the name given to the show.

Bias-cut beaded “Cherry” dress. Hamish Bowles Collection, the print by Luiven Rivas-Sanchez.

56  1988–89 Autumn/Winter

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“The sales team, headed up by Sean Dixon, were extremely concerned by the lack of selling pieces and in particular the lack of skirts. John was reluctant to design commercial pieces and seemed only concerned with the show and advertising. During my time at Galliano’s, this was the most difficult period. Unfortunately, a combination of John believing his own press and the influence of Jasper Conran negatively affected the business. Sean and I had to speak to the sample room to pull together pieces from the collection that were going to be more wearable. In the end, the sales still were good. The regular stores took the collection, even if they weren’t particularly keen on it, because they needed to keep a consistent Galliano presence.” Interview with the author, December 2016

However, Galliano’s obsession with quality, the expensive fabrics and the labour-intensive construction involved meant the production was costly.

First Paris Entrée Following the show, Galliano took a capsule collection to Paris for inclusion in the Showroom des Createurs, which showcased exciting contemporary designers, including Sophie Sitbon, Herve Leger, Betty Jackson and others. It took place at the Residence Saint James & Albany, Rue de Rivoli, Paris, on 19–22 March. 30s-inspired makeup, the hair covered in hairclips.

The accessories included suede shoes with low Louis heels and straps by Elizabeth Stuart-Smith and large outsized berets and asymmetric felt hats with curled tips by Shirley Hex (who had trained both Stephen Jones and Philip Treacy). The elbowlength Dent gloves were in suede this time. Fringed, knitted, black lace and chiffon stoles woven with florets and black chenille cobweb tunics were handbeaded by student Jo Wright. Galliano appeared to take his bow at the end of the show dressed soberly in white shirt, 40s-style pegtopped trousers and braces with preppy-look wire framed specs and wedge haircut. The clothes sold less well than the previous, more mainstream, feminine Blanche DuBois collection, and the lack of skirts was an issue with retailers. Galliano felt that his “art” was being compromised by the restrictions of the large corporation. Lorraine Piggott, personal assistant, recalls,

Galliano had always seen Paris as the epicentre of the fashion world and as a student had often sneaked his way into the major shows during fashion week. This was his first Paris entrée as a designer; Patrick Cox commented that Galliano had always thought of himself as a Paris couturier and from that moment he had his sights fixed on the French capital.

Courtelle Design Award Courtelle Design Award Collection, September 1988. Black Galliano/Courtelle Awards label. Final year textile students around the UK were asked to design an “olde worlde fabric that was ultimately modern”. The winners were Lynelle Murray, Tim Dyer, Marion Browning and Julie Atkinson. Galliano designed sixteen garments, which were produced by three leading commercial, knitted jersey manufacturers and sold alongside his main autumn collection.

(Hairclips)  57

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1989 Spring/Summer

(Charles James) 9 October 1988, 3.00 pm British Fashion Council Marquee, Olympia, London 94 looks

Show programme filled with delicate pencil line drawings by Claire Smalley emphasizing the lean, vertical lines of the tailoring.

“Street couture – ready to wear clothes that are approached with a couture attitude” Independent, 16 February 1989

London’s Fashion Week experienced something of a 60s ethnic vibe: “Retailers – who have been exploring . . . Olympia . . . find that hippie looks have replaced the conservative or yuppie looks prevalent just six months ago. Now they see the spice colors, gauze-like fabrics and mirrored accessories of India, linked to the new disco music called Acid House.” New York Times, 11 October 1988

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Galliano, in contrast, seemed to have remained in a 1930s Paris/Lartigue-inspired gloom as late 80s Britain struggled on through the economic recession. Although this was a summer collection (there was just a small concessionary white/pastel section) the palette was dark – black with rich russet tones of chestnut, wine and puce. Galliano realized that expensive purchases needed to be special:

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“If everyone is in such big hock with their mortgages they are going to want to buy something that is more than just a garment, something that is going to be a part of them and make them feel beautiful.” Independent, 16 February 1989

Galliano’s fascination with Lartigue’s muse Renée Perle continued into the styling of this collection. “I loved her serenity, her beauty, that quality of walking into a room and silencing men. I wanted to capture that feeling with a modern cut. So ultimately it’s a modern garment with the security of the past.” Independent, 16 February 1989

This desire to give the clothes a vintage feel he described as “An invitation – an alternative for a world that is habitually dressed in navy gabardine”, which was a bit rich, as he’d used acres of the fabric in the past! To achieve this vintage but contemporary feel he made heavy use of devoré velvet and fringing. The textile designer Luiven Rivas-Sanchez had admired a 20s vintage scarf worn by Debbi Mason, then fashion director of Elle, when he bumped into her at one of the shows. He asked to borrow it to show to Galliano. Galliano liked the lush sensuality of the fabric –transparent without being too revealing. Talented studio assistant Julie Verhoeven produced further designs, making studies of flowers from life. Galliano turned a corner of the design studio into a laboratory and began experimenting with vats of chemicals to see if he could reproduce the technique – which involved burning off the velvet to produce the cut-pattern effect. Early test results were dreadful as the fabrics entirely dissolved or the desired eau-de-nil turned to day-glow green. Eventually he asked specialist printer Patricia Belford to take over the production. It was quite the season for cut velvet. She described the process:

Galliano had also become fascinated with the Anglo-American designer Charles James, whose complex, brilliant construction techniques are legendary. He and his pattern cutters spent days in the Victoria & Albert museum researching the couturier. “In the studio John had said that he wanted the dresses to have integral panels that looked as though you had thrown a shawl over your shoulder. He also wanted to create a Figure of Eight skirt, inspired by Charles James. There was a tube of fabric for one leg to go through, with a fold-over skirt panel to the front. He did both short and long versions. Some of the dresses had quite complicated bodices, which made it sometimes difficult to work out how to put them on at first.” Sue Bottjer, interview with the author, October 2016

Ensemble incorporating two different devoré patterns.

“Devoré is a chemical printing process where the specifically mixed print paste burns away the viscose but leaves the silk of the main design. It took many weeks of experimentation to come up with the right recipe for each design. But once the recipe was resolved, we were quite quickly able to produce hundreds of metres. Jasper Conran was one of the first to request devoré, quickly followed by English Eccentrics, for whom I printed many large and wonderful orders. I recall that John’s order was quite small in comparison.” Interview with the author

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The resulting clothes featured fluid asymmetry, reflecting strong Comme des Garcons influences, with lots of separates and layering, with capelets attached to dresses, blouses, jackets and coats. Although some of the shapes were redolent of the last two collections with shorts, culotte trousers, Blanche DuBois silk capelet blouses, the hard tailoring of Hairclips was softened by the choice of fabrics – flowing chiffon, silk crêpe, viscose, velvet and lace. Velvet was a key component – used as sashes on top hats, in shimmering silver or black plush for shorts and as art deco–style devoré in the form of dresses and tunics. New short boleros in viscose crêpe and shiny faille had cufflink-like round, ridged button closures. A Parma violet silk “waterfall” blouse sold for £170, another with cape collar for £190. Jackets generally had raised waistlines (a rust gabardine example with neck tie sold for £566). Lapels were generally shorter, cut angular at the top and curved below. Waterfall jackets with loosely flounced cascading openings, “ashes of roses”, for example, retailed for £226. There were lots of shorts, culottes, trousers and long skirts with asymmetric hems (biascut black crêpe skirt retailed for £204).

Linen topper by Hex/Treacy that retailed for £156.

Viscose pinafore dresses had low, scooped fronts with the lapels forming the straps. The cut-velvet garments were more expensive, a tunic retailing for £245, a long bias-cut dress for £450. Bias dresses made up the finale of the show and were mainly in black, although there was one red silk example. The most technically brilliant was the “Greek Key” design of black satin (£468). Harlech and Galliano had been playing with architectural details and musing on how to incorporate them into the collection when Karen Crichton came up with the complex bias pattern for them. Black and white chenille embroidered cobweb-like knitted tunics, some with fringed hems (£331) and dresses, some with long fringed hems, added to the vintage feel.

Satin backed crêpe “Greek Key” bias-cut dress. Hamish Bowles Collection.

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The show backdrop bore no branding and the styling for the show was again Renée Perle–inspired. The models’ make-up was pale but with more natural, unplucked brows and dark, wine-coloured lips. Their long hair was parted into bunches and twisted into asymmetric loose coils that framed their faces. The silhouette was tall, slim, elongated. To further emphasize the vertical line, Galliano commissioned Shirley Hex, assisted by student Philip Treacy, to make top hats with asymmetric caved-in crowns and tall linen cloches. The lasts alone cost £500 each to produce. Vintage-inspired black and white canvas shoes by Elizabeth Stuart-Smith (identical in shape to previous collection) retailed for £112, and punched leather lace-effect gloves completed the look. The models appeared in a procession of colourthemed phases: first white with touches of pale pink, followed by chestnut brown and black, then mainly black “with a series of stunning clingy, lacy, post-modern variations on the little black dress” (The Face, November 1988). The Face also jokingly suggested that Galliano had gone into mourning as Rifat Ozbek had been awarded Designer of the Year this time around. In the final stage of the show Galliano decided to switch off the lights for dramatic effect, which enraged the photographers as virtually nothing was visible. There were cries of “turn the lights back on, John”. The press response was largely hostile. Even the New York Times, who could usually be relied upon to write favourable reviews, was critical: “He broke the elegant mood with unnecessary Dickensian hats and with the asymmetric effects of Japanese designers.” The Face remarked on “the post-Galliano asymmetric hemline again and again” (November 1988). WWD thought he was too clever for his own good and didn’t see “what his clothes have to do with real life” (WWD, 10 October 1988).

Skirt-free zone – a shorts all-in-one.

Charlotte du Cann of the Independent found the darkness of the collection hard to comprehend. “Gone was the sweet clever tailoring . . . and the soft girlish chiffon . . . Nothing that bore any relation to the fast, urban styles of the past years” (16 February 1989). It was pronounced “too evening, too black, too precious” (Independent ibid.).

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The management at Aguecheek became increasingly discontented as the sales figures dipped and production costs rose. The high-quality fabrics combined with complex production methods and overtime accruals meant the collection was expensive to produce. Whilst it was still made within the tight budget, success relied on high sales. Lorraine Piggott recalls,

The atmosphere in the studio deteriorated further as Galliano was put under increasing pressure. One assistant recalls,

John was reluctant to design commercial pieces and was more creative: a showman, a visionary, but not a producer. He would turn a blind eye to the selling production.” Interview with the author, December 2016

Bertelesen brought in Leif Roenn, a Danish sportswear manufacturer, to oversee the studio and make the whole process more structured. Piggott recalled the mounting tension:

Making the clothes for the show in-house was one thing – putting them into production was another.

“Roenn’s past experience was making thousands of tracksuits for the Scandinavian equivalent of Tesco; he had no idea about high-end fashion. John ignored him and the team had no respect for his input. It was disheartening for all concerned.” Interview with the author, December 2016

“The pattern pieces were quite complex and had to be accompanied by detailed instructions. We had to write on the card production panel, often indicating points by letters and numbers. A goes to E, etc. Some of the constructions were so complicated that trying to explain to the manufacturers how to put them together sometimes took hours.” Sue Bottjer, interview with the author, October 2016

“John, who had always been such fun, became more difficult to work for. He didn’t work alongside us anymore. Designs from him were being handed to us late and it had gone from being unbelievably enjoyable to quite stressful.” Interview with the author, 2016

Galliano’s artistic freedom was compromised, as he now had to justify every metre of fabric, every button. His future seemed again uncertain. “John had felt safe with the financial backing of Aguecheek, but he had no respect for them. There was never any real creative understanding between them, so it was highly unlikely that the five-year contract would be renewed.” Lorraine Piggott, interview with the author, December 2016

She initiated talks with a well-established, top-end Italian manufacturer, Zamasport Spa, who already included Romeo Gigli under the Callaghan label as one of their designers. They were interested in backing Galliano and had massive in-house production, sales expertise and distribution to offer. She thought they would be the perfect fit, but in the end Galliano decided to stay and she decided to leave.

Clean-cut Galliano takes his bows.

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12 March 1989, 3.00 pm British Fashion Council Marquee, Olympia, London 83 looks

“Like the model who wore the coat with a pleated collar that covered her face, no one could see where this collection was going.” WWD, 13 March 1989

The clothes were more sensible and everyday wearable. The complicated constructions of past seasons had largely disappeared. The inspiration for this collection was, it seemed, to play it safe – Galliano said it was Nancy Cunard!

1989–90 Autumn/Winter

Nancy Cunard

It seemed as though the Aguecheek bosses had told Galliano to stick to what sold best. Back came the big sailor collar shirts, shorts (this time doublet-style), culottes/palazzo pants (but with slashed openings), the all-in-one city shorts ensembles (but this time with deep cowl neckline), the coats and jackets with waterfall collars and the barrel coat. The curved and angular collars on jackets were repeated from the last collection, but had become shorter. The single button was still a feature but often in a contrasting colour. The palette was noticeably different. Acid-House smiley face yellow (often contrasted with black in the same garment), vibrant purple, and black and white zebra prints were introduced. There were very few dresses. The slinky bias-cut 30s lines had been replaced with a more 1916–18– inspired barrel silhouette. “This collection had no pretty elements – it looked hard.” Pattern cutter Sue Bottjer, interview with the author, October 2016

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“Gambler” bodice with beaded dice by Jo Wright.

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Black visrose top inspired by a c. 1920 fashion plate.

Dramatic black and yellow harlequin patchwork was used on coats.

Barrel-shaped line, the skirt of flounced devoré, using fabric from the last collection.

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Galliano and his team had been working all the hours in the lead-up to the show and all through the night on the eve of the show itself, which was to him normal: “People tend to imagine that the clothes appear at Olympia as if by magic and that designers have easy, freewheeling time of it, sketching a few frocks when the fancy takes them. But it takes at least 12 weeks of hard grind to create each show. Long days spent fitting, sampling, making patterns and to-ing and fro-ing from the factory . . . I virtually live at my studio . . . We have a shower there and it’s nice and cosy sleeping among the velvets and wools underneath the cutting table, so I often don’t bother to go home at all.” ES magazine, March 1989

The show opened with an unadorned plain white backdrop with wailing middle-eastern music and a girl dressed in a purple jacket, black polo neck and long grey pleated culotte trousers. The Nancy Cunard–inspired styling came in the form of brunette wigs with severe asymmetric fringe details, large side curls, severe short cuts or top knots, with dark shadows painted above and below the kohl-rimmed eyes. Naomi Campbell made her third appearance.

Some of the more memorable and talked-about looks came in the latter section of the collection of anklelength winter coats, including a yellow wool example, the capelet collar with long black faux monkey fur fringes (actually made from human hair extensions because monkey fur was impossible to source). Another coat, “inspired by the English weather” – the umbrella coat. Karen Crichton recalls, “He wanted the coat to look like an umbrella that had blown inside-out in the wind. I attached traditional metal umbrella frames to the hem of the barrel-shaped coat. On the morning of the show I delivered it to the studio. John’s initial design had a simple, high collar with contrasting yellow buttonhole. He tore it off, grabbed someone’s umbrella from their bag, pulled it apart and I sewed that to the coat instead. He wanted a more chaotic appearance up near her face. The poor model I’m sure her legs were ripped to shreds because of the metal spokes inside the hem.” Interview with the author, September 2016

British Vogue’s response to the “umbrella” coat was, “Would you be seen in this outfit?” (January 1989).

Cockerel feathers were worn in the hair, in feather boas and as bustier bodices. Embroiderer Jo Wright recalls that the idea for these came from an old 50s feather hat which someone had left in the studio and was taken apart for its plumes. She also worked on pairs of short and arm-length gloves with fringes of dice and gambling chips as well as the finely beaded yellow tops with large black dice motifs (these retailed at £555 and a matching shawl at £346). ID magazine suggested these pieces would appeal to “die hard gamblers” and that it “uses the power of money to make its impact on the catwalk. But don’t all rush at once. You’ll need more than a handful of casino chips to afford the whole outfit” (July 1989). Archive references continued to be important. Studio notebooks reveal how a top with open shoulders was triggered by a fashion plate for a smock c. 1914, a towering, curling taffeta hat by Philip Treacy (£478) was inspired by photographs of 1870s hairstyles and a strip panelled dress by a 1918 fashion plate.

Sketchbook page showing vintage fashion plate and the top it inspired and a turban redolent of 1870s hairstyles.

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1958 Pierre Cardin model, the inspiration for the “Banana” coat cartridge pleated collar.

Galliano described as a “punctuation mark for the show” a cocoon “Banana” coat in yellow Melton wool with a collar formed from tall cartridge pleats (£1200) worn with a zebra print hat (£120) and zebra boots (£192). The exaggerated cartridge pleated collar was inspired by a photograph taken from a vintage magazine (and was later to be the basis for the Dior “Hokusai” coat S/S 2007). At the end of the show, Galliano appeared demurely dressed in black polo-neck sweater and grey trousers. The press response was largely derogatory. WWD thought it was made up of “largely jumbled elements” (13 March 1989). This was the last collection Crichton was to work on. The atmosphere in the studio had changed. In the past, she had been given free access to Galliano;

“Banana” coat: the hand-pleating caused studio assistant Dawn Richardson’s fingers to bleed.

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they would both pore over reference books in search of ideas. However, after Steven Robinson’s promotion to Design Assistant, these direct interactions with Galliano ended. A member of the design team recalled, “Steven Robinson had become all powerful, all controlling. Galliano became more distant and used Stephen as an intermediary between himself and the rest of us. There was little direct contact anymore. It was a stressful time” (interview with the author). Hannah Woodhouse (Head of Sales) said, “Steven was completely dedicated to John on both a professional and personal level. His dedication went way beyond that of a regular studio assistant. Steven was committed and fiercely loyal to John, who became quite dependent upon him for his everyday needs as well as working on the collections.” Interview with the author, January 2017

Aguecheek’s fashion business was crumbling. By this point, Bertelsen was the largest designer-brand retailer in the UK with its seventeen designer shops, including Armani, Ungaro, Valentino, and Hamnett, as well as backing leading British designers Galliano, Richard James and Alistair Blair. His company had lost more than £5 million in the three years to 1987. The boutiques were losing money; the pound was strong against the dollar, which deterred overseas buyers, and he had seriously underestimated

the enormous cost of running independent fashion houses. The company had liabilities of £13 million ($22.75m) with sales of only £11.9 million ($20.82m). He blamed the designers: “I assumed a designer knew all about production costs. That was wrong and by the time I got someone in to oversee it – it was too late.” WWD, 5 February 1989

He parted ways with Richard James, Alistair Blair and Nigel Cabourn. The only designer he continued to back was Galliano. Lorraine Piggott felt that Aguecheek’s attitude had been wrong from the outset: “Most designers don’t make money for 3–5 years, but Aguecheek expected instant payback. When you are growing a company, the more successful you are in sales, the more you should reinvest to build the brand. Japanese and Italian companies accept this, but Aguecheek didn’t. Whilst we did everything on a budget – we were given discounts everywhere (advertisers, models reduced their prices or did it for free). Aguecheek seemed happy to spend lavishly on buildings, Alistair Blair couture and Richard James menswear paying no attention to budgets in relation to sales as Aguecheek could relate better to that style of clothing. Whereas with Galliano, every penny had to be accounted for, although ours, by a long way, were the most successful design team under the Aguecheek umbrella. It was a struggle, but we had a lot of fun.” Interview with the author, December 2016

Studio sketches for a turban hat based on an 1870s hairstyle, another based on a 20s bridal cap.

Nancy Cunard  67

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1990 Spring/Summer

(Greek widows, African football, 50s cocktail) 15 October 1989, 6.30 pm British Fashion Council Marquee, Chelsea Barracks, London 159 looks

“A brave ‘New Age’ dawns in London” Title of Evening Standard Review, 16 October 1989

Galliano’s collection, intended as the debut for the new decade, was a multi-faceted affair with multiple themes, including space-age silver and white looks, “Greek widows” dressed in black, South African Township children playing football in the dust (inspired by Sam Haskins’ photographs in African Image), 50s-inspired “Dior” cocktail dresses and “Peony Girls”. WWD said that Galliano “had borrowed from Yamamoto for several seasons. This spring he also opened accounts at Thierry Mugler, Pierre Cardin and Courreges.” 16 October 1989

The lack of space and shambolic organization at Olympia had caused the British Fashion Council to move all catwalk shows to the Chelsea Barracks. However, Katherine Hamnett refused to show in London at all because of her bad experiences. American supermodel Christy Turlington opened the show dressed in a white jump suit with a futuristic silver leather jacket with wing-like cap sleeves (the jacket retailed for £825).

Christy Turlington in space-race–inspired ensemble opens the show.

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She was almost unrecognizable in a brown bobbed wig, headband and heavily kohl-rimmed eyes. Galliano had also procured the services of Naomi Campbell and Helena Christensen. Turlington’s entrance was followed by colourthemed waves of models, first in jackets with short wing sleeves and viscose skirts with swirled “Blown Away” hems, followed by odd puff-ball shorts/skirt combinations and “Greek widow” figures dressed from head to toe in black with shawls or bulbous straw hats with chin straps covering their hair by Shirley Hex. Next came a wave of “Waifs” – barefooted, freshfaced young girls in simple, black, body-skimming crêpe dresses, which retailed at £285. Largely unnoticed among them was 15-year-old Kate Moss, making her catwalk debut. She was relatively unknown (having been spotted just the year before by Sarah Doukas of the Storm model agency at JFK airport) and there was no intimation of the star she was to become. The 50s-inspired cocktail dresses followed with bouffant “bobbin” skirts with broad side pleats or Cardinesque cut-aways. Christy Turlington appeared incongruously on the arm of Christos Tolera from the pop group Blue Rondo a la Turk.

15-year-old Kate Moss makes her catwalk debut in black crêpe “Waif” dress.

Amanda Harlech sketch of some of the show phases, silhouettes. Private Collection.

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The “African” phase included leggings combined with leotards, big knickers, long tunics with floating skirt panels or skirts with side slits and dresses in cotton plaids or abstract prints designed by Julie Verhoeven. Massive African-inspired “horn” headdresses, formed from rags, were worn with short striped jackets, baseball pants with side stripes, abbreviated t-shirts, and football vests with numerals, accessorised with umbrellas with tape-measure shoulder straps. Isabella Blow borrowed one of these turbans to wear to a dinner party, which caught fire when she leant over a candle on the table. A bodice and shorts made from lattices of wooden beads (inspired by continental car seat covers) were made by jeweller Vicki Sarge, Galliano’s clubbing-friend and flatmate of journalist Hamish Bowles. Elliptical or “eye” buttons were used for the first time. The “Italian Whites” phase was more mainstream and commercial with lots of wearable classic crêpe separates (a long crêpe wrap skirt was featured in Vogue for £220). The finale consisted of girls in giant peony headdresses by Francis Wilson teamed with earth-toned striped separates and flouncy ra-ra petticoats, the transparent chiffon tops with Cardinesque curved necklines which the New York Times described as a “bare breasted peasant look” (17 October 1989). With so many contrasting, conflicting themes it seemed that Galliano was trying myriad mainstream and avant-garde styles in the hope that at least some would find favour, but again it failed to please. The sniggering negative comments in the crowd proved too much for backer Peder Bertelsen, who stormed out halfway through proceedings. The press reviews were vicious: “Mr. Galliano mystified even some of his admirers with a collection that embraced giant caterpillar-shaped hats and diapers” Bernadine Morris, New York Times, 17 October 1989

WWD described it as “silly and old fashioned. Even the art school groupies were yawning.” 16 October 1989

Striped wool jacket with “eye” button. Steven Philip Collection.

Galliano made his end-of-show appearance with a short wedge haircut, in a grey t-shirt and white jeans. However, the consensus in the Galliano studio was that the venue was the problem – not the collection. London Fashion Week was failing to deliver, but to show in two centres was unaffordable. Katherine Hamnett and Vivienne Westwood were already showing in Paris in preference to London. Designer Betty Jackson said, “The days of an American buyer coming into London and buying masses from some small resource in Olympia are long gone” (WWD, 19 September 1989). Production manager Ian Bibby recalled, “Sales had plateaued. There was no marketing going into it. The volume of sales wasn’t sufficient. The fabrics had to be bought in advance and you would buy 400m and sometimes have 300m left over. With up to 35 different fabrics in a collection – there was a lot of wastage.” Interview with the author

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Helena Christensen in turban headdress and striped jacket.

Retail in recession-hit 80s Britain was in the doldrums generally. Domestic trading conditions were hard and so export orders, particularly from France, Germany, Italy and America, were crucial. To try to diversify, Aguecheek asked Galliano to come up with a swimwear line of ten different designs which included chartreuse and black Lycra swimsuits embroidered with large trademark coat of arms to the front, matching towelling robes and bags, all made by a sportswear factory in Leicester. The sales manager Hannah Woodhouse recalls driving all around the Cote d’Azur trying to get boutiques to take the swimwear – but with little success:

“We had no advertising budget and no wholesale network in place to sell the swimwear. Unlike some of the readyto-wear pieces, the swimwear designs were easy to wear and highly saleable, beautifully pared down simple halter necks, for example, with a simplicity of cut that was ahead of its time. However, the average retailer still saw John’s designs as somewhat extreme and difficult to sell, and were really only suited to extraordinary and unique boutiques such as Maria Luisa and l’Eclaireur in Paris.” “Bertelsen still backed Galliano for the time being, but against the advice of his business managers.” Interview with the author, January 2017

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1990–91 Autumn/Winter

(Fencing) 14 March 1990, 12.30 pm, Cour Carrée du Louvre, Paris 110 looks

“Paris applauds Galliano’s debut” Independent, 15 March 1990

Bertelsen finally agreed to debut Galliano in Paris. Rather than classifying Galliano as just a British designer, he needed to be regarded as international, and moving to Paris would help achieve this aim.

Although the press and buyer attendance for London fashion week had increased dramatically since the early 1980s from thirty-two members of the overseas press in 1982 to 347 in 1989 (Vogue, February 1990), this was still a drop in the ocean compared to Paris. London was regarded as a secondary venue, so with packed schedules, if there was a choice to be made – it was to Paris the buyers went. Bertelsen responded to British press criticism,

Bugs Bunny jacket. Steven Philip Collection.

“There are more international buyers in Paris than in London or Milan, so this is where John needs to be” Independent, 15 March 1990

To keep costs down, sponsorship was sought: British Midland sponsored the flights and Charles Heidsieck the champagne. Even so, it still cost around £50,000 at the time to show there. Warner Bros contributed around £25,000 as part of their celebration of Bugs Bunny’s fiftieth anniversary. Hannah Woodhouse, Sales Manager recalls, “So all these top Warner execs came into our office and we agreed to include Bugs Bunny imagery on the clothes as well as two big monitors running Bugs Bunny films at the show. John was very good about it – that was an awful thing to do to him, but we really needed their finance. On the ivory bomber-jackets, he cleverly used tone-on-tone embroidery, which was so subtle as to be almost invisible and, in addition, the girls wore their hair long to cover the cartoon motifs or they just tied the jackets around their waists. The Warner execs

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sitting in the front row were furious and, in addition, the monitors didn’t work. To try to appease them, we made a special Bugs Bunny jacket for the CEO’s wife, and then everything was fine.” Interview with the author January 2017

Danda Jaroljmek, press officer, remembers, “John borrowed a flat from a friend and we had to carry everything up flights of spiral staircases. When we arrived at the Louvre to set up for the show, I felt like the kid who had got found out – that we were suddenly doing something really serious and I didn’t know what the hell I was supposed to do. We all felt a bit like that – but at the same time it was really exciting.” Interview with the author, October 2016

The show started 50 minutes late, much to the annoyance of Bertelsen and the audience packed into the Louvre’s massive 2000-capacity tent, as Paris waited for its first taste of Galliano. It opened to Jeremy Healy’s attention-grabbing soundtrack of sirens and chattering voices, followed by rhythmic drumbeats. As usual, Healy mixed the music live to synchronise with the movements of the individual models. Annie Lennox was seated in the fourth row. It opened with a stately procession of beautifully tailored redingotes in black, white and red with curved cutaways (as seen in the previous collection) used on the collars and the skirts.

“I just felt relieved that at last we were out of that tent in the car park in Olympia. If John felt nervous he didn’t show it. He was not distracted from the task in hand; he was so absorbed in his work.” Hannah Woodhouse, interview with the author, January 2017

Beautifully tailored scarlet redingote, one of the opening looks.

Jackets with quilted satin sides, jodhpurs, with caps and face veils to complete the look.

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the Daily Mail, possibly disgruntled that the British enfant terrible had abandoned London for Paris, described the look as “demented beekeeper” (15 March 1990). The futuristic tailoring was followed by mainly black coats and jackets, “Scissor” coats (retailing at £450) with cross-over tails, often in two different fabrics, worn with breeches, trousers, slim jumpsuits and crisp white cotton shirts. Philip Treacy produced domed hats, worn with ringlet tresses to the sides.

Angora jacket knitted with skeletal and musculature patterns.

Galliano wanted his women to appear strong, empowered. Harlech had summoned up for him a vision of an eighteenth-century swash-buckling heroine who was a skilled swordswoman. The models had their hair tied back in eighteenth-century–style “Robespierre” ponytails by Julien D’Ys. “I was exploring women’s personalities in all their variety. I wanted to end up showing them in complete control of their own destinies.” Independent, 15 March 1990

There followed kilt-like skirts worn with sweaters or shiny white jodhpurs with an assortment of beautifully cut bum-freezer jackets, a cream angora jacket with musculature pattern knit, quilted satin jackets and corset bodices, some accessorized with caps and fencing-style face masks.

Massive black and white rosettes worn over the coats. Private Collection.

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For the finale, Galliano produced sports-inspired, tough biker-girl looks; the girls with natural flowing hair which had been pushed into buckets of cold water by Julien d’Ys had their faces smeared in black grease. Acid yellow synthetic and moiré jackets (£835) and “Bugs Bunny” jackets were teamed with tight black leggings and distressed-effect vests, layered cotton t-shirts (£125) worn under string vests. When Galliano appeared to take his bow, wearing a pink Bugs Bunny t-shirt and a sarong tied over his trousers, he was also drenched with water and looked happy and relieved. Paris gave him a standing ovation. Joan Kaner of Neiman Marcus called it “a great mixture of modern and medieval”. She liked the redingotes and slip dresses. Andrew Basile of Bergdorf Goodman liked the kilts and the acid chartreuse biker jackets. Bertelesen said: “This was his strongest collection yet and I think it will be judged one of the strongest in Paris this season.” Interview with Roger Tredre, Independent, 15 March 1990

Grease-smeared models in tough “biker” looks end the show.

Next a group of models emerged in layered black chiffon and crêpe slip dresses (these were commercially successful, retailing at £275–300) with spaghetti straps, some with beaded modesty panels over the breasts worn with shorts or in double layers. These were followed by very wearable crisp tailored trouser suits and abstract printed brown and puce chiffon tunics and over-dresses worn over crêpe slips with abstract prints by Julie Verhoeven, inspired by Hans Hartung and Robert Motherwell paintings.

From a press standpoint, it was a huge success and one of the most talked-about shows of the season – but would it sell in high enough volumes and would the Paris move, with its wider audience, make the difference? Ian Bibby recalled that it performed well: “Most of it was wearable – probably one of his most commercial collections. Most of the sales were to Europe, with a few buyers in Japan and to a lesser degree the US.” Interview with the author, August 2016

In March 1990, Galliano designed his first ballet costumes. In the grand tradition of great couturiers (Poiret, Saint Laurent, Chanel) he made costumes for the Ballet Rambert’s newly choreographed Currulao. In black-and-white stripes, the costumes were adapted from pieces taken from his A/W 89–90 collection.

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Galliano’s Girl Despite Aguecheek’s press statements that all was well, Bertelsen refused to pay for the A/W 91–92 collection or show and instead asked Galliano to start work designing two cheaper diffusion lines – “Galliano’s Girl” and “Galliano Jeans” – in the hope of appealing to a younger, wider market to increase sales. They were not alone in cancelling shows during this season; both Jasper Conran and Katherine Hamnett, whilst still producing collections, showed them by video or by appointment rather than by expensive catwalk. Nadira Thompson, Aguecheek’s PR, conceded that their diffusion lines were influenced by the economic recession. “We decided not to produce the mainline collection for one season only in order to concentrate resources on this new side of the business. Launching a new line successfully requires a lot of time and energy.” Draper’s Record, 2 March 1991

Galliano’s Girl labels designed by Julie Verhoeven.

The aim was to launch at the London Designer Show, 12 March 1992, and then take them to Paris for a series of open days for buyers and to a trade fair in Milan. Made out of mainly coloured denim, Lycra, as well as stretchy rubberized fabrics and netting, they bear black John Galliano London and Galliano Genes labels. A denim jacket retailed at £130, hipster 501-style jeans for £100, Lycra t-shirt £65, Lycra jacket £240 and £300 for a coat – so they still weren’t exactly cheap. The designs included simplified versions of “circle” and asymmetric tops in Lycra and the “anatomical” knit waistcoat as well as t-shirts, hats, swimsuits (£80), towelling robe (£322) and matching duffle bags (£65). The jeans line was produced in the UK under licence by Tula Ltd which was 50 per cent owned by Bertelsen. It must have been torture for Galliano to produce such a narrow, watered down range of designs. He put on a brave face, however. “Designing a cheaper line imposes a rigorous discipline on you, but it’s also invaluable. We had to learn a whole new technique in order to use some of the newer fabrics on the market. Working with accountants who insist that price points are as important as design details means you learn very quickly to eliminate the inessentials.” Galliano in interview, Independent on Sunday, 28 July 1991

Zips were used where possible instead of more expensive button-flies, for example, and Lycra instead of silk as it was easy to cut and finish. By introducing a diffusion line, Galliano was following in the footsteps of Jean-Paul Gaultier (“Gaultier Junior”), Karl Lagerfeld (KL) and Donna Karan (DKNY), but these were already well-established brands, and Galliano was not. Bertelsen claimed that they sold around £100,000 or $179,000 of the coloured denim jeans annually, but both ranges were short-lived. According to Sales Director Maria Lemos, “The idea of a diffusion line was great. Thinking back, it was definitely ahead of its time. The execution was poor and the palette of colours was difficult – lime, orange, turquoise and mustard. The range was narrow, too, and development limited. A difficult time for all British designers – perhaps it if had been worked on in a different manner, taking the signature elements of John’s designs and delivering a more youthful and affordable collection, it might have had a better reception.” Interview with the author, 1 February 2017

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1991 Spring/Summer

Honcho Woman 17 October 1990, 5.30 pm Cour Carreé du Louvre, Paris 125 looks

Invitation made from a Julie Verhoeven collage and printed onto Vilene wadding, which was also used for the garments. It included motifs from earlier shows, such as playing cards and car number plates.

“British export John Galliano takes Paris by Storm” Lowri Turner article header, 18 October 1990

Still based in the New Kings Road, this was Galliano’s second show in Paris. To keep the costs down, the studio staff (which included student intern Antonio Berardi) drove to Paris, did the show, then drove back. The finishing touches were still being made by Galliano, Steven Robinson and the rest of the team in the hours leading up to the start of the show, held in a hired studio space in the twelfth arrondissement. There was a buzz about it just like the early days. Crowds queued outside for over an hour as the show started late, as usual – something which particularly irritated Peder Bertelsen. However, Galliano was still the hottest ticket in town and so journalists and buyers packed into the space, waiting, albeit impatiently, and only a handful of people left in protest.

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The show opened with a lone model wearing a black slip dress under a long mustard gabardine coat with top-stitched detailing to the lapels, the tails tied to her legs with black ribbons. Her centre-parted hair had back-combed frizzed ends by Julien D’Ys and the makeup was by Stéphane Marais. The body was very much on display in the collection with focus on the navel and cleavage throughout. Multi-layering and “Double” slip dresses worn one on top of the other in chiffon, crêpe and devoré with spaghetti straps, some split to the thigh or with slashed details, low backs, or key holes. Galliano admitted his obsession with the bias cut: “It’s like working with thick, oily water, like a second skin. It’s a challenge. You have to be aware of how the fabric drops and shrinks.” Interview with Lindsey Baker, Guardian, 24 June 1991

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Honcho girls appeared wearing tight cotton shirts with complex pleats front or back, over full, layered Peruvian-style skirts with shawl-like panels of leather worn as waist sashes. The following phases in contrast were more tailored with suits and jackets inspired by Edwardian menswear, including pinstriped suits, the lapels sometimes adorned with dressmaker’s pins and needles. Hair combs were used as jacket closures and the “eye” buttons reappeared. There were relatively few skirts, but lots of tight hipster trousers that threw emphasis onto the exposed waist, with Petersham bindings to the pocket flaps. Here Galliano first used contrasting inside-leg side stripes, which were to become something of a trademark for him. The interiors of Galliano’s clothes were often as beautiful as the outside. As proof, he literally turned trousers inside out, proudly displaying the interior seam edges and pocket pouches. Mauve python-print leather jackets were worn with fedoras and ropes of golden beads (these retailed for £150). Black patent bodices had multiple pouch-like bags used as jabots or bustles. Julie Verhoeven made numerous muscle studies that were transformed into designs for more “anatomical” knitwear (carrying on the theme from the previous collection) in the form of gabardine waistcoats with contrasting metallic knitted fronts or backs simulating vertebrae and muscles. The last two phases were more experimental; tailored jackets with sling effect sleeves or asymmetric draped necklines with sleeves forming scarves were worn with long skirts with slashes front or back. These were followed by dresses made of white tailor’s interfacing with origami pleating, worn with headdresses formed from palm fronds (the sort used on Palm Sunday in church) and jackets of tailor’s Vilene wadding worn with lace knickers. Journalist Lowri Turner wrote the day after the show:

The “Double Dresses” – bias-cut slips worn one over the other, some cut so low they revealed bottom cleavage, were a key look.

“All this was to be expected at a Galliano show. Last night proved that he may have moved across the Channel but at heart Galliano remains a London designer.” Evening Standard, 18 October 1990

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Honcho girls with petticoats of Vilene tailor’s wadding “Ligature” shirts.

Distressed-effect patchwork jeans (the print designed by Julie Verhoeven) were teamed with “Napoleonic” turquoise or acidyellow neoprene jackets with frogging.

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Galliano took his bows in a military coat, bluegreen psychedelic print trousers and a Vivienne Westwood “John Bull” hat. Galliano’s appearance often reflected his mood and interests at the time. The corporate good-boy looks had gone and the more avant-garde maverick was, from now on, very much on display. Hannah Woodhouse remarked, “Everyone comes to Paris. We have already noticed a huge increase in our sales in Europe since last season, so our decision has been justified. We take 75% of our orders here” (interview with Roger Tredre, Independent, 18 October 1990). However, in retrospect she admitted that although there were some commercial elements that sold well such as the beautifully tailored jackets and trouser ensembles, large swathes of the collection were really challenging. Jackets with “sling-sleeves” never even went into production, but those with single functional sleeves (the others used as decoration) caused Japanese clients to request written instructions on how to wear them, much to Galliano’s consternation. The layered slips, which retailed at £700 each, were not only expensive, but also required a flawless figure. In an attempt to broaden the market appeal, there was a failed attempt to market some of the clothes as sportswear. “When you manufacture small quantities, you can’t negotiate cheaper production costs, as you can with massive bulk orders. In addition, John demanded high standards of workmanship, which the larger manufacturers were unable or unwilling to meet. In retrospect, perhaps the clothes should have been marketed as couture and sold even more expensively? Although the press loved John – the clothes were often a real challenge to sell.” Hannah Woodhouse, interview with the author, January 2017

Bertelsen had begun delaying payment to suppliers, which meant fabric wasn’t readily available to complete the orders on time. “We didn’t have huge numbers of orders but they were with the top stores worldwide. It was difficult towards the end of Bertelsen’s time. The financial plug was slowly being pulled, which meant we delayed paying for fabric,

Papier maché bowler hats by Philip Treacy, applied with cats, birds or lizards.

which in turn delayed our production and delivery to the stores. This meant we couldn’t fulfil them in time, which, of course, deterred them from placing further orders. This was a difficult and embarrassing time for everyone.” Hannah Woodhouse, interview with the author, January 2017

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Knitted back panel simulating muscles and vertebrae.

“First holy communion” dress made from dressmaker's interlining worn with a “Palm Sunday” headdress.

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1992 Spring/Summer

Josephine Bonaparte Meets Lolita 16 October 1991, 5.30 pm Cour Carreé du Louvre, Paris 97 looks This collection was unlabelled, as it never went into production

Plastic British flag invitation, filled with glitter gel.

“Galliano Brings Underwear Out” Independent headline, 18 October 1991

John Galliano’s return to the Paris catwalk, after missing the A/W 1991–92 season, was eagerly anticipated. It was the first day of Fashion Week and mob-like crowds strained to get in. Galliano’s aim was for the collection to be glamorous, “saucy” and press-worthy – underwear as outerwear – but it ended up being something of a vicars and tarts party.

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Relatively speaking, the collection was made on a shoestring as there was hardly any budget to buy fabric. Although the collection was large, it was mainly underwear, a large proportion of which had been commissioned from Rigby & Peller. The shoe company Shelly’s had agreed to underwrite half of the cost of the show and in return Galliano designed a range of shoes (also used in the show) – although the clothes were so distracting that they

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were little noticed. The models appeared free of charge or at “mate’s rates”. Helena Christensen and Kate Moss made their second catwalk appearances for Galliano, wearing looks including “Pretty Baby” – a white broderie anglaise camisole and knickers trimmed with ribbon bows or shredded pattern paper ruffles. The makeup (tear-stained mascara effects and dark red lips) and hair (tousled nineteenth-century ringlets) were also done at knock-down rates as favours. Even so, the cost of hiring a tent at the Louvre was around £25,000, and there was an air of desperation in the Aguecheek camp. The studio team had travelled to Paris by bus, car and train, as flights were unaffordable. Galliano needed a huge success on the scale of Blanche du Bois to keep the business afloat. Bertlesen had reached the end of his tether.

Bill Gaytten produced technically brilliant bias-cut satin crêpe skirts made from 57 interlocking panels, worn with plunging bodies edged with tattered floss silk. Incroyable-style tailcoats were made in plain fabrics with tartan linings or in foil-like synthetic with sprigged lapels worn over stretch girdle skirts with suspenders or skin-tight breeches. White nineteenth-century–style corsets accompanied tulle petticoats with visible G-strings (the pair retailed for £900). Stretch satin and tulle were key components of the collection.

Years later, Bertelsen reminisced that he was “green, stupid and naive” in his early dealings with fashion. “I thought if you could sell oil you could sell women’s dresses” (James Sherwood interview, Independent, 4 January 1998). The lights dimmed to the delicate strains of Chopin before switching to Michael Jackson dance beats. Galliano described the collection as “Josephine Bonaparte meets Lolita” and said he had created a “fallen woman look. But really it’s about the joys of dressing up” (Elle, November 1991). The show opened with bosom-revealing “Empress Josephine” muslin dresses. The audience was stunned into silence, more from shock than awe, as semi-naked, lingerie-clad supermodels vamped down the catwalk. Skin-tight, Prince-of-Wales-checked Lycra suits were intentionally distressed by smearing acidic devoré paste onto the fabric, causing them to fray. In the lead-up to the show, Galliano encouraged the staff to consume large quantities of Quality Street sweets, the wrappers being saved, flattened out and meticulously sewn together to form a shimmering patchwork tailcoat. It was modelled on the day by Saffron Burrows and later sold to Isabella Blow, but due to its fragility, apparently it lasted just one night. Patchworked Quality Street wrapper tailcoat.

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For the “Presbyterian” final phase, the models donned figure-hugging black vicar-like robes with decorative slashes that “winked” as the models moved, replete with dog collars. For the last walk, as the models piled back onto the stage, they pulled armfuls of feathers from opened pillows and threw them joyously into the audience like confetti. Galliano took his bows wearing long plaits, a vest, t-shirt, and two pairs of shorts worn one over the other. The press response was mixed but largely hostile. The Daily Mail’s headline read, “When you haven’t got a decent idea, get the girls to take their clothes off” (18 October 1991). Philip Treacy’s superb My Fair Lady–style confections in tulle and ostrich feathers were rudely described as “washing basket hats” by the Evening Standard. The Standard also scoffed at the deliberate fraying, saying the clothes were so pared down as to have a “threadbare look . . . with hardly an item that could be worn in polite society, let alone survive a washing machine” (17 October 1991).

Favourite model Marie-Sophie Wilson in a “Josephine” muslin.

Pale yellow chiffon or metallic effect “bed jackets” with intentionally shredded panels, trimmed with ruffles, were worn with girdles, shorts and Philip Treacy hats. He supplied massive Edwardian-inspired bonnets covered in tulle and feathers, tall military bicornes and US-style police caps. A studio assistant recalled a disagreement between Galliano and Treacy in Paris, resulting in the departure of Treacy and his team, which left Steven Robinson and intern Matthew Greer to work through the night to finish them. This was the last time Treacy was to collaborate with Galliano.

Whilst the frothy, boudoir femininity drew some admirers, very few retailers were prepared to buy it. Maria Lemos said, “Even our most loyal clients found this collection difficult as it was too extreme – mainly shorts and stretch girdles. There wasn’t enough money for fabric or time to make a commercial collection. The beautiful dresses and skirts the buyers expected simply weren’t there. It was suicide. The resulting sales were disappointing and the loss of business detrimental.” Interview with the author, 1 February 2017

It was the final straw for Bertelsen. On 26 November, Aguecheek formally confirmed that they had withdrawn their financing of John Galliano, stating that although Bertelsen respected Galliano’s talent, “he just wasn’t selling well enough” (WWD, 26 November 1991).

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In the short term, Aguecheek would continue to produce the Galliano Jeans line, which still yielded a profit (and Bertelsen owned 50 per cent of the company that made them) but they would drop “Galliano’s Girl” and they would not finance the production of the S/S 92 collection. Rigby and Peller, who had supplied the lingerie element, complained in the press that they hadn’t received payment, after which Bertelsen settled their account.

The following day, Galliano announced that he would find finance to fulfil orders for both the S/S 1992 and Galliano Girl collections and that he was leaving for Paris that evening to seek a new backer, but it was not to be. The contents of the studio, including toiles, designs and sample garments were thrown into a skip outside the building. The remaining fabrics were sold off cheaply to students, and the staff was laid off.

Galliano also could no longer see a future with Aguecheek:

Consequently, pieces from this collection are particularly rare as only the showpieces have survived.

“The trouble is that Peder was surrounded by people who made panic decisions: this doesn’t work so let’s try jeans; jeans don’t work so let’s try . . . I was getting really disorientated and nothing was given time.” Galliano, interview in the Observer, 28 February 1993

Galliano was down – but not out.

Stretch satin and tulle ensemble with hat by Philip Treacy.

Napoleonic inspired tailcoat worn with tight stretch satin breeches.

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The Search for a New Backer After the break with Bertelsen in November, Galliano became ensconced in secret talks with his friend the Moroccan designer and manufacturer Faycal Amor in Paris, whom he had known on and off since the mid-1980s. Although Galliano largely disappeared from public view, he never stopped working. Still based in his top-floor flat above the garage and studio on the New King’s Road, he continued to sketch ideas for the next collection and was assisted daily by his loyal assistant and friend Steven Robinson. In June, the deal with Amor was agreed, although it was only officially announced in WWD on 12 August 1992. Galliano would keep a London base to be close to his beloved V&A, Royal College and St Martins libraries, as Amor wanted him to retain his “Britishness”, which he felt was key to his creativity. Amor, a Moroccan-born designer and entrepreneur, had set up his own business in 1986 with just £5000 and built up a business worth around £12million at the time of the collaboration. His labels included Plein Sud, Aqua Girl, Pour Toujours and Faycal Amor, his own signature collection, which were sold throughout Europe. In 1986 at Aguecheek, Galliano had longed for a few in-house machinists and was impressed by Amor’s state-ofthe-art factory in Chatelleraut, north of Paris, with a staff of 200. Galliano described it as like “something out of Doctor No . . . The machinery is extraordinary. There are sewing machines with electronic eyes that can put a zip in like a dream, like God had made it” (Roger Tredre, Independent, 13 August 1992). Galliano was to produce two semi-couture collections per year as well as the diffusion Galliano Girl line, which they intended to expand from twenty garments to eighty-five. If all went well, they planned to reintroduce menswear and to open a London store. Galliano, for the first time, was given freedom to experiment with quality fabrics. With

Amor’s technical back-up and willingness to commission luxury fabrics from Milan, at last he would be able to produce the clothes he had dreamed of. “When I was in London and I wanted to experiment with fabric – I could go so far. Then I’d have to knock it up in the studio. Now I can go to a specialist in Milan and have it made properly.” Evening Standard, 15 October 1992

Maria Lemos recalled, “When it came to fabric or manufacture, anything John wished for, Faycal arranged – at least at first.” Interview with the author, 1 February 2017

The marketing, manufacture, management and distribution would be under Amor’s control so Galliano could focus purely on design. When Galliano arrived in Paris, he arrived with 10 francs in his pocket and slept on the floor of friend and model Marie-Sophie Wilson; he described this period in his life as a “a real adventure” (Tim Blanks film interview, 2007). Amor provided a long, cabin-like studio in the luxurious Plein Sud headquarters in the eleventh arrondissement. Experienced and talented pattern cutter Bill Gaytten, who had worked for him during the Johann Brun years, now returned. Amanda Harlech continued her close collaboration, speaking with Galliano at least once a week and in the lead-up to the show and every night in advance of her joining the team in Paris. She asked St Martins student intern Matthew Greer to source accessories in London, including a parasol from Camden market and boys’ elasticated belts from John Lewis, whilst she tore around Paris for more accessories, including straw bicorne hats. Galliano always liked a complete head-to-toe look, and with no official milliner, they had to make the hats themselves. Young student Antonio Berardi worked as an assistant and intern Matthew Greer spent days making fantastical bonnets trimmed with ribbons, feathers and dried flowers.

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14 October 1992, scheduled for 9.00 pm Salle Wagram, Paris 74 looks Invitation: Printed blue and white treasure map

1993 Spring/Summer

Filibustiers

Labels of white and black woven satin as well as burgundy and turquoise – but with no city of origin and additional size labels with large numerals used for this and the following collection.

“John Galliano Spins A Swashbuckling Fantasy” Ruth La Ferla, US Elle article, December 1992

The Plein Sud machinists worked 24-hour shifts to produce the clothes in time – but everything was finished last-minute. Three days before the show, intern Matthew Greer recalled, “They had someone from London to do holographic prints on the chiffons, but that relationship collapsed. John and Steven were adamant they wanted these holograms, so Steven and I did them. It was the hardest I’d ever worked, I managed to keep going for three days and nights until I collapsed . . . Steven was extremely loyal to John. He joined Galliano from college and never left – it was all he wanted to do. He was brilliant, worked non-stop and

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kept everything going. He was an extraordinary man who showed such dedication, energy and love.” Interview with the author, April 2017

The show slot was 9.00 pm, but only at 5.00 pm the studio started stencilling gold leaf dragons onto the cheongsams, which the workroom had just finished. The show eventually started at 10.50 pm, but despite the lateness of the hour, and the by-then disgruntled audience (which included Azzedine Alaïa as well as a host of top journalists and furious photographers) only a handful of people had decided to leave.

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gathered their finery from the wrecks and stormed palaces of the centuries” (Amanda Harlech, Harpers & Queen, January 1993). The vibrant colours and textures hinted at riches plundered from many lands and cultures. The pirates finally reach a new shore where a passing ship founders, filled with consumptive Edwardian ladies, “very rich, very fey with a dusting of lilac powder” (Amanda Harlech, ibid.) who swim ashore wearing their nightdresses, whereupon they encounter “Voodoo witch doctors” in the shape of Naomi Campbell and others wearing fabulous leather corsets. In essence the collection was a mélange of historical periods and culture clashes which combined and miraculously worked. Galliano gave each model a different character to act out on the catwalk, from snarling swordswomen to swooning cholera-stricken Edwardian ladies. Kate Moss wore a Rocker sari skirt with a Union flag jacket – a look inspired by Galliano witnessing a skinhead kissing a traditionally dressed Indian girl on a London street.

Bias-cut self striped chiffon dress worn with 1830s inspired Rubelli striped satin bodice.

Galliano made the excuse that other shows earlier in the day had finished late and this had had a knock-on effect on models arriving. Shalom Harlow (a relatively unknown model at the time) arrived just ten minutes before the start, was whisked backstage to have her hairpiece applied, was thrust into her outfit (burgundy chiffon bias-cut gown over a teadyed satin petticoat, each retailing for $1000), was handed a parasol and propelled towards the catwalk. Having missed a season, it was imperative that Galliano relaunched with a bang. In fact, it ended up being more of an explosion! The collection was the antithesis of the prevailing “Grunge” and “Deconstructivist” looks of the time and followed the adventures of the female pirates or filibustiers – “brave marauders” as Galliano called them – on a “voyage of discovery . . . [having]

The clothes were superbly well made, with beautifully finished interior seams, of the best quality fabrics, including specially woven straw-effect fabric, gelatin-coated organza, cheongsams and trousers made from satin-cuir, which Galliano described as “not really leather and not really satin” (Ruth La Ferla, Elle, ibid). After the disagreement with Philip Treacy, Amanda Harlech and intern Matthew Greer made the “pirate” hats decorated with feathers and dried flowers. The show opened to the strains of wailing middle eastern music, with a single “Filibustier” in extreme 1830s-inspired wig by Julien d’Ys, long military coat of black open-weave cotton with gilt fringed epaulettes, large lapels of patchwork silk, worn over a transparent cream silk slip dress and Manolo Blahnik gold satin mules (Galliano said the gold mules were inspired by the “big yellow beaks” of the crows in Dumbo). This was the first collaboration with Blahnik, which was to continue for years to come. Key looks included: Filibustier coats, in madras stripes (some with fringed epaulettes) or openweave linen were worn over 30s-style floral print

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chiffon slips. Some of the coats incorporated extra sleeves and even a pendant top hat as decoration (reminiscent of the Ludic Game). There were scroll-effect collars and leather cuffs; expensive Rubelli silk was used for sleeves and buttonholes. The buttons bore Latin inscriptions: “sic semper tyrannis” (a shortened version of the Latin phrase promising to bring death to tyrants). Sweetpea Governess: bias-cut, semi-transparent slip dresses worn in layers, in chiffon or lingerie-style of pulled and drawn threadwork ($2600, and undersilk slip dress $700), with 1830s-style gigot sleeves and trained hems. Death in Venice: choleric aristo ladies “down on their luck” in bias-cut silk damask and striped evening gowns and bodices with massive gigot sleeves. Amphetamine Suits: slim fitting in white stretch fabric with low-slung wired gigot sleeves or slim elongated sleeves, faggotted seams, slim flared trousers. Swordswomen: seventeenth-century–inspired leather corset bodices with “blown together” seams (Galliano, US Vogue, 1 March 1993), billowing brocade skirts or tailcoats with flags of the world sword-covers; gauzy tops printed with old maps of the world and late seventeenth-century–inspired ribbon covered doublets. Kate Moss in Rocker sari ensemble. Filibustier coat incorporating well-finished seams and fine fabrics.

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Shanghai Lil in liquorice black-and-red satin and velvet cheongsams with gold-leaf stencilled dragon at one hip, strategically placed slashes in the fabric which “winked” when the dress moved. Voodoo women in black organza jackets dipped in gelatin, worn with tight satin-cuir pants piped with metal zippers as decoration. Rocker Saris: turquoise, pink, mint green chiffon and devoré velvet saris, (dampened to make them transparent) stencilled with silver hologram Coca Cola motifs, Union flag jackets, and St George flag trousers. Galliano’s end-of-show appearance was his most flamboyant to date – exaggerated teddy-boy quiff and shaved sides, Union flag jacket, ripped jeans, Elvis Presley t-shirt. The audience went into raptures over the theatrical presentation. Suzy Menkes of the International Herald Tribune described the collection as the “delirium tremens” of high fashion.

Few now questioned Galliano’s talent, but the collection needed to sell in large enough volumes. Buyers, seduced by the sheer bravado and romance of the collection, “bought even the outlandish stuff” (Steven Robinson interview with Andrew Billen, Observer, 28 February 1993). Marc Bagutta, owner of the eponymous SoHo Manhattan boutique, described how “people were transported by the clothes, the models, the hair, the fluidity of it all. All the shows in Paris are beautiful. But this was a show with a story.” Ruth La Ferla, ibid.

Gapu Suri of the “Untitled” boutique in Manhattan placed his biggest order ever: “People understand what he’s doing now; they are more adventurous. They know it’s time they had more fun with clothes.” US Vogue, 1 March, 1993

Galliano began to attract the attention of major couture clients such as Sao Schlumberger, a wealthy

Galliano takes his bows.

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Portuguese-born socialite client who ordered a pink Filibustier coat. Anna Wintour made her first large public display of support, too. Despite the fact that Galliano couldn’t afford advertisements, she arranged for a large feature (“Now Voyager”) in the March 1993 edition of US Vogue, photographed by Steven Meisel.

Galliano had been forced to sit out the A/W 92–93 season, and it looked as if he would have to miss the S/S 94 season, too, unless further financial backing was secured. With the assistance of Robert Ferrell (who was later to become his commercial director), finance was provided by major couture clients: Madame Sao Schlumberger, Madame Boutin of Paris and Mrs Dodie Rosekrans of San Francisco.

A Mutual Parting

Manolo Blahnik again provided footwear for the show, but proper hats were also required for this nineteenth-century–inspired extravaganza. In August, milliner Stephen Jones was invited to the Plein Sud offices. When he arrived, he found pattern cutter Bill Gaytten hurling red wine over unbleached satin, pinned bias-wise onto a mannequin to achieve just the right tone sample to send to the dyer.

Despite the positive press response to the Filibustier collection and orders from small chic boutiques, the sales figures didn’t stack up. Amor continued to provide Galliano with a studio, staff, and fulfilling the orders, but he refused to pay for another costly show. It was mutually agreed that Amor would put out feelers for a new backer to fund Galliano’s future progression, but that he could remain at the Plein Sud studio on the Rue Servan in the meantime: “John is a very talented artist . . . but financing designers is not my profession. I’m a designer myself, and doing my own three lines keeps me busy enough. I’ve paid for a studio for John and a staff of 10 produced his line and I provided a showroom. That costs a lot of money but if John is to expand in the way he needs then he must have financial backing. And that’s why we’ve seen a few people.” WWD, 12 August 1993

Meanwhile, Galliano lived a hand-to-mouth existence, eating beans from a can, working continuously on the next collection. Despite the hardship and lack of money, Harlech described Galliano’s mood as “having an irrepressible optimism like a blade of grass in February . . . In a curious way adversity seems to free him, make him stronger” (Sally Brampton, “The Face That Fits” article, Guardian, 4 December 1993).

Galliano and Robertson relayed to him the Princess Lucretia story: “It was magical, a bit like ‘Listen with Mother’. Afterwards, John asked me to make a tricorne. It had been part of my ‘New Romantic’ repertoire, so I took a piece of A4 paper, made a circle and folded it to shape. John liked it, but asked if it could be a bit bigger. I asked him if he had any A3!” Stephen Jones, interview with the author, June 2016

Jones was to collaborate on all Galliano’s shows from this point on and became a vital and important member of Galliano’s team. Vogue’s André Leon Talley visited Galliano in his studio and was astonished to find toiles for crinoline skirts. He said he realized that this collection was “going to be a very important moment in fashion” (film interview with Tim Blanks, 2007). At this crucial moment in Galliano’s career, the romantic Lucretia collection was going to thrust him back into the fashion epicentre once more.

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1994 Spring/Summer

Princess Lucretia 8 October 1993 Cour Carreé du Louvre, Paris 69 looks Invitation: Singed faux parchment scroll with antiquated script

“We’ve given people pirates, now it’s time for fairy tales.” Amanda Harlech, US Vogue, 1 March 1993

This romantic collection was an antidote to the deconstructivism, grunge and minimalism of recent years.

becomes a member of the British royal family (biascut dresses with “royal” sashes). Galliano had a perfectly formed idea of Lucretia in his head.

The show’s “fairy story” was inspired by the 1991 discovery of the exhumed remains of Russian Tsar Nicholas II, his wife and three of his daughters, whose identification was confirmed by comparing DNA with that of the Duke of Edinburgh who shared the Romanov ancestry. Galliano and Harlech dreamed up tale of a Russian Princess who flees Russia (having fallen for a local serf, much to her parents’ displeasure) and goes on a voyage of “self-discovery” (an ever-popular theme for the pair). Lucretia sprints through a wolf-infested forest to kiss farewell to her lover, who lets her borrow his male attire (nicely cut trouser suits), meets the Dotty Duke & Duchess (big polka dot clothes) who take her home with them to Scotland in search of her ancestral roots – enter the “Killer Kilts”. She falls in love with a shepherd, gets bored with him, moves down south, and by this point it’s vaguely the 1920–30s (Healy’s ragtime music) and she

“She’s got very pale skin, you can almost see the blue veins on her forehead. She has badly hennaed hair and dirt under her fingernails from gardening. She’s a very sensuous woman in complete control of her own destiny.” Galliano interview, WWD, 11 October 1993

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Backstage before the show, Galliano gave each of his models (who all modelled for free) a character and rehearsed them running up and down to get the outsized crinoline skirts to sway to maximum effect. Galliano said his mid-nineteenth–century silhouette had been inspired by watching Jane Campion’s film The Piano. “My favourite scene is when the heroine was running through the forest and you saw how her skirt looked in motion.” US Vogue, March 1994

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The models wore pale porcelain-like makeup with rouged cheeks (“because Lucretia was always rushing”). Backstage Julien d’Ys spray-painted the plaited, ringleted hairpieces and wigs and laid them on the floor to dry. Others wore dampened, plaster-covered short wigs, curled tight to the head. There weren’t enough shoes for all the models, so a young intern had to take them off the girls as they came back stage and immediately run them back for the next model. He recalled that Naomi Campbell was not amused!

The show was spectacular from the outset with the sound of howling wolves and sleigh bells as “Lucretia” in billowing skirts ran seemingly terrified onto the stark unadorned stage (“Escaping Russia” sequence) in black tricorn with veil, her crinoline skirt hitched up to reveal the quilted petticoat, a sheer pin-tucked silk bodice woven with blossom. Other Lucretias (including Kate Moss, with bird wings in her hair, which Amanda Harlech had brought specially from her home in Wales) emerged in various states of undress.

Kate Moss “Escaping Russia” in a swaying crinoline.

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Debbie Dietering, in a huge striped skirt, tripped and popped out of her corset-like bodice, much to the delight of the photographers. The crinoline frames were formed from spools of telephone cabling, purchased in BHV, the Paris equivalent of Woolworths. Silver tiaras were made by Slim Barrett and the jewelled brooches on the “royal” sashes were by Erickson Beamon. A St Martins student called Suzanne appliquéd fine ivory lace onto navy wool trouser suits. Like so much of Galliano’s work, this fine detail could only be appreciated upon close inspection. 1860s-style grey, pink, lilac or chevron striped taffeta crinolines with outsized bows ($2250) were worn with “Arsenic and Old Lace” antique-effect

transparent camisole tops, some with exquisite pale pink chemical lace blossom fringing (£405) or jackets with swan’s down trim (£1450). Short “Killer Kilts” followed, embroidered with roses (£336), worn with black Victorian-inspired bodices with bell sleeves (£1285), tartan knickers, a fake-fur busby by Stephen Jones (£250) and tartan bootees by Manolo Blahnik. The “Dotty Duchess” phase included a navy and white polka dot bias-cut dress with white empire line bodices (£1125), matching Stephen Jones polka dot hat with veil (£325), crêpe camisole tops with bias-cut skirts, grey and blue giant polka dot pyjama ensembles in crêpe de chine (jacket £995, pants £475), also in plain ivory silk, worn with Blahnik co-respondent shoes.

“Victorian” bodice and embroidered kilt. Resurrection Vintage Archive. Tailored suit with lace appliqués.

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A white kid leather jacket with floral embroidered sleeves incorporated buttoned Victorian glove closure detailing, something he was to repeat in later collections. The slinky bias-cut 30s-inspired dresses were some of the more commercially successful pieces as they were more wearable, unlike the crinolines, and came in chiffon or Stehli satin-backed crêpe (a fabric Galliano was to continue to favour over silk even in later couture collections). Examples with contrasting trims to rear cowl necks and “royal” sashes (in which our heroine meets her Prince) retailed for $1160.

Bias-cut dress, the sash with “Royal” order brooches.

To accompany the clothes, Stephen Jones also made

Dotty Duchess in silk crêpe.

“Christian Bérard, Schiaparelli-inspired little hats. John and I spoke the same visual language so I sort of understood what he wanted without him having to go into detail – which is a really good way to work; it was so easy. But the night before the show, on the way to the airport with the hats, I realized that I had left a crucial hatpin on my office desk. At Heathrow, I went into Boots, bought a pink sponge and fashioned it into a sphere that I combined with a wire coat hanger from the hotel. It looked perfect. On the day of the show, Lady Amanda Harlech (who had a very good eye for these things) selected that hat for Christy Turlington, who she said was “the prettiest girl, in the prettiest dress, in the prettiest hat”. She was right and that was THE photograph Suzy Menkes used next day.” Interview with the author, June 2016

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continued to champion him. It was noted that she wore a not-yet-released Lucretia grey silk bias-cut dress with white kid-skin jacket to the “Le Monde de l’Art” Paris Fashion Week party and the same ensemble to the Met Gala ball the following May. Large features on Lucretia appeared in US Vogue’s March and May issues and UK Vogue’s April and May issues. In an interview with Sally Brampton, Wintour made plain her enthusiasm: “John is a real individual, entirely independent, and that kind of not caring gives him a great strength. I feel that those fashion visionaries who really do move fashion forward and aren’t just going on doing beautifully cut beige suits deserve recognition. This is his moment and he should grab it and we should help him grab it.” Sally Brampton, “Face That Fits” article, The Guardian, 4 December 1993

Christy Turlington, “the prettiest girl, in the prettiest dress, in the prettiest hat.”

At the end of the show, Galliano appeared in a Mongolian fur hat (a present from Jean-Paul Gaul­ tier which he had refused to take off ever since it had been given to him), short peroxide-blonde hair, “I want to be Gorgeous” pink t-shirt, red synthetic trousers, pirate earring and sunglasses. Galliano’s end-of-show image was to become more pronounced and more deliberated as the decades passed, with his style often presaging the look or theme of the next collection. The press swooned. Large orders were placed by Barneys, Bergdorf Goodman in New York, Ultimo in Chicago, Maxfields in Los Angeles, Joseph and Browns in London. Ellin Saltzman (Bergdorf Goodman VP) declared it “the most exciting show we saw in Europe”. US Vogue editor Anna Wintour (arguably the most powerful woman in the fashion world)

Importantly, that year Galliano was made a member of the Chambre Syndicale, an exclusive coterie of haute couture designers. The rules for membership are strict, requiring: an atelier in Paris employing at least fifteen full-time staff; design of made-to-order clothes for clients with at least one fitting; publicly present two collections per year with at least thirty-five pieces for day and evening. It seemed now possible for Galliano to achieve his dream of a Paris couture house, but as usual he lacked the financial means to do so.

Anna Wintour dressed in unreleased Lucretia ensemble and Galliano in Filibustier ensemble with Mongolian hat, for the Paris Fashion Week party.

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The New Backers: Paine Webber Galliano and Faycal Amor had reached the end of the road. Galliano recalled, “The situation was complicated because his fashion house had become a thing with two heads. And suddenly I didn’t have a way of producing a collection” (Vogue 2009). Amor agreed he would honour the S/S 94 Lucretia orders, but that was all. Although Galliano now attracted rich couture clients such as Dodie Rosekrans, Beatrice de Rothschild, Lee Radziwill, Diane von Furstenberg and Anne Bass, he had no money to buy fabric, no studio and nowhere to show a collection even if he scraped one together. Anna Wintour was insistent that he shouldn’t miss another season and, in November, when talks with the Wertheimer family (who owned Chanel) foundered, she put him on a plane to New York to be introduced to the great and good of fashion and finance. Fortuitously at a dinner he was placed next to Catie Marron (contributing editor of Vogue), who initiated a meeting with John Bult, International Chairman of Paine Webber Investments, and Mark Rice, his associate, of Spencer Communications. They expressed interest, but months passed and Galliano heard nothing from them. His friend and admirer André Leon Talley (Vogue’s ebullient Editor-at-Large) bombarded Bult and Rice with every Galliano press report or video he could lay his hands upon until they acquiesced and agreed to meet with him in Paris. In the second week of February, they signed a secret deal and registered the company John Galliano SARL. Bult was optimistic, saying, “If you marry genius with stability, maybe there’s a chance to develop something for the future.” Sunday Times, 18 September 1994

Bult agreed to back him on the understanding that the Galliano Girl line was dropped (why have a diffusion line if the main line isn’t selling?) and that the lines would be kept small. They moved to a new studio: 6 Rue Pavée in the Marais, opposite the Bastille Opéra. The cramped rooftop atelier was

reached by a narrow twisting staircase, above a fitting room lined with brand new sewing machines and a shopfront space that it was intended could be a boutique in the future. There was a workforce of seven, including stalwarts Steven Robinson and Bill Gaytten, Jacqui Duclos as general manager, and two experienced “mechaniciens”, Messrs Edmund and Thomas, whom Galliano hugely respected. Amanda Harlech kept in touch every day by phone from her home in Wales in advance of her arrival. A slot was reserved in the Fashion Week calendar, but at this late date only an early morning time was available. They had just three weeks to produce the collection. To keep costs down and to be able to complete in time, there were just eighteen looks. LouLou de la Falaise (Saint Laurent’s old muse and collaborator) helped Galliano secure good deals on the fabrics. He used satin backed crêpe (the matt and shiny sides gave different looks for the same price) as well as pink and black organza and black silk. However, this still left him with the problem of a venue. André Leon Talley and Galliano invited major couture client, arts patron and philanthropist Madame Sao Schlumberger to lunch, having forewarned her there was no such thing as a free one! She had been dressed by the finest couturiers since the 1950s and was already a Galliano client, having purchased a jacket from Filibustier and a crinoline from Lucretia. They asked if they could use as the show venue her beautiful, eighteenth-century hôtel particulier (mansion) which had been on the market for two years and had remained empty and shut up. She immediately agreed. The interconnecting rooms were numerous but small, with room for only seventy people, maybe 100 at a push if some were to stand, so only the most important journalists and buyers could be invited and there would need to be two showings. The show was to last just twelve minutes, but it was to be a pivotal moment in Galliano’s career and confirmed him as one of the most brilliant designers of his generation.

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1994–95 Autumn/Winter

Black 5 March 1994, 9.30am and noon 6 Rue Ferou 75006 (Sao Schlumberger’s Hotel Particulaire), Paris. 18 looks, 16 of them black, 2 pink

Invitation: rusty antique key with tea-stained and singed handwritten label. Steven Philip Collection.

Burgundy label but with the addition of “Paris” for the first time instead of London. This label continues until 2002. White and black satin labels, with no country of origin, from the previous collection were also used for a short period.

“It was so perfect I want to cry. I can’t wait to wear it. I can’t wait to be it!” Reaction of show-goer on the day, interviewed by Brenda Polan for Financial Times, 3 December 1994

For the invitations, around 200 antique keys were sourced from all over Paris and attached to beautifully handwritten paper labels with show details. The exclusivity of the event, combined with the unusual invitation, heightened interest, making this THE show in Fashion Week to attend.

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The mansion, with its air of decaying, genteel neglect, provided the perfect opportunity for Galliano (with Harlech’s huge input) to create an intimate mise-en-scene, where the clothes could be seen up close and guests would be so close they could smell the perfume of the girls. Harlech sourced antique

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sofas, gilt chairs and beds, which lined the rooms. Candelabra were toppled, chandeliers lay fallen, dead leaves were scattered and, finally, dry-ice filled the rooms, which produced a desolate, mysterious aura.

Nadja Auermann opened the show in shearling jacket ($2200) worn off the shoulders and satin cami-knickers (tap pants) ($800), worn with a Stephen Jones cloche hat, large René Boivin diamond flower brooch and Manolo Blahnik shoes.

This was no ordinary fashion show. On the morning, a queue began to form at 8.30 am and André Leon Talley (now Vogue Creative Director) himself stood at the gate checking invitations. As usual, it started late – this time by an hour and a half, which only served to heighten anticipation.

Carla Bruni followed with the jacket worn upside down, her face veiled in black tulle with Julien d’Ys Japanese curved lacquer-effect cardboard Geisha headdress. Naomi Campbell appeared in yet another version. There followed a black bias-cut satin cut dress with handkerchief hem (£2295 from Harrods and Browns). Shalom Harlow wore a black satin, bias-cut, three-quarter-length dress with handkerchief hem, double layered with spaghetti halterneck straps, the crêpe over-dress with cowl to front, the broad straps tying in a bow at the back, undulating transparent horizontal bands to skirt (as in Princess Lucretia). Marie-Sophie Wilson wore a black satin jacket with pagoda sleeves (taken from S/S 94 Princess Lucretia) with large shot black/wine taffeta swag worn to rear right shoulder falling in a

This collection’s story continued with Princess Lucretia returning to Paris as a merry widow, her husband, alas, having died in combat. “The heroine du jour, just back from her husband’s funeral decides to slam the door on dismay and live life to the fullest.” Sunday Times, 18 September 94

She was reimagined as a seductive creature of the night, modelled on “the wonderfully soigné Kiki de Montparnasse of 1930s Paris” (Galliano interview, “Sentimental Journey” by Jennifer Jackson, Bazaar, September 1994). Because there were so few pieces in the collection, Galliano felt it was imperative that “Each one was perfect of its kind. The perfect trouser-suit, the perfect cocktail dress, the perfect jacket to wear to the office” (Lisa Armstrong, Vogue, December 1994). The world’s top models meandered their way through the narrow, interlocking rooms of the mansion to Jeremy Healy’s soundtrack, wearing Galliano’s seductive mixture of Japanese kimono and 1940s tailoring, seamed stockings, suspender belts and vintage purses.

Minimono with embroidered obi belt. Steven Philip Collection.

The collection featured “minimonos” (short kimono dresses and jackets); 30s-inspired, bias-cut gowns with handkerchief hems; and 40s-inspired tailoring with angular shoulders and lapels and wide satin trousers. The stiffness of leather and suede was contrasted with the softness of chiffon, silk and organza.

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long pointed trail. Linda Evangelista wore a double-breasted minimono with kimono sleeves, long tails, embroidered black obi sash, 40s-inspired Stephen Jones topper with pink satin Poiret roses and a black geisha headdress below.

an embroidered obi panel forming the bodice top, with spaghetti straps, worn under a black shearling jacket with giant pointed triangular rear collar and yellow geisha headdress.

There were just two touches of pink in the collection – an organza minimono worn by Kate Moss with sleeves tied back into a bow, an idea inspired by the workwear of Palestinian breadmakers in the early 1900s. The final look, modelled by Christy Turlington, was the other; a pink sheath with fishtail bouffant hem of swathed yellow and pink organza,

It was a Who’s Who of 90s top models, all of whom appeared free of charge in support of Galliano. Known for not usually getting out of bed unless large sums of money changed hands, this was a first. Not only did they have to walk twice for this collection, but in addition they had turned up for 5.00 am appointments for fittings in the days leading up to the show.

Nadja Auermann in the opening look.

Linda Evangelista in a Minimono.

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Old friend Stéphane Marais did the makeup; pronounced black eyeliner in a 50s/Japonisme-style, dark red lips and nails, dark eyeshadow and pronounced fine eyebrows. Because the clothes were mainly black, accessories were hugely important. Strappy sandals were provided by Manolo Blahnik (£235), and Julien d’Ys, in addition to doing the hair, made extraordinary curved plastic Geisha-style headdresses based on a 1930s Brassai photograph. Twenty minutes before the start of the show, he sent assistants to the stationery section of BHV (a

Parisian department store] to buy sheets of bright blue, green, red, and yellow and black plastic that were then cut into strips, rolled and fixed in the hair with hairpins. In addition, Stephen Jones produced seven hats and, as the show was only eighteen looks, it was, he said, “fairly hatty”. He had been told to envisage Japanese women dressing up in Western clothes and that the hats should all be black with touches of pink. Galliano had specified the cloche worn by Nadja Auermann, which opened the show. Others included a small beaded beret, another trimmed in monkey fur (Kate Moss) and a black cotton chintz 40s-style topper (worn by Linda Evangelista), its roses, formed from pink silk swatches taken from a sample card, took 36 hours to make. When Jones delivered the hats the night before the show, the finishing touches were still frantically being made to the garments. The other notable accessories were the priceless real diamonds pinned to the clothes. Amanda Harlech had approached all the top jewellers in Paris, including Harry Winston, Fred and René Boivin, Cartier, and Van Cleef & Arpels asking to borrow diamonds. They seemed to be under the impression that they were being exclusively invited. On the morning of the show, Stephen Jones recalled the various jewellers arriving, security guards in tow, and their slow realisation that not only was there no exclusivity, but Harlech had started pinning brooches from the different houses onto the same obi sashes and randomly allocating the superb necklaces and earrings. There was nothing the jewellers could do but sit it out and smile through gritted teeth! The reaction was immediate and unilaterally positive. Suzy Menkes, of International Herald Tribune (not always the gentlest of critics) said, “Right from the start, I saw his very first collection when he was leaving college and he has always had an extraordinary historical perspective. Maybe it’s kind of British in a way – the idea of taking things from different cultures and different parts of history and welding them all together and to turn those into clothes that suddenly feel right for one to wear in the 1990s – that’s really something . . . I so hope for John Galliano that he gets the respect and success that he so deserves.” Post-show TV interview

Galliano described it as “the ultimate tongue in cheek bubble-gum glamour”.

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“Ah, yes, what an imagination. It would be marvelous if he had his own couture house – better than some of the boring ones around, no?” Karl Lagerfeld, “Galliano’s Great Adventure” by Lisa Armstrong, Vogue, December 1994

Crucially, this tightly edited collection was a huge commercial success and the orders flooded in. Messrs Bult and Rice were very gratified with the sales. US stockists included Bagutta, SoHo, Saks, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Alan Bilzerian and I Magnin; in London, Joseph, Browns and A la Mode. Following on the heels of his Paris success on 13 June 1994, at special invitation he held a trunk sale at Bergdorf Goodman’s salon on the fourth floor. Around 110 guests were invited, including Iman and David Bowie. Models included Helena Christensen and Naomi Campbell, with jewels borrowed (exclusively this time) from Van Cleef & Arpels. A-list celebrities, including Julia Roberts, Barbara

Streisand and Susan Sarandon, were all later photographed wearing pieces from the collection. 1994 proved to be his most successful year to date. US Vogue featured the Black collection in July, September and October. On 6 October, Galliano was awarded Designer of the Year Award (for the second time) at the Natural History Museum in recognition of the Black and Princess Lucretia collections. To collect his award, he wore a suit with no shirt, waistcoat and natural, short brown hair as his peroxide-dyed locks had fallen out. The studio moved from the cramped rooftop atelier to the lighter, more spacious Passage du Cheval Blanc, 2 Rue de la Roquette, Bastille, which was entered via a courtyard. Here Galliano had space to work properly. The Black collection was a hard act to follow, and everyone waited to see if Galliano could repeat his success.

Galliano surrounded by some of his models at the end of the show.

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1995 Spring/Summer

Misia Diva (Pin Up) 8 October 1994, 8.00 pm Pin Up Studio, Avenue Jean Moulin, Paris 27 looks

Invitation: antique book and flyer for a boxing match.

“Occasionally, beyond a ‘Moment’, there is Fashion History – and this is it.” British Vogue, February 1995

This time Galliano’s heroine was Misia Diva – a mixture of Misia Sert and the tragic Blanche DuBois from Tennessee Williams’ 1947 A Streetcar Named Desire. Misia Sert was the opium-smoking muse and friend of artists, including Auguste Renoir, Toulouse Lautrec (who painted her), Jean Cocteau, Coco Chanel and Serge Diaghilev. She was a collector of “talented” people. Cocteau defined her “as one of those warm blooded and deep women who live in the shadows of great men and who from the margins of artistic creation have a mysterious effect merely by generating ring-like waves more beautiful than necklaces”.

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For the invitation, 200 antique books were sourced. The little book (which our educated, romantic heroine would have carried) was accompanied by a pressed flower and a 20s-style flyer for a boxing match featuring her lover, which listed the venue details. It contrasted the frail femininity and optimism of Misia with the brutality of her lover, the boxer. Galliano: “It was the grit and grime of a Brando movie to make the Divas stronger, more feminine.” WWD, October 2014

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Also inside was a printed text, “Misia Diva A Far Eastern Brilliance”, with seemingly hand-written annotations by Harlech describing Misia Diva’s personality and doomed marriages: “Her third (marriage) was darker still to the brooding beauty of the young boxer – the torso of Brando, the disbelief and desperation of a James Dean. This was her rapturous thunder and lightning in the back-street garages.”

The invitation set the scene for the experience that was to come. The show was held in the Pin Up photographic studio in one of the less salubrious parts of Paris. It was transformed by set designer Jean-Luc Ardouin into a Marlon Brando-esque/Elia Kazan On the Waterfront–style set, with brass beds, dressing tables scattered with powder puffs, vanity sets and a photo of Marlon. There were old prams, beautiful vintage cars and grease smeared, tattooed hunks scattered throughout. The chairs, damask covered sofas and park benches ranged in and amongst the curving catwalk, so the audience would become part of the show itself. Posters were pasted onto the corrugated metal walls and Harlech artfully hung some of her own exquisite silk lingerie on a washing line (which was stolen). The show started almost two hours late with an audience that included Anna Piaggi, Azzedine Alaïa, and Madonna, who were plied with free champagne. Five minutes before it started, Madonna and her entourage of bodyguards finally stormed out in frustration. However, next day she visited the atelier and placed orders for the hound’s tooth checked jacket with short sleeves and black pencil skirt, black satin kimono with embroidered sleeves and bias-cut slip dress covered in sequins and embroidery to wear in her “Take a Bow” video. The show began with a vintage car being driven into the set. Sarah Mower was stunned by the show’s brilliance and beauty: “You had to be a witness. To understand what happened at Studio Pin Up . . . to grasp the electrifying sense of the occasion.” Harper’s Bazaar US, January 1995

Backstage each model was given a role to play. It was so much more than a fashion show; it was pure theatre as the models struck 50s-style poses and caressed the “mechanics”. As the catwalk snaked amongst the crowd, they acted out little scenes with one another – but the clothes were the real stars. Each of the twenty-seven outfits required four toile fittings and a final fitting, something normally associated with couture rather than ready-to-wear, which is supposedly what this was meant to be. The technically brilliant 30s-style bias-cut dresses, inset with matt and shiny strips of crêpe, slithered effortlessly over the body. Shalom Harlow wore one ($3545) and recalled, “I felt like I stepped through a time machine in this dress. It’s a timeless classic of past meets future.” quoted by Sarah Mower, ibid.

The most commercially successful and coveted outfit in the show was the Dior-esque hound’s tooth checked suit with crin-padded hips, vestigial lapels, cord wrapped buttons, leather piped “glove” details on the sleeves and disappearing lapels. It became THE object of desire, and straight after the show was whisked away on planes to appear in magazines the world over (£1150 for the jacket, £695 for the skirt, £115 for the belt from Liberty’s). As soon as a photo shoot was over, it was taken off the model to be couriered to the next country. Liberty’s and Bergdorf had waiting lists for it. The suit could be worn for day or evening and was at once modern with a vintage vibe and, unlike a traditional 50s suit, it was lightweight and comfortable. Bill Gaytten, the pattern cutter, remonstrated that these weren’t just copies of vintage: “John’s not into copying. He’s always the first to say, we’ve got to make this modern. He might look at old couture garments to see how they’re made, but some things were so stiff and heavy – you have to find a different, lighter way today . . . Pursuit of excellence is Galliano’s driving force.” quoted by Sarah Mower, ibid.

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The classic “Pin Up” suit and key look of the collection.

Leather piped sleeve detail.

White leather jacket, which Galliano personally cut by hand the night before the show to create the broderie anglaise effect.

Scissor pleats first introduced in Fallen Angels S/S 86 reappeared in the form of strapless sheaths and double-breasted gowns.

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Nadja Auermann wore a pale pink tulle ball gown with bouffant-layered skirt, the grey taffeta bodice with conical pleats to the breast and large bow at the back. Amber Valetta, who modelled the Fath-like hound’s tooth wool dress with skirt side drapes ($3445), looking every inch the 50s fashion plate, recalled, “I felt like I was catching the light like an old Irving Penn photograph.” Sarah Mower, ibid.

Stella Tennant modelled in a Galliano show for the first time in black sheath and tent coat. The Clam dress, which had been such a star in the Blanche DuBois collection, reemerged this time in black organza modelled by Debbie Dietering. Maria Lemos had returned the pattern to Galliano (he had made a version for her wedding) as the studio patterns had been discarded in skips at the end of the Aguecheek association. The dress was later photographed in Vogue worn by Kate Moss ($1445). Real diamonds were again used, but exclusively from Harry Winston. A dragonfly brooch used to fasten a moiré coat fell off during the show, but was luckily rediscovered kicked under a chair and went on to appear in future shows! For the spectacular finale, Linda Evangelista emerged in a bouffant yellow tulle ball gown with feathered strapless bodice (shades of A/W 89–90) with short blonde pixie-cut. Her skirt was so large that it brushed the faces of the people’s sitting in the front rows – but they didn’t seem to mind. Kate Moss in white 50s-inspired ensemble, the fabric specially rewoven from a vintage sample.

“‘This is my favourite dress I’ve ever worn in my whole career.’ And she had worn some pretty spectacular dresses!” Linda Evangelista to Sarah Mower ibid.

Galliano took his bow with short natural hair, pencil moustache, black t-shirt and blue leather trousers with side stripes, a look that by then was quite conservative for him.

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Moiré tailcoat with large diamond dragonfly brooch loaned from Harry Winston.

Linda Evangelista in romantic yellow tulle confection.

Fashion buyers the world over clamoured to buy the collection, and backers Bult and Rice were pleased by the now two successful Galliano collections.

In January 1995, WWD (who usually got things right) reported that rumours were circulating that Galliano might replace Hubert de Givenchy, who was retiring from his venerable fashion house. Acquired by Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton SE, also known as LVMH, in 1988, it had been losing around 20,000,000 FF per annum in its couture division and Arnault was determined to reinvigorate the brand with some ‘new blood’. It seemed Galliano’s career path was about to change yet again and that fairy tales sometimes could come true!

Sales Director Maria Lemos: “All the major buyers who had bought from the Schlumberger show placed larger orders for this one. It was a huge commercial success.” Interview with the author, 1 February 2017

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Givenchy The LVMH executives must have also liked the “Pin Up” show. André Leon Talley acted as intermediary, arranging secret meetings between Galliano, John Bult with Richard Simonin, President of Givenchy, and Bernard Arnault, overall head of the LVMH group. Arnault wanted to attract a new, younger client base. The negotiations took eighteen months, but an agreement was reached at the end of June. Galliano was to design two Givenchy haute couture collections, two ready-to-wear lines, two pre-collections (ready-to-wear that could be sold to the overseas buyers when they attended the couture shows), for which he was reputedly paid $230,000 per collection whilst continuing to work on his eponymous label. His workload had increased from two collections per annum to eight, but he had a great team behind him, some of whom had worked with him for ten years. Galliano was confident he could cope with it. But still no announcement was made. Arnault did not want Hubert de Givenchy’s last haute couture show (to take place on 11 July in the lavish ballroom of the Grand Hotel) to be overshadowed by talk of the Galliano deal. However, the day before the show, the news leaked. Givenchy was disgruntled that the press knew before he did: “I know nothing about the person coming in. No one in the house knows. I built this house. My name is on it and you think they would have told me.” WWD, 11 July 1995

This elder statesman of couture’s final show attracted an audience that included the great and the good of the fashion world, all wishing to bid him “adieu”. Paco Rabanne, Oscar de la Renta, Valentino, Kenzo, Madame Carven, Issey Miyake and Christian Lacroix were among those who gave him a standing ovation. Yves Saint Laurent, despite the fact that he was in the throes of his own couture defile, also made a point of being present, which Givenchy hugely appreciated. At the show’s end, he sent out the atelier staff (who normally remained in the shadows) before joining them in matching “blouse blanche” of the couture workroom to take his final bow. It was a nice gesture to include the “petites mains” and atelier heads, whose skill had helped ensure his success since 1952. It was a poignant moment and the end of an era. An hour after the show, the LVMH press office formally announced that John Galliano had been made Creative Director of Givenchy. Arnault wished to take this venerable house into the future with a British maverick at its helm. It was known for its refined, ladylike clothes (so beloved of Audrey Hepburn) and for producing dresses for wealthy women of a certain age. Responses were mixed. Would this young British maverick, placed at the helm of one of the most established and revered fashion houses, attract a new hip crowd or just alienate the existing clientele? Other fashion designers were asked for their views in a Guardian article (Sally Brampton, 12 July 1995): “Hardy Amies: ‘Is it true? Well it takes all sorts to make a world.’” “Lagerfeld: ‘Galliano would be a good push of excitement – like Christian Dior’s arrival in 1947. We should all prosper and not be jealous.’” “Valentino: ‘He has a wonderful imagination but I am not sure he knows everything about how to make a dress.’” “Versace: ‘John is a genius but he needs some control.’”

Hubert de Givenchy surrounded by his atelier at his final couture show.

At last, Galliano’s dream of becoming a couturier in Paris was to become reality. He was to inject new life not only into Givenchy, but into haute couture itself.

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1995–96 Autumn/Winter

Dolores 17 March 1995, 6.30 pm 22 Bis, Rue Pajol 75018, Paris 24 looks

Invitation. Iain R. Webb Collection.

“Show not the clothes becomes the message.” Suzy Menkes, New York Times, 20 March 1995

The muse this season was based on Mexican beauty and actress Dolores del Rio, who became a Hollywood star in the 1920s – a sort of female version of Rudolph Valentino. In 1921, she married Jaime Martinez del Rio, a Mexican aristocrat, but their relationship foundered when they moved to

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Hollywood, where she became a massive star, successfully making the transfer from silent films to talkies. He didn’t assimilate the role of husband to megastar, and they divorced in 1928, Jaime dying in Germany a few years later.

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Galliano and Harlech reimagined the love affair – this time with Jaime leaving Dolores to fight the Spanish Civil War, travel to Abyssinia (where he meets Haile Selassie) then on to Tangiers where he falls for an Ethiopian beauty. Delores refuses to relinquish him and sets off in pursuit but becomes shipwrecked – the clothes in the show supposedly rescued from one of her leather steamer trunks. The show invitation sets the scene: a plastic wallet containing an anguished letter by Dolores to Jaime from the Rose of Alhambra hotel; a letter from him aboard the Cunard Ship “Berengaria” telling her of his new-found love; a telegram from Dolores to Jaime setting up a meeting; and grains of sand, a broken locket, a bullet, a restaurant receipt from Tangier and a lock of hair. The show took place in a large, abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Paris. Guests entered by walking through a series of empty rooms, then through a Narnia-like backless wardrobe into a snow-covered set designed by Jean-Luc Ardouin. Guests emerged amid rooftops, with pantiles, chimneys, cockerel weather-vane, clock faces, TV aerials and incongruous overturned lifeboats. Handsome young “matelots” lounged throughout as added decoration and a young boy in sailor suit wore a headband covered in prayer-cards, reminiscent of Fallen Angels and Forgotten Innocents collections. The snow-scape contrasted with the hot cyclamen pinks and fuchsias of the clothes. The stunning flamenco dresses, with ruffled corsage-like decorations or black lace edgings, Galliano said, were inspired by childhood memories of Tangiers and Gibraltar. There were sculpted, conical wool coats in homage to Balenciaga (who had been a huge influence on Givenchy) with collars of mock crocodile or broadtail (£1789). The African influence was evidenced by the zebra-printed opera coat with solid silver feather closure made by the jeweller Slim Barrett, which opened the show.

Carla Bruni in a key look from the collection – a technically brilliant bias-cut satin gown inset with black carnation motifs, which retailed for $5000.

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The opening look, a Zebra striped jacket with broad collar fastened with a silver feather.

Silver feather brooch by Slim Barrett.

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Lizard bodice and figure-hugging skirt worn with leopard hat in homage to Schiaparelli.

Kate Moss appeared in silk crêpe de chine with cyclamen deep floral ruffled collar that cascaded down the shoulder.

Galliano:

There were matador hats, porcupine quill headdresses, snoods and a black lace mask (a la Hepburn in How to Steal a Million, the clothes by Givenchy).

“The Romance is in the influences of different cultures. The strength and power of African shapes and patterns. The pride and passion of Spanish flamenco combined with the strict Catholic tailoring of Balenciaga.” US Vogue, 1 July 1995

To add to the “flamenco”, Barrett fashioned tall solid silver peinetas, with pendant droplets. Stephen Jones produced a witty leopard-head beret in homage to Elsa Schiaparelli, which was worn with a bustier of shredded lizard above a figure-hugging tubular skirt.

Helena Christensen wore a deep pink bias-cut dress with flamenco frills piped in black with lace frills. Another with a low cowl back and black ruffled hem ($5700) was worn in a feature on Whitney Houston in Harper’s Bazaar as well as by Liz Hurley at the BAFTAS, who upstaged her partner Hugh Grant by wearing the revealing gown, causing the press to christen her “Best Unsupported Actress”.

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Silver Peineta by Slim Barrett.

Galliano admitted after the show, “Ah yes, the insiders spotted that. I couldn’t suppress it. That piece was a bit like my audition.” Observer Life, 23 July 1995

Stéphane Marais’ make-up was redolent of the silver screen with dark shaded eyes, glittery Pierrot-style teardrops and wine lips. Hair was slicked back with kiss curls plastered onto the forehead and cheeks. At the end of the show, as the models shook the white sand from their shoes, they declared they enjoyed it so much they didn’t want it to end. Galliano took his bows wearing Rastafarian hair extensions, black waistcoat and red leather biker pants.

Karen Mulder in the “Givenchy” dress.

Karen Mulder’s dress was important: black wool with boat neckline, cute little bows on the hips and pencil skirt – the studio called it the “Givenchy” dress. As representatives of LVMH were in the audience, it was imperative this dress was seen, as no decision on Givenchy’s new Creative Director had yet been made. At the last minute, Mulder had an attack of nerves and had to be cajoled and persuaded to go out.

The press reaction to the Dolores collection this time was lukewarm. Perhaps the complex back-story, the male models, the lavish set was a little repetitive and distracted attention from the clothes? “If last season’s show by Mr. Galliano evoked a neverending party, this show felt as though an all-night revel had rudely met the dawn, with dead champagne, smudged makeup and the models longing to be safely home. Somehow, the beautiful, jaded aristocrat’s clothes, so triumphantly fresh last season, made the audience feel a bit jaded, too, this time.” Amy Spindler, New York Times, 20 March 1995

Maria Lemos recalls, “The sales were satisfactory – not as great as the ‘Pin Up’ worldwide but still respectable. There wasn’t a lot of daywear. The flamenco-dresses were popular but the strongest seller by far was the LBD [little black dress] with bows at the hips. It was perfect for ladies who lunch, and an instant bestseller at retail.” Interview with the author, 1 February 2017

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1996 Spring/Summer

galliano ready-to-wear

L’École de Danse 15 October 1995, 6.30 pm Theatre des Champs Elysees, 15 Avenue Montaigne, Paris 33 looks Label: Burgundy Galliano Paris label with large size numbers

Invitation: a box containing a red satin pointe shoe dusted in Rosin chalk, a tin whistle over which is wrapped Faure’s “Le Papillon et la Fleur” sheet music with libretto by Victor Hugo, the date and venue concealed within the score.

“Fashion appears to have changed. It is now as much about theatre as about the clothes.” Marion Hume, Independent, 17 October 1996

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The collection was shown in the historic theatre where Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes premiered the infamous “Rites of Spring” in 1913, with music by Igor Stravinsky and choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky. The ballet’s avant-garde nature and pagan themes provoked a riot at the time. On the day of the show, the mob scene was repeated as fashionistas tried to force their way in. During the summer there had been bomb attacks, and all of Paris was in a heightened security state, which resulted in searches and delays. Kylie Minogue managed to squeeze in (her first time at a Galliano show) as did Paloma Picasso, Gianfranco Ferre and the ever-loyal Madame Schlumberger. Inside the theatre, Harlech had devised “mises en scenes” where the models could act out their given characters. On the stage (where the audience was also seated) to one side, little ballerinas practiced at the barre; to the other a figure resembling Nijinsky in his role as “The Faun” rehearsed in painted body stocking. In the auditorium, a Degas-like figure stood in artist’s smock, with canvas and paints. At other vantage points, she had devised a boudoir complete with dressing table and the “Impresario’s den”. Galliano had promised a collection that would be “a voyage of strength, beauty and certainty” (WWD, 13 October 1995). As usual, the strands of inspiration were disparate and interwoven. The story line this time involved a strong female character (part Marchesa Casati, part Beryl Markham) who goes to Africa and discovers a talented missionary child of “such beauty, such gleaming wildness and breakaway, tearing dance rhythms” (Amanda Harlech interview with Sarah Mower, Harper’s Bazaar, February 1996). The prodigy is taken to Paris where she is enrolled in a traditional ballet school (hence the Degas little ballerinas) where she meets the great impresario Serge Diaghilev and his costume and set designer, Leon Bakst.

The Marchesa Casati, who thought of herself as a walking work of art and took her pet cheetahs for walks at night from her Venetian Palazzo, was to be a recurring muse to Galliano. Beryl Markham was a famous 1930s explorer and aviatrix who was described as “a ravishing beauty as well as a woman of extraordinary fearlessness”. The show opened to the sounds of a Baptist minister preaching, a choir singing, castanets, gunfire and children humming. The first phase of the show was themed on “Africa, missionaries and voodoo” – appliquéd white cutwork organza communion dresses and separates with floral satin appliqués. Some of the blouses had crucifix buttons or sailor collars with embroidered crucifixes. These were worn with pretty Rubelli brocade jackets woven with tulip bands. The models’ hair by Odile Gilbert was tightly braided and worn with “voodoo” wired headdresses, some with tiaras of shells, animal teeth fringes or bits of skeleton and bones scavenged from the banks of the Seine. The silversmith Slim Barrett made silver fishbone headdresses and Stephen Jones made hats in the form of crocodile heads, a toque formed from a coiled rattlesnake vertebrae and a giant butterfly. A rather terrified-looking “missionary” wore a grey wool wrap-over coat-dress with priest’s stola over one shoulder under a crochet fringed parasol. Carla Bruni was in a black damask “circle” cut jacket (similar to Fallen Angels) with pencil skirt and wore a turban framing black crimped hair formed into Brancusi-like curves. A 30s-inspired (Beryl Markham), cutwork, white, satin-backed crêpe gown was modelled by Naomi Campbell. The shop version had chain straps, but for the show a shoulder strap formed from 21 carats of 1920s diamonds was specially flown in from Fred Leighton of New York. Other bias-cut dresses included black crêpe with black satin floral appliqués, or sequined tiered scallops, flapper-style.

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Cutwork organza dress inspired by first Holy Communion gowns. Resurrection Vintage Archive.

Helena Christensen modelled a fabulous, curvaceous black and ivory satin gown with integral boned corsetry and intricate parrot-head tulip appliquéd bodice and sleeve.

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For the “Degas” phase, Galliano’s Corps de ballet included Shalom Harlow in a red pleated taffeta bodice over white leotard and tulle skirts. Kate Moss had an Aran vertebrae knitted bodice with a similar leg-revealing, Tiller-girl style tulle skirt. Odile Gilbert had painted their hair silver and threaded it with cellophane shards that caught the light. Galliano took his bows with natural long brown hair in two long plaits in a blue and white sports vest. The audience and press response was hugely enthusiastic, but it was a difficult collection to sell, mainly because of the lack of daywear and – let’s face it – corseted Edwardian ball gowns were not the norm for evening either! Maria Lemos: “This was a slightly more challenging collection. Many of the looks were too theatrical – there weren’t enough commercial pieces – lots of ballet or Edwardian-inspired looks or first Holy Communion dresses. The broderie anglaise garments were a success [as was a] a pretty printed taffeta ‘Safari’ dress. The workmanship was outstanding – but the collections kept moving too fast, and the end customer [was] changing from season to season. This collection definitely had a ‘younger’ vibe.” Interview with the author, 1 February 2017

In October 1995 Galliano achieved a hat trick of British Designer awards. The award was presented by Michael Heseltine, and Galliano collected it wearing a striped knitted tank-top, flowery pyjama pants and “voodoo wig”. Shalom Harlow, who formerly trained as a dancer, performed pirouettes from the balcony.

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The Move to Givenchy Givenchy imposed a press blackout whilst Galliano concentrated on producing his first haute couture collection for S/S 96 (fifty looks) as well as the A/W 96–97 pre-collection (190 pieces). The pre-collection needed to be ready at the same time so that buyers attending the couture show could place orders. Despite being confirmed as the new Creative Head of Givenchy, he had not been allowed to set foot inside the Givenchy headquarters until September 1995. This was the official end of Hubert de Givenchy’s tenure, when he was introduced to the great man for the first time. From then on Galliano commuted between the Galliano Bastille studio and the Givenchy atelier on the Avenue George V. He took with him his right hand man, Steven Robinson; assistants Vanessa Bellanger and Amy Robertson; Amanda Harlech as director; Bill Gaytten head pattern cutter; Sibylle de Saint Phalle, returning as press officer; and Stephen Jones to work with the Givenchy millinery studio. Galliano’s approach from the outset was at odds with the rigid ancient protocols of the fashion house, which had been in place for decades. He asked the staff to call him “John” and ate his lunch in the staff canteen alongside them. When he first walked in, he recalled, “Lentils and fish and 60 people staring at me” (Sally Brampton, Guardian, 3 February 1996). He addressed them using the more familiar “tu” rather than the formal “vous”. The standard working hours were 8.30am to 4.30pm, but Galliano and his team often worked through the night, especially in the lead-up to the shows. For the old guard, it was a difficult transition. Loud music now blared out in those once tranquil corridors.

Madame Colette Maciet was in charge of flou (dresses, soft fabrics), and Galliano had enormous respect for her. Indeed, he sometimes referred to the couture atelier staff as “living history”. “When you are working with Camal, who was tailor to Balenciaga and Colette, who from the age of fourteen was Mme Chanel’s assistant – it’s like wow, man! Heaven Couture lives, man – I’m a convert.” Post-show TV interview, “Fashion File”

It was mutual respect. Madame Maciet described, “It was a meeting of minds, he has magic in his head which gives us magic in our fingers.” Sally Brampton, Guardian, 3 February 1996

Not only did working practices change – so did the clothes. The Givenchy atelier had been used to turning out slick, richly coloured clothes with big gilt buttons for Givenchy’s “mature” couture clients. Now the silhouette was slender, youthful and revealing. He told the workroom he wanted the sleeves “Tighter, smaller, tighter, smaller. Tighter smaller” (Observer, 30 November 2003). Galliano was like a child in a sweet shop. At the Galliano studio, he had just six machinists – at Givenchy he had sixty highly skilled technicians with generations of expertise, who could bring his ideas to life. For his first couture collection, he chose fabrics from the best manufacturers – silks from Buche and Bianchini, wool suitings from Hurel, organza by Schlaepfer and specially commissioned embroideries from Lesage and Lemarie. For the first phase of the show, he devised Lucretialike crinoline gowns “using gossamer embroidery and ethereal colours” (British Vogue, May 1995), but this time made in the richest fabrics, inspired by ballets: The Dream by Frederick Ashton and MacMillan’s Anastasia.

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Galliano became ensconced in the Givenchy archive and was fascinated at “how strong the influence of Balenciaga was” (Observer Life, 25 July 1995). He wanted to produce a collection that possessed the spirit of the House without slavishly copying its elements. Givenchy codes, such as the Bettina waterfall blouse and ladylike suits and dresses incorporating

pretty bows, were to be part of the new repertoire, but the clothes were still to be “Galliano”. He said his design approach “was less about the narrative of Monsieur Givenchy’s house. It is more pure. I was more involved with the cut of the clothes and the balance of the sleeves” (post-show TV interview “Fashion File”).

Detail of Givenchy haute couture embroidered ball gown, S/S 1996.

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1996 Spring/Summer

givenchy haute couture

The Princess and the Pea 21 January 1996, 4.30 pm Stade de France, Paris 50 looks

Label: woven Givenchy Haute Couture in black and white and handwritten defile label.

“Can fashion’s wild boy cut it in couture?” Style Magazine, 16 July 1995

Givenchy’s elegantly coiffed couture clients must have received something of a shock when they received the invitation. As if to emphasize Givenchy’s new direction, it was not to be set in an elegant Parisian hotel (as normal) but the Stade de France, an 80,000-seat rugby stadium on the outskirts of Paris. Around 1000 invitations were sent out. Inside a cavernous room within the stadium, a twenty-foot tower of mattresses was built with a catwalk with five different entrances for the models. For decades now haute couture sales had dwindled across all the major Houses, who relied on orders from the occasional millionairess or Middle Eastern princesses. Young rich women certainly liked designer labels, but had no real understanding of the

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couture process – the specially commissioned garments of the finest fabrics, with numerous fittings and hand finishings or expensive embroidery. Couture’s raison d’etre was no longer to make money, but to create press that would stimulate sales of perfume, make-up, accessories and the ready-to-wear lines. It was to attract these new, young buyers and worldwide press that Arnault had selected Galliano. He needn’t have worried. Five hours before the show was due to start, photographers were already queuing up outside, clamouring for entry. Galliano himself had trouble getting in as he had forgotten his security pass and the security guards didn’t like the look of him!

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The show started only half an hour late, which was something of a record for Galliano. Backstage things were unusually calm. Steven Robinson: “John’s freaking out. It’s all so organised there is nothing left for him to do.” US Vogue, April 1996

Many of Hubert de Givenchy’s old clients refused to attend out of loyalty to him. However, the front row still included some couture big-hitters, such Sao Schlumberger (always such a good friend to Galliano) and stylish American Nan Kempner. Renowned models Bettina Grazziani (who had modelled for Dior and Givenchy in the 50s) and Inès de la Fresange sat alongside showbiz names such as Tina Turner and Joan Collins, as well as Marisa Berenson, Paloma Picasso, Malcolm McLaren and designers Azzedine Alaïa, Kenzo, Gianfranco Ferre and Gianni Versace. Hubert de Givenchy was not present. Curtains opened to reveal Jean-Luc Ardouin’s imaginative Princess and the Pea set to the sugary strains

of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You”. For the first phase, “Parme” (violet), models lounged atop the tower of mattresses, the five-metre trained taffeta skirts of their dresses trailing down the sides (the gowns were later to be used to decorate the stairs of the couture atelier). The hair by Odile Gilbert was curled, painted silver and inset with silk blooms. On the catwalk below, Ines Rivero posed wearing a black over-dress, her sash applied with diamond brooches from jeweller Fred Leighton, over a pair of trousers with contrasting inside leg braid (a Galliano signature). Other models included old favourites Susie Bick, Cecilia Chancellor, Marie-Sophie Wilson, Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Helena Christensen and Veronica Webb, who had worked in Galliano’s shows since the 80s. Some journalists later suggested that these Victorian-inspired gowns were perhaps to remind us of that first great British designer to conquer Paris – Charles Frederick Worth, the favourite couturier of Empress Eugenie in the 1860s.

Striped taffeta dress with 5m long train.

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Lavishly embroidered lilac satin gown with internal crinoline and petticoats.

There followed a “Cut Throat Black” phase of sophisticated evening gowns and 40s-style “gangster-gal” trouser suits and bustier jumpsuits worn with Stephen Jones’ outsized homburgs. Pierre Bergé (Saint Laurent’s partner) sardonically quipped, “I always love collections full of ‘Le Smokings’” (WWD, 22 January 1996). The ruffles seen in the Dolores collection had now become full-scale tiered flower-like collars on 20s-style pastel satin flapper dresses, coats and short kimonos, which he described as “déshabillé for an Oriental kitten” (British Vogue, May 1995). An Otto Dix–style heroine (Suzanne von Aichinger) in cloche hat wore a cuirasse satin corset with wide legged trousers. The last two phases were brilliantly coloured, with chartreuse and lime 50s-style prom dresses given names such as “Dry Martini with a Twist of Lime, Shaken” and “But Not Stirred”. The finale incongruously comprised orange, scarlet and gold sari dresses with matching parasols.

In homage to Givenchy, there were bows everywhere; on the day suit pockets in gold lame, on the strapless bodice of the saris and as outsized decorations on cocktail dresses. Galliano appeared at the end of the show with dark brown bob cut (Colin McDowell described the look as “a Bisto kid on acid” (The Observer, 21 July 1996)), small beard and moustache, wearing a rose sprigged black chiffon shirt, lurex tank top and pyjama bottoms tucked into biker boots – quite modest for him. The press the following day in both France and Britain was generally enthusiastic but sometimes conflicting. “It’s a fashion moment that missed. For all its poetry and theatre, the show fails to propel haute couture into the next millennium or define a new image for the house” Suzy Menkes, International Herald Tribune, 22 January 1996

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“Does one go to Paris for a sari?” Martha Duffy, Time, 6 February 1996 “Galliano controlled his eccentricities and presented a collection that was both exciting and contemporary. He not only propelled Givenchy back into the limelight, but also gave the increasingly frail body of couture a vital injection of fresh blood.” Guardian “A Sex Pistols concert on the lawns of Buckingham Palace” French newspaper Liberation “What made the collection spectacular was that for the first time Galliano’s monumental creativity was married to the breath-taking handiwork of a committed Parisian atelier.” Daily Telegraph

The audience response was enthusiastic: “It’s young, it’s feminine, it’s sexy, it’s beautiful. It is a bit of fantasy and yet modern at the same time. So I think yes, he has pulled it off” Joan Kaner of Neiman Marcus “I hope John Galliano has got to the point that he wants (in his career). Good luck to him. Paris needs new blood, new people, new fashion, especially in couture” Gianni Versace in the film Fashion File

Shalom Harlow in “Gin Sling” dress.

“There was a lot of Galliano and very little Givenchy . . . Galliano’s imagination finally met its match with the technical skills of haute couture.” Tim Blanks in the film Fashion File

Also in the audience and looking relieved were Bernard Arnault (LVMH) and Richard Simonin (Givenchy) who were all smiles. By the following morning, Galliano had booked thirty couture appointments, which was a great achievement in itself. Galliano had now just six weeks ahead of him to present both the Galliano and major Givenchy ready-to-wear shows. “But I’m not doing this all alone,” he said, “I think I can do it” (WWD, 25 November 1996).

Naomi Campbell in sari dress with enormous bows.

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1996–97 Autumn/Winter

galliano ready-to-wear

Baby Maker 14 March 1996, 7.30 pm Polo de Paris 48 looks

Invitation: a navy wool sleeve (supposedly torn from a Confederate uniform sleeve) with “Baby Maker” tag; switch of white horse hair; striped ticking lining with map of the show location, with inked name and seat allocation and “Wedding of the Wolves”.

To keep the identities of the Givenchy and Galliano collections separate, he had been working on Galliano-collection sketches and research in London where he frequented his favourite museums, vintage shops and nightclubs, and he worked on the Givenchy collection in Paris, which he said had a different vibe and triggered different inspirations. In Paris he liked to explore the Clignancourt market, watch movies and research great couturiers of the past such as Madeleine Vionnet.

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This time, Galliano’s collection had two heroines: soignée Wallis Simpson, wife of abdicated King Edward VIII, and Pocahontas, the “Cherokee babe” whom he described as “a proper little squaw on her podium straightening her seams” (WWD, 12 March 1996). In their narrative, Wallis attends a Hopi/ Cherokee wedding in the middle of the desert, complete with “aspidistra pots and delicate chiffon tea-dresses under the stars” (Amanda Harlech interview, WWD 12 March 1996).

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The indoor arena of the prestigious Paris Polo club was transformed into a rubbish-strewn version of the Arizona desert (inspired by the 1970 Western film The Ballad of Cable Hogue). Mystic tribal symbols were painted over the sand-covered floor, with a large teepee acting as a backdrop from which the models emerged. The catwalk was scattered with feathers and edged in bales of straw. The effect was post-apocalyptic, the sand scattered with detritus – oil drums, old tires, beaten up refrigerators and a Cadillac bumper with Wyoming plates. The show opened to the sound of a buffalo stampede as a handsome “brave” galloped out on a nervous dapple-grey mount and attempted to perform tricks. The models with Mohican haircuts and black “war-paint” stripes across the eyes emerged from a teepee to the screeching of The Osmonds’ “Crazy Horses”. The tribal styling of the models contrasted with the “Western Little House on the Prairie” opening looks, which included a frilly white organza nightdress and a gigantic ballooning tartan taffeta dress. These were followed by white beaded bias-cut dresses inset with Indian motifs and fringing worn with black-and-white giant checked coats, others in navy cashmere with graduated textured ‘nicks overall – inspired by birds pecking the caps on milk bottles. Highly wearable “Wallis Simpson” dark grey tweed coats, dresses, suits with “snow embroidery” over the shoulders, mink facings and matching Manolo Blahnik shoes – the looks were perfect for a smart city lunch, be it Paris or Texas.

Frothy romantic nightdress-style gowns opened the show.

There were fitted, lightweight 50s-inspired suits, boleros with velvet arrowhead edges and highly wearable LBDs. One of the standout looks was a blue denim jacket with technically brilliant chevron (teepee) pleats, worn with matching pants with signature contrasting inside-leg stripes. Naomi Campbell prowled the catwalk in a figure-hugging dress encircled by an appliquéd black panther.

Helena Christensen in a “Wallis Simpson” dress with snow embroidery.

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The “Tin Tribe” phase was a riot of patterns, colours and textures, including voluminous Central Asian ikat weaves and kilim “blanket” coats lined with checked cotton and worn with bias-cut tartan trousers, madras striped cotton baggy trousers, multi-coloured stripe-knitted and tartan dresses and blowsy silk shirts worn as dresses. It was hippy chic par excellence. The models wore silver coin headdresses or bib-like necklaces and armlets. Stephen Jones made hats from corn dollys and decorated bowlers with objets trouvé. The flamenco-inspired dresses which had proved so popular in A/W 95–96 reappeared this time in black crêpe with white frilled edgings or day-length polka dot chiffon in shades of grey. Suede and fringing were key features and Kate Moss appeared as the final look in a suede-effect laser-cut fringed “squaw” dress with complex slashed and fringed patterns. Galliano took his bows in brown suede waistcoat and trousers with his hair tied in a partial top-knot.

Flamenco frilled dress worn with a Stephen Jones eagle headdress made from lolly sticks.

The collection was applauded both by the audience (Liza Minnelli was among them) and fashion press and, although a few elements sold strongly, it was not commercially successful overall. Buyers included Bal Harbour, Bergdorf Goodman, Barneys, Neiman Marcus. Harrods and Joseph, but the sale results were down. Maria Lemos recalls, “The Wallis Simpson tweed ensembles trimmed with mink sold well, as did the floaty polka dot dresses (these were the best sellers). The bias-cut tartan trousers were popular, too. Fringed chamois is difficult to wear at the best of times and although the bold blanket coats were stunning, we didn’t have many clients for them – they were too extreme. What was needed, perhaps, was more time to adapt the designs commercially so that the balance between new and wearable shapes was better.” Interview with the author, 1 February 17

Galliano’s first Givenchy ready-to-wear show would follow in just two days’ time. Amanda Harlech said that, in having to complete two shows simultaneously, “. . . this season we realized that John needs to work on two collections. It’s not that he can do two collections, he NEEDS two. For all of his ideas to be articulated, explored and resolved.” W. Middleton, “Three’s Company” article, W Magazine, June 1996

The Tin Tribe looks incorporated Central Asian Ikats with Madras stripes and Tattersall checks.

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givenchy ready-to-wear

Toreador 16 March 1996, Paris 44 looks

Label: Givenchy couture (true couture pieces have “haute couture” on the label).

“Givenchy’s New Flair” cover of WWD, 18 March 1996

Having witnessed the “Wild West” show a few days earlier, everyone was dying to see how the Givenchy collection would compare. The show opened appropriately to the dulcet tones of Audrey Hepburn (Givenchy’s favourite muse) enunciating “The rain in Spain lies mainly on the plain” from the film My Fair Lady, followed by traditional Spanish music.

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Three figures stepped out from behind tall vertical screens, the first in elaborate white knitted matador jacket and cigarette pants, the others in stylish grey suits: one with bow effects to pockets, the other with gold sequined matador epaulettes, both with short “flirty” A-line skirts.

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The collection was sexy without being vulgar, wearable without being dull. The tailoring was understated and clever in a palette of mainly dove-grey, white, primrose and black. Fine pleats and frilled edging were used to maximum effect. There were bows galore – both on the clothes and worn as hairpieces. The models appeared as pert late-50sstyle Mad Men Betty Draper–types, some with slick ponytails. The slim high-waisted trousers with side stripes were worn with crisp white frilled matador shirts. There were numerous boned, strapless jumpsuits in fine city suiting wools. Matching clutch bags were made in the form of matador hats. For evening, the palette changed to rich berry tones and black, in strong-shouldered columns with python tie belts and trim. The emphasis of the collection was more on cut and colour, rather than pattern. The only exception: a long flowing burgundy silk dress with massive printed peony, worn by Naomi Campbell. The final phase comprised very wearable, pretty, short cocktail dresses with flamenco frills and spots in a palette of grey, white, pale primrose, burgundy and black. Galliano briefly appeared on stage in embroidered brown suede jerkin, voluminous shirt, his long hair caught in a hairclip to one side. Messrs. Simonin of Givenchy and Arnault of LVMH must have been pleased. This collection delivered on all levels. It was well received by press, stores and clients alike, especially in America, which was Givenchy’s biggest market. WWD declared that the collection Parisienne city chic combines with Spanish toreador embellishments.

“was just what the venerable house needed . . . Galliano did what few expected him to do – made ladylike clothes that even the present Givenchy customer could understand” 18 March 1996

128  Givenchy Ready-to-Wear 1996–97 Autumn/Winter

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Shades of red finale looks.

Flamenco spots and flounces further emphasize the feminine Spanish theme.

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givenchy haute couture

Empress Josephine 7 July 1996, 4.00 pm Stade de France 50 looks

“Galliano plots the new French Revolution” Mimi Spencer, Evening Standard, 8 July 1996

Look 26. Miniscule “Black Narcissus” cocktail dress smothered in bugle beads.

For his second couture show, Galliano returned to the vastness of the Stade de France – this time transforming it into a living forest with a catwalk strewn with fallen leaves that snaked through tall conifers and ghostly birch trees, complete with recorded birdsong. The set was meant to suggest “the strewn light of the deep forest” of Malmaison, the chateau Napoleon built for his Empress. Galliano’s muses and themes included the singer Madonna (who was pregnant at the time), Empress Josephine, Les Merveilleuses of the revolution and winter at Royal Ascot. The show was late to start and, although the press photographers were allowed in to take position, the audience was left to stand outside in the rain, leaving some to muse if the aim of the show was PR rather than sales. Jeremy Healy’s opening music was a mixture of drum and bass interspersed with a distorted “Marseillaise” and Prodigy’s “Firestarter”. The collection this time was pure Galliano – with just one LBD with bows as a nod to the heritage of the house. The opening “Josephine” sequence of empireline dresses of lace and chiffon, some worn with “pre-guillotine sash of blood red velvet” (Givenchy show programme), or embroidered sprigs, were worn with visible lace G-strings.

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The models’ powdered silvery hair shimmered with chandelier-like glass droplet cascades. Fortunyesque pleated silk columns with puff sleeves were worn with embroidered spencer jackets; others had fringed edgings and frogging. Leopard print and faux monkey fur was used to edge the train of a dramatic black and gold damask evening coat with frogging closure. Carla Bruni wore a dove-grey silk sheath with Cleopatra-style enamelled winged motif on the breast. The “Winter Ascot” phase included natty little cocktail suits and dresses for the “Bookies best girls” (WWD, 2 July 1996). Leopard print was used for suits, dresses and a short trench coat. There were plaid and checked bias-cut day dresses in shades of grey, black and white. Large gros-point cabbage roses (the motifs taken from the Givenchy archive) were embroidered onto evening suits and chiffon tea gowns.

Look 6. Diaphanous chiffon, Point de Beauvais Mousseline empire dress with chandelier headdress, by Stephen Jones, for Galliano’s empress.

Look 11. Naomi Campbell in a leopard print hand pleated column that drew gasps of admiration from the audience.

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Stephen Jones’ other creations included a leather flying helmet, a plumed gladiator helmet, powder-puff toque, tall red leather trilby and another incorporating a folding box camera with bellows. The exquisite Manolo Blahnik sandals (working for Givenchy HC for the first time) had coiling straps tied around the legs sprigged with rosebuds. The “Black Narcissus” finale of the show included a Chantilly lace trouser suit worn by Stella Tennant and shimmering beaded or satin mini slip dresses worn with seamed stockings and garters by Helena Christensen, which WWD described as “hookerish”. However, after the show Christensen declared,

Look 38. “Winter Ascot” dress with gros-point roses.

“Walking out there in that little short dress made me remember how cool it is to be a woman.” The Times, 8 July 1996

Galliano, with glittery dreadlocked hair, took his bows wearing a waistcoat under a shirt and Scholl sandals. Givenchy fashion sales rose by 80 per cent for the A/W 96 season as a whole, and Georges Spitzer of Givenchy was pleased: “The house is gaining a new, younger and broaderbased clientele. Galliano’s designs won Givenchy clients in markets where it had either limited presence or no presence at all. It’s as if we are a new label.” WWD, 8 October 1996

Look 27. Shalom Harlow in red velvet wrap-over dress, the bodice smothered in tousled blood-red silk corsages, worn with a heart-shaped hat.

132  Givenchy Haute Couture  1996–97 Autumn/Winter

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Dior Negotiations In September 1996 it became known that some months earlier (with no press release or fanfares) Bernard Arnault (Christian Dior couture) had purchased the majority share (62.5 per cent) of the Galliano label from his backers, Paine Webber Associates, via the Chairman John Bult. They held onto 12.5 per cent of their shares and 25 per cent was retained by Galliano. (According to Dana Thomas in Gods & Kings, a few years later Bult and Rice would sell their remaining shares.) Galliano was to produce for Dior two couture collections, two ready-to-wear and two pre-collections (new to Dior) as well as continuing his eponymous line – eight collections in total. Arnault now made Francois Baufumé responsible for the John Galliano label (he was already the President of Dior Couture) with Valérie Hermann as Managing Director to run Galliano on a day-to-day basis. It was no secret that Milanese designer Gianfranco Ferre’s contract (whom Arnault had chosen to replace Marc Bohan in 1989) would not be renewed. His last collection would be S/S 1997 (8 October 1996). Katell le Bourhis (advisor to Dior and LVMH) recalled the moment: “Of course, Gianfranco would have liked to have stayed. But he was the consummate gentleman and made a dignified exit. He was treated with the utmost respect by Arnault.” Interview with the author, October 2016

There had been speculation for months – Alaïa, Gaultier, Westwood and Marc Jacobs had all been rumoured as possible contenders, but with the announcement of the John Galliano label acquisition it seemed likely that Arnault would move Galliano into the key role at Dior and replace him at Givenchy. Katell le Bourhis recalled that whilst he favoured Galliano, the Dior President Francois Baufumé preferred Jean-Paul Gaultier. “Arnault wanted Dior to become the pre-eminent fashion house in the world as it had been in the time of Monsieur Dior and he believed that Galliano was the best person to achieve this. I agreed, I thought he was a fashion genius.” Interview with the author

Gradually Dior had bought back all the Dior franchise licences overseas that were weakening the image, and it was now time to relaunch it with a new, innovative Creative Director. Galliano recalled the moment he was offered the job: “It was amazing, I nearly fell off my chair. I thought I’d fucked up – thought I’d done something really bad at Givenchy. I got this phone call on Friday at six o’clock asking me to go to Monsieur Arnault’s office. I thought, ‘Oh shit.’ I was totally unprepared. I had the wrong shade of toenail polish. I was wearing Scholls. There was no way I could get out of it, though. I had to go. And that was when he offered me the job, and, I mean, I nearly fell off my chair.” Interview by Susannah Frankel, Independent, 20 February 1999

On 8 October Gianfranco Ferre stepped down from Dior to concentrate on his eponymous label. On 14 October Galliano was publicly confirmed as Creative Director of Christian Dior, and Alexander McQueen succeeded him at Givenchy. It was an historic moment. These exciting, maverick British designers had been appointed to lead two of the most revered French fashion houses into the future. In an interview with Paris Match magazine, the owner of LVMH, Bernard Arnault, said that he chose Galliano for Dior and McQueen for Givenchy “for a very simple reason: talent has no nationality . . . Galliano and McQueen are the two greatest creators of our time . . . I actually would have preferred a Frenchman.” WWD, 9 December 1996

On 21 October, the plumber’s son from South London finally realised his dream when he arrived at Dior on rue Faubourg Saint Honoré and entered the sacred bastion of the couture atelier for the first time. The old guard were appalled. Marc Bohan declared, “I don’t really see what these young designers know about couture, because they have never worked in a couture house. Ready to wear is about making clothes flat on a table. A couture dress is built up on a body. It’s a completely different way of doing things. You learn as an assistant – the way I did at Piguet and Molyneux, the way Givenchy has been working. Even Dior started at Piguet.” American Vogue, April 1997

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He went on to discuss Galliano’s designs in particular: “They’re very exotic for the photographs – extreme in a costumey way. I’ve never really seen them on clients.” Ibid.

Major American retailers who had just introduced Galliano as the new face at Givenchy were concerned that their clients would feel disenfranchised as they had to start afresh, persuading them to try the even less well established twenty-seven-year-old McQueen. But Arnault was determined to revitalise these revered houses with their grand traditions but rather staid, bourgeois images. The big profits for fashion houses no longer lay in the clothes, but in cosmetics, perfume and accessories. Not everyone could afford a couture gown – but as Christian Dior himself realized from the outset – a lipstick or bottle of scent was accessible to the mass market on a global scale – that a secretary as well as a princess could share in the Dior magic. With Galliano and McQueen at the helms, he hoped to turn these companies into stellar global brands. 1997 would be the fiftieth anniversary of Dior, and Arnault was determined it should again be seen as a young, forward-looking, exciting brand. Francois Baufumé, the President of Dior and now also of Galliano, explained their rationale: “Fundamentally it is thought that Galliano’s style and creative capacities are more adapted to Dior than Givenchy. His work has a sweetness and a femininity that is closer to Monsieur Dior’s style.” WWD, 15 October 1996

In fashion terms Galliano had hit the jackpot, but his press statement was short and modest. Of his appointment he said, “I am delighted and honoured, especially on the eve of the 50th anniversary (of the Dior house).” WWD, ibid. “I’ve been rehearsing for this moment for 15 years.” British Vogue, April 1997

Baufumé also made it clear that the Galliano brand was important to LVMH and would be grown alongside Dior. “The objective is not to keep Galliano small so that he can concentrate on Dior. They are two different enterprises and each has a plan of development.” WWD, 15 October 1996

Galliano moved to Dior with his loyal right-hand Steven Robinson, Vanessa Bellanger and chief pattern cutter Bill Gaytten by his side, but did not take with him old friend Sibylle de Saint Phalle, who remained at Givenchy. However, the biggest shock was that Amanda Harlech, his steadfast ally, muse and collaborator from the earliest days of his career, left him to join Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel. Recently divorced, she sought financial security for bringing up her young family. Dior refused to match the generous deal she had been offered by Chanel, and Galliano, it seemed, did not persuade them otherwise. She was beloved and respected by the Galliano studio team who worked alongside her; the loss must have been keenly felt. It was the end of an era.

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A Russian Gypsy Named O’Flanneghan (Circus) 10 October 1996, 7.30pm Angle de la Rue Baron le Roy 40 looks

1997 Spring/Summer

galliano ready-to-wear

Invitation: A painted wooden doll containing a charm bracelet accompanied by a three-card trick printed with the venue details.

“The show that shows why Dior chose Galliano.” Evening Standard headline, 11 October 1996

Paris Fashion Week was asked to “Roll up, roll up to John Galliano’s Circus! The collection was designed around the tale of a beautiful gypsy girl who ran away to join the circus, inspired by Federico Fellini’s film La Strada (1954). The show venue was a nineteenth-century wine cellar on the outskirts of Paris. Arriving guests were met with a gypsy encampment, complete with Romany caravan and lines of tattered washing. Old men played fiddles and accordions whilst jugglers,

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tightrope artists and acrobats practiced. Inside, the cellar had been transformed into a circus ring edged with bales of straw. Despite the fact that these clothes were meant to be ready-to-wear, the labour-intensive construction methods and fine detail meant they were again more semi-couture in terms of quality and extremely expensive to produce. Some of the embroidery and beading had been commissioned from Lesage!

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The first phase of the show consisted of red on white embroidered leather trousers, jackets and dungarees, the patterns inspired by traditional Eastern European embroidered linen (motocross pants $5180 at Maxfield, LA). WWD described them as “a little bit Elvis, a little bit Evel Knievel and a little bit Ukrainian parade” (11 October 1996). The models (including Stella Tennant) had black Cherokee war-paint stripes across the eyes by Stéphane Marais and they wore Slim Barrett headdresses with scooter mirrors to the sides. The red and white patterned theme continued into knitwear and Toile-de-Nantes printed cotton trouser suits. The palette changed to blue and white with a heavy use of lace. One of the more memorable looks, based on blue and white porcelain, was a bias-cut printed chiffon dress worn with a Stephen Jones disc shaped hat covered in a mosaic of blue and white china. A traditional Chinese skirt with satin banding and lavishly embroidered front and back panels was redesigned as a long-trained evening skirt. Traditional gypsy flower painting found on Romany caravans and “Russian” trays were used as the basis Red embroidered leather ensemble.

for prints on little slip dresses with Chantilly bodices (Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss wore these) and ornate leather biker-style jackets and trousers bearing the legend “Galliano’s Circus”. Wool dresses and jackets were printed in black and white to imitate 1920s Cantonese shawls (Cantonese shawl print wool dress £860, matching wool shawl jacket £1500 at Joseph). Uma Thurman was photographed in one for US Vogue.

The walls were lined with sideshows with eerily lit, brightly dressed plastic dolls as prizes.

The final phases were even more spectacular. A silk “Zodiac” dress was printed with a midnight sky and gilt astrological signs, with a mesh of chains and charms forming a capelet. Other cocktail gowns included flapper dresses in sequins or beaded cobwebs, complete with spider.

136  Galliano Ready-to-Wear 1997 Spring/Summer

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There was a Rita Hayworth–style “goddess” gown with single asymmetric strap and a somewhat less commercial, harlequin-printed, moiré jacket and trousers. A complex wing-like bolero jacket formed from patent leather points was worn over a figure-hugging 30s-style bias-cut gown. However, the showstoppers came in the form of “show-girl” costumes, with corseted bodices made by Mr Pearl. A burgundy example with gladiator-style scale-effect embroidery worn by Suzanne Von Aichinger (who was also the fit model at Givenchy and Galliano) was inspired by James Tissot’s 1885 painting “Ladies of the Chariots”. Galliano took his bows with long blonde plaited dreadlocks, Clements Ribeiro striped top and floral printed cotton trousers.

Manolo Blahnik made thigh-high, multi-coloured suede “gypsy” boots with killer heels.

From this point on LVMH became increasingly involved in the sales and selections of the Galliano label. With regard to this collection, Maria Lemos recalls, “This was a really beautiful collection and sold well across the board. The “Russian Tray” gypsy slip dresses (both long and short) were by far the best sellers. All the elegant eveningwear did well – the bias-cut skirts, blue and white porcelain print chiffons, and black and white Cantonese shawl dresses.” Interview with the author, 1 February 17

Having canvassed results from all the major US retailers, WWD confirmed that the “gypsy slip” dress modelled by Kate Moss was one of the biggest sellers overall in America that season.

Show-girl outfit worn by Helena Christensen in black with silver crystal shooting stars, which was later ordered to wear on stage by Kylie Minogue.

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(Jane Austen goes to Marrakech) 13 October 1996, Espace Auteuil, Paris 16 47 looks Label: Givenchy Couture

“John Galliano’s show for Givenchy was one of those cringemaking fashion moments when the professionals feel like hiding under their gilt chairs.” Suzy Menkes, International Herald Tribune, 14 October 1996

Galliano had known from the summer that he was moving to Dior and so this final collection for Givenchy ended up being something of a lacklustre affair – his mind was obviously elsewhere. Galliano’s Circus collection, shown a few days earlier, had been highly colourful and imaginative; the Givenchy collection was drab in comparison.

Suzy Menkes hated it, saying the show was “short on ideas, with no modern focus for women or for Givenchy” (ibid.). However, Givenchy was no longer his problem – it was McQueen’s!

The set was perfunctory: plain white walls with a bright red carpet. The inspiration was described as a mixture of Jane Austen heroines, the French foreign legion, the Ottoman Empire and Morocco. The clothes were a mélange of baggy masculine trouser suits, shirt-dresses worn with Annie Hall–style ties, military-style jackets with gilt buttons and trousers with side stripes. There were some pretty empire-line dresses which had filtered down from the Empress Josephine couture collection, tea gowns with ruffled necklines, dresses and fitted jackets with Ottoman-inspired soutache detailing. Incongruously, the models had Moroccan-inspired styling, with claysmeared wired and braided hair, interestingly decorated eyebrows and the occasional chest tattoo. Galliano had changed his look to peroxide blonde dreadlocks. He wore a white t-shirt, grey singlebreasted jacket, and frayed white trousers. Helena Christensen in a Marrakesh meets Jane Austen look. 138  1997 Spring/Summer

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Christian Dior Spirit Fiftieth Anniversary Exhibition Christian Dior Spirit Fiftieth Anniversary exhibition, Monday, 9 December 1996, The Great Hall, Metropolitan Museum, New York. The fiftieth anniversary of Dior was to be marked by a magnificent gala benefit dinner, followed by a ball for 2000 and a one-night-only exhibition of thirty rarely-seen Dior masterpieces from 1948 through 1996. The gowns were taken from Dior’s own archives as well as the wardrobes of some of the house’s most “treasured” clients, including Ingrid Bergman, Baroness Philippine de Rothschild and SAR Princess Lilian of Belgium. The exhibition was organised by Katell le Bourhis, advisor to Bernard Arnault, who had previously worked at The Met with Diana Vreeland as curator and so already had a good working relationship with the museum. Le Bourhis recalls,

with twenty-foot faux chestnut trees and a vast canvas panorama painted with the famous street, the pedestrians wearing Dior designs from the last fifty years. The entrance hall was draped in Dior grey and white stripes and 10,000 lilies of the valley. White roses and ivy were also flown in, to be transformed into a six-foot-tall botanical candelabrum. The 850 guests were met with the “intoxicating” scent and the best French champagne. Among the fashion elite that night were Marc Bohan (ex-Dior), Christian Lacroix, Jaqueline de Ribes, Donna Karan, Anne Bass, Sharon Stone, Tina Turner and models Amber Valetta, Christy Turlington, and Linda Evangelista. The guest of honour was Princess Diana, who was to wear Galliano’s inaugural design for Dior, which had involved three round trips to London for fittings. The last one had taken place on 28 November, Galliano’s birthday, and she had arranged for cake and champagne for him at Kensington Palace.

“For one night, imagine – we had wire mannequins made in Italy specifically to fit each dress. Each gown has specially made underpinnings. Dior porcelain and tablecloths embroidered with M. Dior’s favourite flower – the lily of the valley that for him symbolised good luck – were flown in from France. There was a snowstorm and the cargo ended up in Chicago; it only arrived on Saturday and everything had to be completed by Monday. It was a nightmare.” Interview with the author, 16 October 2016

Dior’s last Creative Director, Gianfranco Ferre, who had designed the exhibition, meticulously dressed the mannequins with a team of twenty assistants, which were then suspended by metal rods – “a firework display of mannequins” (ibid.). The menu included sea bass de Granville, veal medallions with morels and tarte tatin – favourite recipes of M. Dior. The restaurant was transformed into the Avenue Montaigne for the night

Instead of an exhibition catalogue, there was a handprinted and embossed carnet de bal suspended on a ribbon loop which could be worn on the wrist.

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Princess Diana arrives at the Metropolitan Museum gala, accompanied by John Galliano and Liz Tilberis.

She had arrived at 6.00 pm on the day of the event via Concorde and went straight to the Carlyle hotel to change into her Dior slip-dress of navy silk marocain edged in Chantilly lace. However, she refused to wear the accompanying corset, and the next day the press was less than complimentary, some suggesting she had gone out in her “nightie”. She accessorised the gown with mini Dior “Lady Di” bag and the pearl and sapphire choker gifted to her by the Queen Mother.

Madame Chirac sat on Arnault’s right and Diana on his left; on the other side of the Princess sat Galliano, smartly turned out in a bespoke suit. When asked what he thought of the Princess, he said, “She’s a very modern, romantic woman” (US Vogue, 1 September 1997).

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Galliano Arrives at Dior Katell le Bourhis recalled the dramatic changes that took place in the previously sedate fashion house: “You heard in the corridors the London music scene full blast. Then you saw people dressed in rags and jeans – it was the Galliano studio. They spoke only English, though John could speak good French. They had to have music and they had to have tea!” Interview with the author, October 2016

world within a world. Only the chosen few were allowed into this inner sanctum. Steven Robinson acted as an intermediary between John and the atelier. He was very talented too. I have never seen someone so devoted to a designer, so complex. He was a child who grew up and became very manipulative – but all that was for John and the clothes. He was first in every morning at 10am and if John was not there he could keep the show on the road. They adored to work together.” Interview with the author, October 2016

Dior was arranged along traditional lines with rigid hierarchies and delineations. The ateliers for couture flou (dresses) and tailoring, where its whitecoated staff transformed dreams into realities, was situated at the top of the building, with their own separate staircase. Galliano was later to introduce additional ateliers for Dior RTW alongside – the first couture house to do so.

The following May, Baufumé acquired a disused doll factory at 60 rue d’Avron in the northeast of Paris, which was transformed into a fabulous studio space for the Galliano label. It was spacious, light, with proper ateliers and offices and a pretty courtyard garden. Galliano loved being there, but increasingly his presence was required at Dior.

Monsieur Arnault had his own dedicated lift. The main studio inhabited by Galliano and his team had its own staircase too. Katell le Bourhis recalls,

At Givenchy Galliano had his first taste of haute couture, but at Dior it was at another level entirely with an even larger skilled workforce and seemingly no restrictions. Dior was Arnault’s personal fiefdom and so for the first time in Galliano’s career, he was given free reign to create.

“John quickly changed the studio, he made it very private, no one was allowed entry without a magnetic card and within the main studio was his own large private office – a

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dior haute couture

Maasai 20 January 1997, 2.00 pm Grand Hotel, Paris 50 looks

Label: woven “Christian Dior Haute Couture” with handwritten bolduc label behind.

“Christian Dior marked its 50th anniversary the best way possible – with a smash collection by Galliano.” WWD, 21 January 1997

Galliano and the team worked solidly for eight weeks, taking just one day off for Christmas. They bought a turkey to roast, but forgot to turn on the oven. “It was awful. We were just so tired we ordered pizza” (Vogue, 4 January 1997). Galliano had been impressed by the Givenchy atelier of around sixty skilled staff, but Dior was in another league altogether and represented the pinnacle of fashion excellence. Dior staff had been used to a standard eight-hour working day; now

they complained they had been given just weeks to produce the entire collection, which involved late nights and last-minute adjustments. The fashion worker’s union representative complained that at Givenchy with McQueen it was as bad, if not worse: “we had two weeks to produce 50 models and some women in the workshop worked all night” (Mrs Brandely of the CGT Union, Guardian, 22 Jan 1997). The two bad boys from London were creating havoc in these previously calm and orderly ateliers.

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The pressure was on – not only was this Galliano’s debut collection, but it was haute couture (rather than a pre-collection) and in the fiftieth anniversary of Maison Christian Dior, no less. On 12 February 1947, Christian Dior had shown his first collection, dubbed the “New Look”, which created headlines the world over. Would Galliano’s Dior make a similar sensation? He aimed to produce a collection that reinterpreted the Christian Dior “codes” but at the same time was new, young and exciting:

The leopard prints and lilac tones were inspired by Madame Mizza Bricard, Christian Dior’s friend and muse. She loved to wear lilac and was photographed draped in leopard fur and ropes of pearls. “The more research I did, the more I realised how inspired M. Dior was by the women around him – not only his mother, but also the model Victoire and especially Miza (sic) Bricard.” WWD, 16 January 1997

“I don’t want to do a retro New Look. I am trying to do something that would please Monsieur Dior and something that is modern . . . For me Dior is God!” WWD, 16 January 1997

There were to be fifty looks (each given a name, as was Monsieur Dior’s tradition) shown by fifty top models, including all the “greats” – Naomi, Kate, Linda, Helena, Claudia, to name just a few. Dior took over the entire ground floor of the Grand Hotel (couturiers were usually confined to just the ballroom) so that 791 gilded chairs and their occupants could be accommodated. The interior was painted Dior-grey and white to resemble the Dior couture salon, with pillars of 4000 fresh pink roses. Guests included Bernadette Chirac, France’s first lady, and the Duchess of York (who had been reputedly been paid £300,000 to write six fashion articles for Paris Match) sat next to the President of LVMH, Bernard Arnault. Fergie asked Galliano, “What can you do for a woman like me – one of the worst dressed in the world?” To which he mischievously suggested a corset: “even models wear them!” (Guardian, 29 January 1997). The show opened with short, sexy tailored looks and short slip dresses, which may have startled some of the more traditional clients. When Galliano was asked about the “hooker” theme, he replied, “When he first started Dior didn’t know how to get models, so he put an ad in the paper, and every hooker in Paris turned up.” US Vogue, 4 January 1997

Look 17. Mizza slip dress with hand-painted leopard spots, edged in Mizza-lilac Calais lace.

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A mature, stylish courtesan figure on whose opinion M. Dior relied, she was apt to deliver sage advice such as: “When a man wants to send you flowers – always say ‘My florist is Cartier.’” WWD, 16 January 1997

Signature houndstooth checked wool by Holland & Sherry was used for micro-mini skirt suits, some of the jackets with curved “Bar”-shaped hips. Delicate fringed edges were achieved by removing weft threads from the fabric edges. Laser-cut leather ensembles resembled fine lace (model Ohdior). The girls wore fringed wigs under Stephen Jones trilbies (made in the Dior atelier), saucily tilted forwards on the forehead “Sinatra style”, and cute beaded berets. Galliano wanted to use different materials, so Stephen Jones suggested wood. He borrowed an African sculpture from a friend, which was taken to his block-maker Mr Re of “Le Forme” to copy. The “Opium-den–era China” embroidered shawl dresses with mink trims were some of the most commercially successful; they appeared in major magazines the world over and were reinterpreted in the following RTW collection. Bias-cut embroidered Cantonese shawl dresses in rose pink and chartreuse had narrow brown mink edgings. Nicole Kidman caused a sensation when she wore “Absinthe” to the Oscars later that year, with some journalists commenting on the unusual chartreuse shade, which looked fabulous with her red hair.

Nicole Kidman wearing the chinoiserie satin “Absinthe” gown to the Oscars, March 1997.

The Maasai/Boldini phase combined African-style beadwork with zebra-striped headdress and collars by Goosens, and Manolo Blahnik chinchilla-trimmed warrior sandals. There were beaded breast panels and lavishly beaded collars and bodices with cinched waists created by Mr Pearl corsets. The Edwardian S-shapes (inspired by Boldini portraits and the Marchesa Casati) merged with the tribal beadwork and Edwardian-style pearl choker necklaces to produce a completely original look. The grand S-line mermaid bustier sheath of black Chantilly lace–covered lilac taffeta with jet detailing (Cleo) was worn by Madonna when she appeared at the 1997 Academy awards later that year.

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Stephen Jones’ African-inspired limewood hat, the brim in Samba wood. It featured in Dior advertisements for many years.

Look 39. Debbie Shaw in Maasai/ Boldini “Kitu” gown with “mermaid” satin skirt, hand-painted with African orchids by Genevieve Cotte.

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Look 44. A dreamy layered champagne tulle ball gown with silver embroidered velvet bodice by Lesage.

Galliano’s more classic eveningwear included: short black and white cocktail dresses (ironically similar to his own S/S 90 collection, which had been inspired by 50s Dior originals); his signature 30s-inspired bias-cut gowns in Marescot lace with myriad tiny buttons and “Full on Romance” ball gowns in lilac tulle (Mitzah [sic]) and ivory (Lina). Arnault’s gamble at Dior had paid off. Whilst the French fashion press slated McQueen’s debut at Givenchy, Galliano’s at Dior was hailed as a triumph by press and buyers alike. Galliano received a standing ovation with “bravos” and cheering. One of the most important couture clients, Mouna Ayoub, declared that she was cancelling her other couture orders of the morning and concentrating on Dior because “This is THE show” (US Vogue, 4 January 1997).

Galliano appeared at the end of the show in smartly tailored suit, wearing a black bandana, trilby, large pearl droplet earrings, pencil moustache and blue contact lenses.

146  Dior Haute Couture  1997 Spring/Summer

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Dior’s Little Sweetheart Pin-Ups 11 March 1997, 2.30 pm Musée Guimet, Paris 45 looks

Label: Woven Christian Dior Boutique label used on all ready-to-wear collections. “7” denotes 1997 and H for Hiver (or Winter) season.

1997–98 Autumn/Winter

dior ready-to-wear

“A Paris Moment via Hollywood and the Orient” Susannah Frankel, Guardian, 12 March 1997

As the “Chinoise” section of the Dior S/S 1997 haute couture collection had proved successful with clients, they were also included in the ready-to-wear collection. Galliano told WWD: “Think sex kittens, pinups, Vargas girls (a Peruvian painter of pinups), Carole Lombard, Jayne Mansfield and Chinois pinups” 10 March 1997

Dior’s press release described the five pin-up categories: “Sweetheart pin-up: Ingenue, a real play-actress, often in pastels, mini-skirts, shorts, fur boleros” “Haughty, smouldering and venomous vamp pin-up: Regal, aristocratic, with a penchant for black tuxedo, shades of plum and orchids” “Imperial pin-up: Parisienne, exotic and colourful, in a

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balloon dress, balconette bustier, shiny jacquard satin” “Bohemian muse pin-up: Cultivated, extravagant, inspiring, she dares to wear draped and fringed pants, exotic embroideries” “Lacquered pin-up: Voluptuous, passionate, a red kabuki star, bursting out of her seams”

Stéphane Marais created a “geisha” look with red lips and heavily rouged cheeks and eyes, and Odile Gilbert produced 40s-style fringed pin-up hairstyles with orientalist topknots. Kate Moss wore a red wig and Claudia Schiffer a black one. The models appeared from behind simple screens in a corridor-like entrance to the strains of oriental music. “The beginning of the show is soft, faded colours like mint, blue and lilac, then evening becomes more wicked, with austere shades like dark prune, granite and black. Then the final section is full on kabuki reds and blacks.” Galliano in WWD, ibid.

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The first look, a baby pink basket-weave tweed suit called “Marylin” (sic), had a “Bar” jacket with self-fringing and a dress with micro-mini skirt. The skirts were generally super-short or the long asymmetric “L-line”, which Dior stated was a new introduction. This was followed by a lilac damask micro-mini cheongsam worn with matching lilac mink stole, with bobby socks and wedge sandals with ankle straps. Slip dresses edged in contrasting lace reappeared in pastel tones and figure-hugging cheongsams were in soft angora knit. For day and night the cheongsams were split thigh high. For evening they incorporated small gilt dragon-head fastenings at the thigh slit. Linda Evangelista wore a long black cheongsam trimmed with pearls and worn with a stiff black damask Japanese samurai-style sleeved jacket with wide extending shoulder panels. Another in red was worn with a red leather cross-over tailcoat with matching Stephen Jones vertically-tilted outsized fedora. Other accessories included the already classic Maasai choker necklaces, as well as pastel-toned Lady Dior bags, pagoda shaped reticules and an obi-bow clutch.

Micro-mini hemlines and self-fringing were a feature.

“Sweetheart Pin Up.” Mizza-lilac fur stole and damask cheongsam.

In Galliano’s S/S 97 Circus collection, he had used prints of Chinese shawls on dresses, but at Dior he was able to use real embroidery on silk with shawl-effect fringes, and photographer Nick Knight used these in a superb advertising campaign. Galliano appeared smartly dressed in Dior tailored double-breasted grey wool suit with orchid corsage and a black trilby hat over a bandana. Dior’s bid to attract a larger, younger audience seemed to have worked. Bernard Arnault, Chairman of Christian Dior, told shareholders that Galliano’s first ready-to-wear collection had been a huge success and Dior President Francois Baufumé confirmed that orders were ahead of plan (although he refused to give specifics) and that Dior planned to open ten new boutiques internationally by the end of 1997 and another on Paris’ left bank in 1998. Dior Couture’s turnover had also increased by 19 per cent over the previous year to $214.8 million (WWD, 30 May 1997).

“Imperial Pin Up.” Draped “Dior bows” were used to accent 50s-inspired cocktail dresses in oriental jacquards.

“Bohemian Muse Pin Up.” Embroidered shawleffect dress.

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galliano ready-to-wear

Suzy Sphinx 13 March 1997, 7.30 pm Musée National des Monuments, Palais de Chaillot, Place du Trocadéro, Paris 40 looks Invitation: A school report for Suzy Sphinx from headmistress Miss Finnicky Buttocks.

Label: burgundy Galliano Paris, both ribbon and rectangular types with numbering starting with a 7 for 1997, 8 for 1998 and so on; and E for été (summer), H for hiver (winter) collection, with European and US size option table below. The first Galliano pre-collection was launched in July 1997, so if you see P as a prefix, it is from a precollection. These labels continue unchanged until 2002.

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The Suzy Sphinx collection was an eclectic mixture of diverse references: a combination of St Trinian’s– style school girl; the silent movie star Theda Bara (aka The Vamp), who played Cleopatra in the classic 1917 film of the same name; and Siouxsie Sioux of the punk group “Siouxsie and the Banshees” all rolled into one. Galliano described his heroine to WWD: “Suzy, the naughty schoolgirl, dreams of becoming an actress and ‘goes for an audition for a part playing Theda Bara . . . She gets the role and begins preparing for one of the greatest parts an actress could ever have – Cleopatra.’” WWD, 10 March 1997

The set and catwalk were one of the most opulent to date, designed by Jean Luc Ardouin – with a giant peacock throne, small sand dunes, overturned urns and graffiti’d fibre-glass sphinxes. Cameras filming the show tracked up and down the runway in front of the models, so buyers and press complained they could barely see the clothes. The show opened with a “schoolgirl” in striped school uniform and seemingly no knickers jumping onto the throne. US Vogue observed that the actress Kristin Scott Thomas, in the front row and on the lookout for an Oscar dress, looked aghast! The micro-mini day-looks already seen in the Dior shows continued: “I’m really into short again – big time” (Galliano in WWD, 10 March 1997). More sedate (and wearable) were the 40s-inspired grey flannel suits and dresses with large oval smocked bodice panels accessorized with velvet riding hats and crocodile satchels.

Stella Tennant in a tattoo body stocking under flimsy bias-cut dress.

Galliano’s highly commercial, signature bias-cut gowns were strongly represented for evening in chiffon, crêpe and satin in a pastel and fuchsia pink palette.

Silk slip dresses in wine and navy were overlaid with elaborate tunics formed entirely from safety pins (Siouxsie Sioux punk reference) because “like true Egyptian Queens they wear overdresses” (Galliano to WWD, ibid.).

However, the most spectacular eveningwear included Linda Evangelista and Helena Christensen in “Pearly Queen” trouser and kilt ensembles of scarlet tartan and black wool – entirely covered in gold buttons that spelt out “Bow Bells” down the legs.

Nude body stockings printed with motifs, including Queen Nefertiti, George Washington and Jesus Christ (made to order), were worn under chiffon dresses that retailed for £3500 as worn by Stella Tennant.

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Helena Christensen, a Pearly Queen Egyptian style, using gilt buttons.

Milla Jovovich at the Cannes film festival in metallic Galliano, May 7th 1997.

Slinky, liquid-like bias-cut dresses formed in gold and silver mesh were showstoppers – one in gold came complete with crossed hands clutching papyrus blooms – Egyptian mummy style. “Tutankhamen has never looked so gorgeous or so fashionable,” quipped Susannah Frankel in the Guardian (19 March 1997).

Film festival, and the gold embroidered tulle exotic dancer dress from this collection also made headlines when she wore it to the Oscars that year. So not all actresses, it seems, were put off by the spectacle!

Another in silver mesh with rose corsages on the shoulder was worn by Milla Jovovich to the Cannes

Galliano appeared in black Cleopatra wig, blue contact lenses, pin-up girl t-shirt, distressed military-style jacket and striped trousers with a grey kilt over the top.

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clientele. I remember the little grey suits with smocking sold well. Buyers were keen to purchase pieces because they loved the show – but they also had to be able to sell on to their customers. When LVMH acquired Galliano, there was a lot of effort in trying to strike that right balance between creativity and commerce.” Interview with the author, 1 February 2017

Notably, Lemos left Galliano after this collection.

“The Only Truth Is in the Sales” Since the summer of 1996 when LVMH had become the major shareholder of “John Galliano”, Francois Baufumé had been overseeing it as well as Dior and had appointed Valérie Hermann (ex Jacques Fath) as Managing Director to oversee the day-to-day running. Unlike haute couture, which was required to provide press coverage to promote the sale of accessories, cosmetics and perfumes, with brand Galliano they needed to sell the actual clothes. Baufumé admitted that the clothes on the runway were not necessarily the clothes that sold in volume, “Maybe it is easier to achieve this with a collection that is not put on the runway. At runway presentations the attention given to the spectacle can be to the detriment of the clothes. The only truth is in the sales.” WWD 14 March 1997

Grey wool suit with 40s-style smocking, which was a popular seller. Steven Philip Collection.

Maria Lemos recalls, “Because every collection of John’s was so different from the previous one, retailers found it hard to establish continuity with their customers. This collection was tricky because the schoolgirl look was yet another direction and not one that easily resonated with the buyers. Who wants to buy an expensive school blazer or school uniform skirt? Who wants to wear a tattoo body stocking? The work was exquisite, but so much of it was unsuitable for John’s

Despite this he reported “very strong growth” since their acquisition and, in a drive to improve sales further, he planned to expand the US business, which at that point comprised 35 per cent of sales. For the first time a Galliano S/S pre-collection was sold (the pre-collection labels always have a P at the start of the numbered code on the size label). Joseph Boitano of Bergdorf Goodman applauded these additional collections: “In order to build a business, you must have those interim collections to keep the merchandise fresh and the floor exciting.” WWD, 14 March 1997

John Galliano’s success was recognized by his country of birth, Gibraltar, who issued a series of stamps depicting some of his more famous designs.

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dior haute couture

The Edwardian Raj Princesses chez Dior or Mata Hari 8 July 1997, 2.30 pm Jardin de Bagatelle, Paris 45 looks Label: Christian Dior haute couture

“Fashion star floats on a fantasy vision of past glories” Guardian, 9 July 1997

The second Dior haute collection was eagerly awaited after the success of the previous season. Galliano’s stated aim was to “make women look beautiful and make people dream” (WWD, 9 July 1997). The corseted, mono-bosom cinched waists initiated in the “Marchesa Casati” looks and the Ndebele chokers in the first Dior HC collection were further explored in this collection. It contained virtually no daywear, and what there was – was impractical. Romance rather than practicality was the ethos. The show took place in a mini “Crystal Palace” glass house purpose-built to accommodate 1000 guests, which was erected in the Bagatelle rose garden, Paris, and created by British designer Michael Howells working for the first time on a Dior show. It was a hot day, so Japanese fans, straw boaters and champagne were liberally provided by Dior to help ease the discomfort. Inside crystal chandeliers were draped with dusty lilac ribbons and the dovegrey catwalk scattered with rose petals, feathers and stardust, edged by little gold chairs that snaked between the rose beds. As usual Galliano’s inspiration was drawn from a combination of strong female heroines including Indian princesses, Sarah Bernhardt, Isadora

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Look 8. A “Princess Kalat” ensemble with plastron necklace by Goossens.

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The Sarah Bernhardt-Mucha figures with frizzed red hair wore pale antique gold chain necklaces, linking Art Nouveau–style discs dripping with peridot or garnet pendants. Their corseted dresses produced a “pouter pigeon” silhouette, with tiny cinched waists shimmered with overlays of beading, Azute stole embroidery and appliquéd silk or silver velvet with swagged ropes of pearls.

Mata Hari images from Galliano’s research book.

Duncan, Alphonse Mucha/Gustav Klimt beauties, Toulouse Lautrec’s Jane Avril (La Goulou) and the infamous spy Mata Hari. “We’ve thought of Mata Hari and all her guises . . . Incredibly international – she was born in Holland, married an Indian prince, lived in Bali and danced amongst literary circles.” WWD, 3 July 1997

Galliano’s research books were filled with photographs of bejewelled Maharajahs, Mucha beauties, Edwardian exotic dancers and African tribes. The show opened with the “Raj Princesses” phase – dramatic makeup, severe centre-parted hair, Maharajah-inspired, turban-like headdresses with coloured aigrettes. Goossens provided the fabulous jewellery: massive palm shaped earrings, headdresses and choker-breastplate necklaces “shimmering with chain diamanté, crystal or amber set into antique silver, all in a very Edwardian Raj mood” (Dior press release) or tall coiled necklaces reminiscent of Ndebele tribeswomen. The “Princesses” wore severely tailored tweed suits in lightweight tweeds by Dormeuil and Holland & Sherry. “It’s that feeling of espionage like tweeds hiding showy clothes” (WWD, July 1997).

A Poiret-esque blue-green velvet opera cape was painted and embossed by M. Alexandre in gold with lilies and wheat ears with a hobble skirt and sable trim (Look 25). Galliano’s famous layered “Clam” dress from his S/S 87 collection was reprised in black and degradé green silk, one with painted tiger-effect hide bodice, this time as full blown ball gowns. One of the most elaborate gowns, “Isadora Duncan” (Look 24), a long mermaid-line iridescent green sheath, was embroidered and appliquéd by the Galliano studio with garlands of irises; peacocks in shades of green, purple, fuchsia pink and red; and with beadwork by Hurel. Toulouse Lautrec’s Jane Avril-like characters dressed in short satin bustle show-girl dresses with racy, lacy patterned stockings and garters. Look 1. Stella Tennant in “Princess Afsharid” tweed Bar jacket with pyramid collar.

The classic Dior “Bar” jacket was elongated to a pyramid form and worn over a long, lean, bias-cut matching skirt with a swallowtail-trained hem. Others were cut with long, curved Edwardianinspired tails in wool embroidered by Lanel or mock croc and worn over lamé or Chinese shawl skirts with elaborately jewelled silver lace bodies. The silhouette was minimal, sculpted and powerful. Galliano said, “I’m thinking of strong, proud shapes” (WWD, 7 July 1997).

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In contrast to all this corseted constriction, Galliano also presented his “Mata Hari”: “Not the spy trapped by intrigue and lies, but the sensual image of the exotic Indian dancing girl, with all the suppleness of a panther in her diamond incrusted bra. Mata Hari incarnates just as much the Edwardian Belle Époque, with its taste for arabesques, corsets, laces, embroidered silks, faded colours and exacerbated femininity as she does India with its splendour and intriguing mysteries.” Dior press release

Naomi Campbell was magnificent in a heavily gold embroidered gladiatorial cocktail dress, “Matatarse” (Look 42). Shalom Harlow vamped around the rose garden, almost naked except for a g-string, jet beadwork (inspired by Moroccan henna tattoos) and a few gold chains! A tiger-printed pony-hide jacket was teamed with a transparent lace skirt and transparent body stockings adorned with gold embroidery redolent of Klimt paintings. Anna Wintour wore a version of the “Fritza” model to the Metropolitan Museum gala, “Anglomania”, in May 2006 – a black mermaid-line silver lamé dress veiled in black tulle embroidered in relief by Lesage with pink ribbon roses.

Look 25. “Loie Fuller” opera coat from the “Mucha-inspired Art Nouveau Artists’ Muses” phase.

Look 42. Naomi Campbell in Mata Hari–inspired barely-there cocktail dress “Matatarse”.

Look 24. Mermaid-line “Isadora Duncan” gown.

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1998 Spring/Summer

dior ready-to-wear

In a Boudoir Mood 14 October 1997, 2.30 pm Carrousel du Louvre, Paris 44 looks

“I feel that we are entering a period of our own belle époque as we approach the end of the millennium with a return to romanticism and elegance.” John Galliano HB, March 1998

In the tents of the purpose-built fashion venue below the Louvre, Dior recreated the interior of a turn of-the-century mansion. Models moved from boudoir to salon, practicing the piano or playing billiards in Belle Époque–inspired garments, which were a distillation of the last Dior HC Mata Hari collection.

Apart from a few sexy black business suits and a white tuxedo, there was very little daywear in a collection that was more about fantasy than reality.

Romantic Galliano claimed that fans were clamouring for more of the same and so he gave it to them – “Raj princess” jewels (albeit on a slightly smaller scale) and Maasai gilt ringed collars and armlets (by Erickson Beamon) reappeared, as did the rich lamés, Assuit weaves, brocades and curved long jackets. Calais lace was a big feature of the collection, appearing on the rose bouclé or basket weave wool Bar suits, the matching skirts with waist-high side slits, as well as the short lingerie slip dresses and long bias-cut evening gowns with Mermaid hems and low décolleté draped backs. Kate Moss shimmied in a lilac flapper-style dress covered in herringbone fringes with diamond cut-outs to the waist; another show stopper worn by Shalom Harlow of scarlet Toile de Jouy had plunging nude tulle V inserts to the waist front and back. Manolo Blahnik provided the shoes, including self-supporting lace stockings with integral stiletto heels and soles.

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Shalom Harlow in toile de Jouy dress with Maasai collar.

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Linda Evangelista in embroidered tulle belle époque–inspired gown.

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galliano ready-to-wear

Haute Bohemia 14 October 1997 Chateau de Vincennes, outskirts of Paris 33 looks Invitation: Embossed pink card

Label: burgundy Paris label with size label number prefix 8E.

“Think of Ginger Rogers sliding across the silver screen.” JG interview, WWD, 14 October 1997

Unlike the Dior ready-to-wear show that took place in the Louvre tents, Galliano chose a royal fortress to the east of Paris for his eponymous collection. The rooms of the second floor were hung with rich tapestries, filled with antique furniture and shimmering candelabras, the floors strewn with rose petals. The fashion pack complained that it was yet another long trek to another far-flung Galliano show! One of the inspirations for the collection was the African-American movie star Dorothy Dandridge – Naomi Campbell had given the actress’ biography to Galliano to read six months earlier.

The show opened with two beautiful black girls singing and, as they walked through the rooms holding hands, followed by Naomi Campbell, who emerged from a velvet curtain in a gossamer fine lace bridal gown worn over silk cami-knickers to the contrasting sound of electronic music. There was a strong mid-1930s vibe to the collection with lots of shoulder and hem frills. The first “Sunday School” phase was all white, with plumed headdresses, others of painted seaweed by Stephen Jones. Galliano took a fine white lingerie knit (usually found on long-johns and vests) and transformed

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Galliano’s research book with image of an early 20s Vionnet. Naomi Campbell wearing the “Who’s that Girl?” bridal gown.

it into bias-cut evening gowns with nude tulle thigh high garter inserts (as first seen in Lucretia). The second phase of pink bias-cut gowns he called “Dotties Club”. Shalom Harlow, with pink marcel-wave hair, wore matching bias-cut gown “Gloria” covered in silk appliquéd roses, redolent of a 1930s Vionnet and retailing for a staggering $17,695 from Bergdorf Goodman. There followed a brightly coloured “Dorothy Dandridge” phase where Guatemalan weaves were formed into sweet little jackets for day ($2820) with coordinating skirts ($2375 from Saks). There were brightly patterned cardigans with matching dresses – great day wear at last! Central Asian ikat silks were formed into bohemian kimono coats and short dresses, worn with kaleidoscopically coloured disc hats and vintage-inspired crocodile or zebra print handbags. WWD said that Galliano “absolutely out-camped himself” (WWD, 20 October 1997). The models were instructed to move among the audience acting as hostesses, offering little trays of biscuits and

Shalom Harlow in “Gloria”. See similarity of appliqués to Vionnet above.

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sweets. Some of the more adventurous girls sat on the knees of favourite retailers or fashion editors, much to their embarrassment or delight. For the Haute Bohemia finale, the models with long, dark tousled hair spiked with heather sprigs and smeared mascara seemed to walk in an opium-induced haze or reclined on the four-poster bed in a palette of black and gold with lavish beadwork, some with integral Mr Pearl corsets; pure drama! Galliano, in a smart suit, with black marcel-waved hair, placed a pretend engagement ring on Naomi Campbell’s finger to the applause of the audience.

However, he admitted that one day, “it would be a dream come true to have my own store” (WWD, 9 December 1997).

Ikat patterned silk dress. Resurrection Vintage Archive.

1997 had been a good year for Galliano. In October he was made British Designer of the Year for the fourth time (shared with McQueen). In December, he opened an in-store shop at Bergdorf Goodman as part of the push to increase US market share. Flyers invited: “Don’t be shy. Come rummage through drawers filled with love letters, poetry, perfume, clothing and accessories. Perhaps you’ll be inspired to dress up?” Flyer from Bergdorf Goodman announcing shop opening

Galliano surrounded by his models.

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dior haute couture

A Poetic Tribute to the Marchesa Casati 19 January 1998, 4.30 pm Opéra Garnier, Paris 38 looks

“Galliano Glories in Pure Escapism” The Times headline, 20 January 1998

Galliano again returned to his old favourite and muse, the Marchesa Maria Luisa Casati, for inspiration (see Galliano S/S 1996 and Dior HC S/S 1997). The nineteenth-century dandy and writer Robert de Montesquiou said of her: “Madame Casati has her own grace, her mystery, her dogs, her enormous hat and her bouquet of flowers that the eye embraces in just one glance.” Her palazzo in Venice was filled with exotic birds, a pet cheetah and greyhounds, which she took for evening walks along the Grand Canal, as well as exotic birds and a snake she wore as a necklace.

Look 31, “Thamar” lavishly embroidered black georgette dress, with patterns inspired by Leon Bakst.

Staged in the opulent magnificence of the opera house, the collection was appropriately shown with a prologue and six acts. Michael Howells (given no budget limit) was employed to transform the opera house into Casati’s palazzo for a masked ball. The marble columns were entwined with garlands of lilac and apricot roses. Antique chairs and chaise longues were placed next to tables covered in faux zebra skin set with candelabra and strewn with glitter, as though dinner guests had just left them. Carpets were scented with the perfume of oranges. As guests arrived, actors reenacted famous characters from ballet and opera with, as Howells recalled, tango-dancers “dancing to the death”.

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Howells remembers, “The Marchesa would give a ball and once it was over – she would sell the house to pay for it. Once she had an entire driveway paved in gold and we thought it would be great to have gold leaf flakes cascade from the ceiling – as though the old gilding was raining down on the guests. However, the fire officers didn’t like that idea so instead we made confetti from stamped butterfly shapes which we released at the end of the show.” Interview with the author, September 2017

Look 9 from Act I “Marquis de Roserais” Caen lace ensemble.

The show was spectacular in every sense of the word. The models, teetering on their 10 cm high heels, were assisted down the vertiginous marble stairs by handsome young men. For the Prologue, the mysterious Marchesa Casati figure robed all in black (long crinolined gown, tricorn hat with chantilly lace domino) ascended the steep marble staircase strewn with rose petals, like a Look 15 from Act II “Stowe”—a long pyramid line cloak of ivory-cut velvet painted with exotic blooms trimmed in brown sable, worn over an embossed gold lamé sheath with jewelled “lingerie” straps.

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ghost surveying the scene where her ball had taken place. (The dress now forms part of the Metropolitan Museum collection.) ***all quotes taken from Dior press release unless otherwise stated. Act I: “A Pastoral Story – Sèvres Porcelain style”: Casati owned a pretty Trianon-inspired palace in Le Vesinet on the outskirts of Paris. Her penchant for neo-Versailles decoration was reflected in eight mainly white daywear looks inspired by porcelain shepherdesses and named after “sugary Marquises”. Of Caen-lace, damask silk and strapwork, they were accessorised by ropes of pearls and beaded chokers with floral Sèvres-style cameos by Goosens, painted by Chantal Mirabaud. The silhouettes were a mixture of flirty 30sinspired jackets (lotus line) and knee-length skirts with flounced hems or late eighteenth-century– style court coats, some with pale mink collars worn with breeches or long skirts with “suivez-moi jeune homme” trains, as Dior called them – asymmetric flaps that could be draped or knotted into loops. The Sèvres porcelain pastoral theme continued with bergère hats of linen straw interlaced with shells, passementerie or embellished with dahlias in pineapple fibre with bows of Valenciennes lace. The Blahnik shoes and mules likewise carried porcelain plaques and embroidery. Jackets included the new Dior “lotus” line with a tightly cinched waist and a basque, well-shaped over the hips. Act II: “An English Story in a Country Garden”: The six opulent evening looks named after famous gardens (settings for romantic encounters) included “Garsington”, an ivory panne velvet coat painted with Raoul Dufy–inspired roses and Salomon dark sable hem and collar, and “Blenheim”, a tango-line dress of silver mesh painted with pink and green garlands. Act III. “The Story of a Voyage in First Class”: The Marchesa – an inveterate traveller – was imagined, “like some brief vision of a mysterious woman at the Lido” in massive tulle-swathed Edwardian straw hats with outsized hat pins and streamlined halter-neck dresses and suits with draped asymmetric

Act IV, “Tango” dresses of Bianchini lamé with “suivez-moi jeune homme” trained skirts.

skirts mainly in shades of cream. Each design was named after a famous cruise ship or line. Act IV: “A Lascivious Story to a Tango Tune”: “A dance that then for the first time, captured carnal passions in sheath dresses with supple waists and jewelled shoulder straps.” Five gold or silver embossed or painted lamé “tango” dresses with straight front décolletés, dropped waistlines, and rhinestone studded straps. These were accessorised with lace veils worn as visors, aigrettes and lamé Mary Jane shoes.

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Look 29, “Shéhérazade”, pyramid line Lanel embroidered velvet kimono, over a topaz backless satin sheath.

Poiret ensembles, 1911

Act V: “A Story of an Oriental Encounter with Bakst”: The Ballets Russes set and costume designer was a close friend of Casati. “Thamar”, an evening dress of long black crêpe georgette, was embroidered and appliquéd by Vermont with large roundels in shades of blue and gold with kimono sleeves and low draped back. The Dior research books indicate that “Shéhérazade” – a cocoon-shaped evening coat of topaz-toned embroidered and appliquéd velvet – was inspired by a Poiret original, “Battick”, of 1911. Act VI. “A Story of a Fancy Dress Ball at the Palazzo dei Leoni”: Seven fancy dress looks, which included an eau-de-nil and white harlequin robe-de-style, a Joan of Arc–style silver velvet dress complete with engraved metal armour sleeve by Verolive, “Martyr of Saint Sebastian” headdress and a grand ballgown in shades of blue-green spotted taffeta in eighteenth-century–style, worn with a lorgnette-style Venetian mask. The Dior research books for this

collection reveal 1920s images of the actress Ida Rubenstein dressed as St Joan, fashion sketches of pannier robes, Valentino dancing a tango, and a Raoul Dufy for Poiret block-printed coat. The historical research was immense. There was so much embroidery that numerous specialists were used – Lesage, Lanel and Vermont – specialist fabric painters and dyers Alexandre and Krivoshkey, cut flowers by Bucol, jewellery by Goossens and belts by Leroux Fraboulet. Galliano took his bows (dressed in black, Rudolf Valentino tango-style ensemble with black lace visor over his eyes) to rapturous applause and showers of butterfly confetti. The show was a sensation. Fashion journalist Tim Blanks has stated that this is his favourite fashion show of all time – and he’s seen quite a few. It was the most extraordinary fashion event Paris had witnessed to date.

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Research book with fancy dress inspirations. Showers of butterfly confetti end the show.

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1998–99 Autumn/Winter

dior ready-to-wear

Sportswear on Heels 10 March 1998, 2.30 pm Carrousel du Louvre, Paris 42 looks

“The anorak unlikely to be spotted on platform seven” The Times, 11 March 1998

Instead of the usual long press notes accompanying the collection, this time there was a just small white card with “Sportswear” in large red lettering. However, anyone expecting Lycra and trainers was

to be sorely disappointed. Galliano’s “sportswear” dripped in mink, fox, and rich embroidery and was worn with towering matching Blahnik shoes. Galliano’s muse this time was Tina Modotti (1896–1942), a beautiful Italian photographer, model, actress and political activist who emigrated to America and then Mexico and had love affairs with Roubaix “Robo” de l’Abrie Richey and his friend the photographer Edward Weston before becoming a communist. Set designer Michael Howells transformed the Carrousel du Louvre into a Manhattan rooftop, complete with star-spangled sky, garbage cans embossed with CD logos and chimneys spouting red fabric flames. The set was so complex that some of the models got lost amid the props and never made it to the end! Perhaps in answer to criticism that there was not enough daywear in his collections and his repetitive fascination with the “Belle Époque” past, this collection was youthful, brightly coloured and – importantly – wearable.

From the research book, a c. 1927 Paul Colin sketch of Josephine Baker dancing in an outfit of a similar colour palette.

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Yes, there were still Edwardian walking suit silhouettes and Stephen Jones had produced outsized 1910-style picture hats, this time in wirework and coloured Perspex, but there were also berets with baseball-cap strap closures or large metal hairclips redolent of his Galliano collection a decade earlier. When a member of the studio told the press that

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“John’s doing casualwear”, Galliano winced and explained that it was a combination of urban daywear, eighteenth-century tango sportswear (whatever that is) and sportswear on high heels (WWD, 11 March 1998). The palette was sharp and fresh: pink, yellow and red together; primrose yellow and pale blue together; elegant grey with white and one section in contrasting stark black. The fabrics included Donegal grey pinstriped tweed, (a grey Donegal tweed long slip dress edged in white Calais lace retailed for $3200), shocking pink tweed and luxurious floral printed lamés. Apart from a long Poiret-esque cocoon coat, most of the jackets were based on the “parka”, cagoule and puffer jacket (or “doudoune” as the French call them). Galliano told WWD,

“You can throw a knit dress into a knapsack, jump on a plane and go to a cocktail party in New York. I love the fact that you don’t have to iron it.” Galliano in WWD, 14 October 1998

Galliano said his favourite piece in the show was a Tibetan-inspired patchwork flight-jacket, as modelled by Linda Evangelista. He appeared at the end modestly dressed in black suit, short dark hair falling over one eye and a goatee beard. The collection was criticized in the press for the repetition of some of his now-trademark looks – the Maasai/Maharajah necklaces, bias-cutting and the

Knitwear in contrasting colours edged in Calais lace.

“I like the idea of wearing the doudoune with an evening dress. There are no boundaries, no frontiers. This doudoune represents a nonchalant attitude that’s right for Dior today.” Ibid.

Dior’s parkas, however, had hoods trimmed in grey fox or pastel coloured mink with nipped-in waist and basque below. The quilting on the puffas followed the patterns on the “Lady Dior” bags and the cagoules had large “kangaroo” pockets. There were short kilts as well as long asymmetric 1940s “Zigzag” line–inspired skirts worn with loose brown leather belts. Knitwear was big in this collection too, with long slip dresses and skirts edged in Calais lace.

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long, slim Edwardian silhouettes. He replied that if he didn’t include them it would be like “Chanel throwing away the camellias” (The Times, 11 March 1998).

Dior customers for once had a plethora of daywear to choose from, and Bernard Arnault stated that Dior sales were up 50 per cent the previous year under Galliano’s direction.

Galliano takes his bows.

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galliano ready-to-wear

Cabaret 14 March 1998 Cabaret Sauvage, Paris 32 looks Invitation: 150 purses of faux animal fur, containing a purple lipstick, card, crumpled Weimar Republic bank note with Galliano’s face, doused in cheap perfume, pills, cigarette stubs and paper streamers (the remaining guests got their contents in an envelope)

Weimar Republic–style bank note with Galliano’s face.

“Life is a Cabaret for John Galliano” The Times, 13 March 1998

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The sculpted mermaid silhouette continued with ombré silk gowns with lace overlays. Resurrection Vintage Archive.

Galliano recreated a Sally Bowles–style decadent pre-war Berlin nightclub with tented ceiling and circular wooden circus-ring like dance floor. In the centre, a small stage slowly revolved, mounted with dressing table and pianola, draped with actress extras made up to resemble down-at-heel ladies of the night. Handsome male extras strategically placed within the audience camped it up wearing women’s lingerie, fishnets, suspenders and feather boas. The theatrics began before the show even started with swarthy suffragette-like female activists, who barged in blowing whistles, hurling “John Galliano Workshop” manifestos at the crowd declaring “We aim to overthrow the established order’s cutesy-wootsy taste for appropriate clobber with a mind blowing fashion proclamation.” Roller-skating waitresses in lederhosen delivered drinks and frankfurters on sticks to celebrity guests, including Bryan Adams. The show opened with severe nun-like figures in cowl headdresses in black damask crêpe bias-cut ensembles with high collars, myriad tiny buttons and mermaid hems, some of the jackets with pronounced “Bar” hips. These looks were in stark contrast to the rest of the collection, which revelled in lavish 20s-style flapper dresses, opulent Wiener-Werkstatte–inspired graphic woven fabrics, beaded or painted cocoon coats in the style of Sonia Delaunay. The showpiece flapper dresses had been embroidered by Lesage, and they retailed for £3,390 from Harrods. There was a small section of daywear, including lilac tartan/mohair day dresses, burgundy boucle wool suits with embroidered detailing, marcasite buttons and pleated skirt hems. Galliano’s love of knitwear was illustrated by figure-hugging full length knitted rayon lace dresses with low, scooped backs sprinkled with bugle beads. At the end of the show, bubbles and fake Weimar “Galliano” banknotes showered down from the ceiling to the strains of Liza Minnelli singing “Money Makes the World Go Around”. Galliano took his bows in military greatcoat, hair pushed under a black cap with long strands falling down one side, goatee beard, and black leather jackboots.

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Naomi was resplendent in gold lamé “tango” dress, a theme continued from the Dior HC show.

Suzanne von Aichinger being showered with fake money.

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dior haute couture

A Voyage on the Diorient Express or Princess Pocahontas 20 July 1998, 2.30 pm Gare d’Austerlitz, Paris 33 looks

“Galliano goes off the rails in fashion fantasy” The Times, 21 July 1998

This was the most lavish fashion show ever seen at Dior – or anywhere, for that matter. Galliano said that the collection travelled through “geographical and historical boundaries” (Dior press notes). A railway ticket for the “Dior Express” was clipped to the card invitation. Michael Howells, who was again given no budget limit, was told to imagine Princess Pocahontas travelling to England by train and meeting Elizabeth I. Katell le Bourhis described this ability of Galliano’s to take elements of design, art, history and fuse them to produce something entirely new: “For me John is a kaleidoscope. He was not interested in any logic, any history. He could combine in his brain numerous visual images and create, something unique, a vision of the moment. How could you mix Pocahontas and the court of Francis the 1st with the actor Jean Gabin on the train in the film “La Bete Humaine” (1938)? Nobody is like him. I realised very quickly that everything audio and visual for John is like the shell of an egg and the yolk doesn’t interest him.” Interview with the author

Look 5, “Twilight Sun”. Princess Pocahontas arrives in style on the front of the “Diorient Express” in painted and pleated chiffon.

Howells took over a platform of the Austerlitz station during one of the busiest weeks of the summer, covered it in bright orange builder’s sand (which ruined the shoes of some of the guests), installed

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Moroccan tents and palm trees and strategically placed along it piles of vintage Louis Vuitton luggage (courtesy of LVMH). A working steam train was driven from southern France and renamed for the day “The Diorient Express”. The show started several hours late to the discomfort of the guests on the boiling hot platform (including couture client Jocelyne Wildenstein), press and the models, who were dressed in sweltering leather, wool and ruff collars. The train burst through a panel of orange silk to reveal Princess Pocahontas seated at the front, flanked by two politically incorrect Native American “braves” to each side. More actors in feather headdresses and war paint menacingly prowled and whooped it up amongst the audience seated on benches in the sweltering heat. It also seemingly disgorged models wearing clothes that mixed Medici renaissance princesses with French musketeers, Henry VIII, seventeenth-century cavaliers, as well as Pocahontas and her tribe.

Look 31, “La Belle Corisande”. Seventeenthcentury–inspired ensemble with gold passementerie and Moorish embroidery by Vermont.

There were just thirty-three looks (despite the Chambre Syndicale stipulation of fifty), but the workmanship was exquisite. One of the masterpieces, a Henry VIII–style coat of white doeskin, embroidered and appliquéd with floral slips by Maison Muller, used 180m of gold braid and took 2000 hours to complete. There was so much embroidery that multiple embroidery houses were commissioned: Cecile Henri, Montex, Lanel, Hurel, C. Henri and Vermont. Slashed effect leathers and gilding techniques normally used in bookbinding were commissioned from Bizarro, Mary B and Hervé Masson. Inside the clothes the structure was just as complex. Mr Pearl made elaborate corsets to produce the desired silhouettes. Because each ensemble required specialist dyers, embroiderers, painters, printers, leather workers, furriers, jewellers and shoemakers, as the day approached many of the garments remained incomplete. The Dior ateliers anxiously waited for the various components to arrive. The last piece to be finished – an elaborate slashed One of the most lavishly embroidered looks, Look 8, “Arabella Stuart in the Garden”, an embroidered doeskin coat.

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Detail showing leatherwork on “Cavalier Inconnu”, which was rushed across Paris in a taxi.

black doublet and hose (“Cavalier Inconnu”) – was delivered in a taxi as the show started by studio member Lars Nilsson, who recalled a feeling of mounting panic as the traffic stalled. The collection debuted the new “Zephyr” line – short balloon or “Blown Away” hems such as an ivory Bucol silk evening coat with overall nicked designs as though pecked by birds. As much care went into the accessories as the outfits. There were thigh-high boots slashed and embossed with gold fleur-de-lys, towering Manolo Blahnik shoes with eleven-centimetre-high “rocket-line” heels or embroidered silk “lilyfoot” wedges, which were worn with the group of Chinese embroidered Medici princess robes (inspired by paintings at the Uffizi in Florence). Galliano’s research books also included paintings by Cranach, Holbein, portraits of Anne Boleyn and sketches by Bakst. The feather-trimmed hats were by Stephen Jones, elaborate jewellery including porcelain beaded “feather quill” breastplates and silver collars with pendant fringes by venerable couture jeweller Goossens. As usual there was little daywear to speak of, and most of the looks were fairly impractical for modern life – doublet and hose for an evening out being an acquired taste. WWD asked, “Where are the clothes? You know John the real clothes, the buy’em hang’em, wear’em clothes?” WWD, 21 July 1998

The nearest thing to it came in the form of four severe “Medici Missionary” coatdresses in wine or black velvet, figure hugging with mermaid hems, tall necks and little ruff collars. Indeed, the following Look 28, “Principessa Idana”. Blue silk crêpe dinner dress with “Blown Away” hem, embroidery by Montex and Muller with massive silver collar by Goossens. The embroidery patterns were taken from a nineteenth-century traditional Chinese woman’s skirt.

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day, Sidney Toledano, the President of Dior, confirmed that orders for these had been taken. The press reports were generally damning. Suzy Menkes in the International Herald Tribune wrote: “Why does Galliano so stubbornly refuse to meet his clients halfway? His shows are wondrous in their way. But the train seemed an ominous metaphor for a design talent that seems to be running out of steam.” 21 July 1998

Despite this, Toledano went on record to voice his support, “Couture doesn’t mean just dressing a few ladies now; its mission is to allow a designer – a real designer – to let his imagination run riot. John has no limit with Dior. He showed that last night.” UK Vogue, October 1999

However, he announced that the next shows would be held at Dior’s own Avenue Montaigne building so that buyers could get up close so they would be able to appreciate the fine detail better and, of course – it would be a lot cheaper!

Galliano Fur Galliano Fur Line launched 2 June 1998, Metropolitan Club, New York. “Divine Decadence” WWD cover, 4 June 1998

In February 1998 a collaboration was agreed between Dior/Galliano and Peter Georgiades of Stallion Inc., a New York-based furrier. The first “John Galliano Furs” show took place at the Metropolitan Club on 2 June. The designs were from past Dior couture collections as well as Galliano RTW and included a magnificent Russian lynx–trimmed, appliquéd velvet cocoon coat (Dior HC S/S1998), a black Breitschwanz tailcoat worn over a Wiener Werkstatte print dress (Galliano RTW A/W 98-99) as well as numerous “flirty” shawls and shrugs in the finest mink, fox and sable. The club was transformed into Casanova’s home for the day, filled with 4000 roses, 600 Catalea orchids, mountains of grapes, pears and pomegranates, and further adorned with semi-naked “Casanova” boys.

A gold lamé opera coat edged with sable, with faux leopard beaded sleeve linings.

The relationship was short-lived as Dior Paris decided to produce furs themselves. A Galliano sable cocoon coat was said to retail for $90,000. In 2005 two coats bearing John Galliano Paris labels were sold at Doyle Auction rooms in New York; a Russian lynx–trimmed cocoon coat (Dior S/S98 design) sold for £5000 and a gold lamé coat trimmed with sable with faux leopard beaded sleeve linings sold for £14,960.

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1999 Spring/Summer

dior ready-to-wear

(Communist/Constructivist) 13 October 1998, 2.30 pm Dior HQ, 30 Avenue Montaigne, Paris 70 looks

“Galliano Brings Revolution to the Bourgeoisie” The Times, 14 October 1998

After the excesses of the Diorient Express show, the Dior management desired a more low-key affair where all the attention could be focused on the craftsmanship of the clothes and less on the spectacle. The show was moved in-house to Avenue Montaigne, which had been recently refurbished by

architect Peter Marino. Galliano suggested that far from being an austerity measure, “for this season it seems right . . . I want to make it easier for you all. You need to hear the sound of the fabric and the rustle of silk taffeta” (WWD, 1 October 1998). Instead of the usual 800–900 guests, there were to be just two shows with a maximum of 250 people at each. It was a pared down show, not only in terms of the location, but the clothes too. Galliano’s theme was revolution: a Molotov cocktail of Communist China military looks which segued into Russian Constructivism with bold striped and patterned fabrics inspired by artist Alexander Rodchenko. There was an absence of the usual supermodels, but amongst them was relative newcomer Erin O’Connor. There were double the usual number of looks, and Galliano answered his critics with a strong line-up of “real” clothes. The colour palette was unusual to say the least, with opening looks in army combat green with red facings worn with Chairman Mao caps or New York vigilante red berets against Healy’s sound-track taken from traditional Peking Opera music.

An unusual culture combination – the pleated Fortuny-esque cheongsams made in the lightest of silks. Resurrection Vintage Archive.

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“For the first half of the collection I was looking at Chinese military uniforms – the colour, the gold accents. The touches of red, the small red beads and silk armbands came from the uniforms of the Red Guards, Mao’s youngest disciples.” Galliano interview with Andrew Bolton for “China Through the Looking Glass” catalogue

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There were lots of beautifully tailored separates – fabulous little jackets with gilt star or graduated disc buttons, interestingly cut skirts and trousers with high waistbands, billowing pleated haremstyle combat pants and chiffon/knit combination tops. The irony of Communist iconography was probably lost on the “ladies who lunch” of all ages who purchased the skirt suits in olive green wool or “Empress” imperial yellow. There were a series of white slip “waif” dresses redolent of his Galliano S/S 1990 collection and skirts with curved cutaways from his Galliano A/W 1990–91 show. The Bolshevik-inspired phase followed (to the strains of the “Volga Boatmen”) and included Poiret-inspired cocoon coats with swirling

Backstage picture of two “Communist” suits.

Backstage – a Constructivist-inspired evening gown in bold patterns.

Constructivist prints, narrow hobble skirts and a dazzling array of graphically printed evening gowns in blocks of red and black on white. Gwyneth Paltrow, attending her first Paris fashion show (in Dior RTW A/W 98–99 turquoise and yellow tweed skirt), accompanied by boyfriend Ben Affleck, was seated in the front row. Galliano demonstrated that he could produce a collection (devoid of Belle Époque corsetry) filled with desirable daywear and “real clothes” that, for once, were not overshadowed by the set.

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galliano ready-to-wear

Ballets Russes 16 October 1998 rue de Paradis, Paris 32 looks Label: Numbering prefix with a “9E”

“A Passport to Dreams” New York Times, 18 October 1998

The theme for the collection was the Russian dancer Nijinsky and the Ballets Russes, with looks evocative of Nijinsky’s “L’Après-midi d’un Faune”. The models wore ancient Greek-inspired crinkled and kisscurled hairstyles similar to the original 1912 dancers. The set was opulent, Bacchanalian, with scented fountains and a snaking rose-petal–strewn catwalk punctuated by male dancers wearing little but loin cloths and glitter – apart from one who had incongruously been given a bias-cut chiffon dress to wear! The show opened with plumes of blue smoke followed by a cascade of water, which drenched poor Manolo Blahnik. Although top models had been largely absent from the Dior show, Naomi and Shalom were present, with Erin O’Connor reappearing. Whereas the Dior show had been largely devoid of romance, this one had lashings of it. O’Connor opened the show by dancing in a sheer black Vionnet-esque cowl necked dress accessorized with legwarmers. Shalom Harlow wore another in pale apricot lace with finely pleated skirt that moved beautifully as she danced and prowled

her way along the catwalk (this retailed for £2886 from Harrods). There were Boue Soeurs–style ribbon embroidered metallic-lace dresses and others of black beaded tulle or orientalist lamé ensembles. Pleated silk Fortuny Delphos–style dresses were worn under embroidered shawls with Greek-key embroidered borders, tied as over-skirts. Some of the evening gowns looked like 1930s recreations rather than interpretations, and one journalist asked, “Was it vintage Galliano or just plain vintage?” (Evening Standard, 16 October 1998). Daywear consisted of prim 1930s secretary suits with beautifully tailored jackets, floral print blouses, high-waisted skirts and pinafore gowns reminiscent of Galliano’s S/S 89 collection. There were interesting fabric details, braid trimmings and openwork panels which elevated the clothes to another level. After the pared-down-ness of his “Revolution” collection at Dior, it seemed that Galliano had

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channelled all the romance and opulence into this collection. Vogue pondered that it would be “. . . interesting to see Galliano get back to basics with a show where models simply walk up and down and don’t look like they’re channeling the spirit of Isadora Duncan.” UK Vogue, January 1999

WWD, while commenting on how few opportunities real women have to wear these opulent clothes, admitted, “The reality is, we all crave a little fantasy now and then.” WWD, 19 October 1998

Galliano appeared with natural bob length hair in a white vest and grey pants.

Opulent evening looks followed with orange and gold brocade and velvet opera coats and evening gowns with plunging front cowl décolletés.

Gossamer-fine Boué Soeurs – inspired metallic lace evening dress.

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Surrealism 18 January 1999 Dior HQ, 30 Avenue Montaigne, Paris 43 looks

“Dior Gets Fashionably Surreal” Lisa Armstrong, Times, 19 June 1999

Again, the collection was shown at the Dior HQ, but because of size restrictions, there needed to be six shows throughout the day, each with sixty to seventy guests. To make the event feel even more intimate, Galliano personally introduced the collection and explained the inspiration behind it: “The mood is surrealistic, in the way that Dali and Cocteau understood it – witty and startling at times but always romantic.” Dior press release

Male models were painted white to look like statues – which must have proved something of an ordeal as the day wore on. The backdrop of torn white paper was redolent of 30s society photographic portraits by Madame Yevonde, who specialised in kitschy images of aristocratic sitters whom she dressed up as Athena or Diana the Huntress. Galliano said, “Believe it or not Madame Yevonde came from Streatham in South London just like me” (Independent, 20 February 1999).

Celine Dion in back-to-front jacket, which was badly received, at the Academy Awards in 1999.

He also cited the influence of photographers Angus McBean and Man Ray, “whose experiments with light playing around the body and redefining its contours are fascinating. I’ve taken the mood and interpreted it in the softest fabrics to bring about the same poetic qualities” (ibid.). An example of this was the use of draped jersey covered with a layer of spotted tulle.

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was poorly received by the press. Some years later in an interview with Kara Warner, she said, “I was the only one with pants in a backward suit from Galliano and if I would do this today it would work. It was avant-garde at the time.” 9 June 2017

The second half of the show comprised mainly 30s-inspired evening dresses, three of which in ivory crêpe and tulle had been embroidered and appliquéd with copies of Jean Cocteau sketches – a centaur, horse and erotic figures. Pierre Bergé (partner to Yves Saint Laurent) graciously gave his permission for them to be reproduced, as he owned the originals.

Looks 22 and 21. Surreal eye buckles feature to front and back.

White and black daywear tops had eye-shaped brooches with clock faces forming irises. As a reaction to criticisms of recent collections, there was a lot of daywear. Dresses and skirts had short flirty hems in grey, white and check. “Loop of love” knot collars were introduced on blouses and jackets. Trousers were a key feature – and trouser suits, many with back to front jackets in Prince-ofWales check. Celine Dion chose to wear a white silk example to the Academy Awards that year, and it

Look 32. Silver sequined sheath with scissor-pleat basque was reminiscent of Galliano’s Fallen Angels, S/S 86, the embroidery by Hurel.

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Others included a “goddess”-style gown painted with trompe-l’œil drapes; another a slinky black mermaid sheath suspended from a jewelled necklace. The eveningwear was intentionally seductive. Galliano: “I’m fascinated by the relationship between Dali and his wife Gala and their power play for sexual dominance.” Dior press notes

Coloured horsehair was fashioned into fretwork lace with flounced hems and sleeves. Cellophane – a popular, modern fabric in the 1930s used by Schiaparelli and others – was reintroduced in the form of ball gowns and a magnificent bridal gown (modelled after Botticelli’s Venus rising out of her

shell), the huge circular skirts made from layers of tulle and cellophane that had to be carried by six pageboys. Interestingly, the pared-down nature of the presentation was also reflected in the fact that the designs this time were just given numbers rather than names as had been Galliano’s custom for Dior HC collections until that point. Rumours began to circulate that Galliano’s contract would not be renewed. Sidney Toledano refuted this, stating that the collection was not only highly creative, but also commercial, and that both he and Mr Arnault were pleased and that sales “showed real advancement” (WWD, 2 February 1999).

Looks 26, 27, 28. Crêpe tulle-covered dresses in homage to Jean Cocteau with embroidery by Vermont, Muller and Montex.

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Sportswear 9 March 1999, 2.30 pm Dior HQ 30 Avenue Montaigne, Paris 72 looks Label: Dior Boutique. The last Dior ready-to-wear label for the 1990 seasons. The “A” probably denotes an American order, rather than the E or H used in Europe.

“Disappearing Act Is the Only Magic in Galliano Show” Hilary Alexander, Daily Telegraph, 4 October 1999

At Dior, the emphasis again was on simplicity. The clothes were shown in-house over two floors, with the silver catwalk snaking through rooms painted white to resemble artist studios, with grey frames and canvases and the occasional African carving as backdrop. Galliano cited design references, including artist Modigliani’s portrait of his mistress Jeanne Hebuterne, African fertility sculptures from the Dogun tribe of Mali as well as Dior traditions. It was a large collection, mainly daywear; having in the past said it included too little, some journalists now criticized it for being too commercial. Galliano described it as “sportswear”, but “knitwear” would have been a more appropriate title. In the press notes Galliano invited women to “come to the House of Dior and find a very affordable jumper!”

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1999–2000 Autumn/Winter

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There was a mass of it – ranging from chunky Arans with “witch ball” bobbles to metallic lace knits for evening. Big Aran back-to-front sweaters were worn over slinky crêpe bias-cut Mermaid-line dresses. They looked great on six-foot-tall models, but retailers said that normal mortals would find the look harder to pull off. The clothes were shown in coloured phases: beige and white together, shades of grey, peacock blue, green, zebra, chartreuse, burgundy, black or white with lots of daywear, including tailored Bar jackets, dungaree dresses and wide pants. There was relatively little eveningwear – bias-cut crêpe dresses, others in suede. Taking elements from his Diorient Express couture show (pp. 172–175) (where he used slashed decoration on leather), he produced a series of bias-cut, soft suede dresses with delicate overall punched decoration, lace lingerie trimmings and matching jackets.

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Unusually, Galliano was nowhere to be seen as the show started (it was rumoured that he hadn’t got out of bed), but by the end of the show he arrived, apologizing profusely that he had somehow got lost in the building. The general consensus of the fashion press was that by inducing Galliano to be more commercial, some of his creative magic had been lost. Articles had been circulating in the French press for a year that the relationship between the designer and LVMH was troubled, and in early April another appeared stating that Galliano would part ways with Dior in August – something hotly denied by Sidney Toledano, its President. Finally, on 20 April, the rumour-mill stopped when Toledano officially announced that Galliano’s contract had been extended a further three years to 2002. “LVMH would like to underscore the extraordinary success of John Galliano at Christian Dior in terms of creativity, image and sales. Since his arrival at Christian Dior, sales of ready-to-wear have more than tripled and the brand is attracting new clients for its full range of products worldwide.” WWD, 20 April 1999

As part of the deal, going forward, in addition to his role as Creative Director of fashion, he would also oversee accessories, perfume ranges, marketing, the shop interiors and windows, which would change to reflect each season’s new collection. Katell le Bourhis commented on his contract renewal : “The money was gigantic and John became all powerful – the publicity, marketing, everything. He got what he asked for, but John is not someone who can easily delegate except to his tiny inner circle. The appetite for more product increased, shops like Zara would have new designs in their shops every two months and the established houses had to compete. Galliano was now under huge pressure. He got the money and the power, but in the end it would destroy him.” Interview with the author

Crêpe dress with late 40s style brocade sash.

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Suede dress with overall punched decoration edged in Calais lace.

Knitwear was the key feature of this collection.

Sportswear  185

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galliano ready-to-wear

(Maori) 15 March 1999 Carrousel du Louvre, Paris 61 looks

“Galliano hits the road back to fashion flavour.” Daily Telegraph, 12 March 1999

Galliano’s show at Dior earlier in the week had been poorly received, so all eyes were focused on his signature collection. The inspiration had come from turn-of-the-century portraits of Maori chiefs, made by New Zealand artist C.F. Goldie, with decoratively tattooed faces, sometimes wearing complex feather capes as a sign of their authority. The set was made to look like roadworks with a crashed car, rubble-strewn catwalk and a run-down “Galliano garage” with neon light signage as a backdrop. The show opened to the sound of jack hammers, with hunky workmen standing by in hard hats, shorts and boots helping set to the scene. Just how ancient tribesmen and roadworks connected was unclear, but Galliano commented, “I was thinking of a lady docker and manual labourers.” Interview with Hilary Alexander, Daily Telegraph, 12 March 1999

The show opened with voluminous cocoon-shaped blanket coats in black and white with self-fringing and outsized buttons sewn in place with raffia (these retailed for £1250). Raffia embroidery and detailing was a key feature of this collection. These large buttons were probably inspired by Westwood’s Vim-Lid buttons from her Punkature collection, as images of these were found in Galliano’s research books.

“Maori” coat, button with raffia stitching and leather laser-cut lace boots by Blahnik, which were a big hit of the show.

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Feathers (inspired by chieftain’s capes) were used to sprig coats and suits.

Trench coat-skirt that presaged the Matrix collection.

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For day, there were mustard yellow and burgundy knitted, fitted wool suits and dresses perfect for the city.

Skirts, slashed to the thigh, which looked like contorted, asymmetric joined trench-coat panels, which presaged the following HC show, were “without doubt the season’s sexiest skirt” according to Lisa Armstrong of The Times. The “Ladies in Red” finale served up a host of slinky classic bias-cut dresses in shades of scarlet to wine as well as others in zebra-print chiffon or with raffia embroidered hems.

Galliano with his “Ladies in Red” finale.

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dior haute couture

The New Generation or Matrix 19 July 1999, 8.00 pm The Orangerie, Chateau de Versailles 46 looks

“Galliano veers between the vulgar and the exquisite.” Mimi Spencer, Evening Standard, 20 July 1999

For this end-of-millennium collection, Dior relaxed the austerity regime as Galliano was given permission to show at Versailles. Dior President, Toledano said, “We have been very low key recently and now it’s time to get out again for fresh air.” WWD, 2 July 1999

He again reiterated Dior’s support of their designer. “Dior deserves change and John Galliano can deliver it. Monsieur Dior would have been John Galliano today.” UK Vogue, October 1999

Around 1000 guests were taken by coach from central Paris to Versailles. When the invitation arrived, many (remembering the Opera Garnier and Gare d’Austerlitz shows) expected a lavish extravaganza in the palace itself. However, the show took place in the palace’s austere orangerie, with its vast vaulted ceiling and not the slightest trace of gold leaf or rococo scrollwork in sight. It had originally been used to grow hundreds of fruit trees for the winter use of King Louis XIV. Galliano said he found it “modern yet Catholic” (WWD, 20 July 1999).

Look 2. Matrix warrior in black leather dress with fencing boots and beret.

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The revered, ancient building was transformed into an ultra-modern setting with metal lift-doors. The catwalk entrance had “CD” glowing in red lights above and an 800-foot runway paved with waterfilled plastic panels. Dior’s press release advised, “A meteoric wind is blowing through this New Generation Dior Collection in the direction of a matrix where the real and the virtual are perpetually present.” Inspired by the recently released science fiction film The Matrix, the opening looks were sexy but tough and mainly in black or red. Bondage was a major theme with corsetry lacing, straps that tied skirts to the legs and garments adorned with D-rings or parachute cords. Some of the older, more traditional clients seemed shocked as the androgynous male and female models strode out with long, straight hair in berets and raccoon eye makeup, wearing long leather and patent coats with laced knee boots.

Fur was a big feature of the collection and was used to trim a scarlet cartridge pleated coat that referenced the yellow “Poiret” coat of his A/W 1989– 90 collection. The next “huntin’, shootin’, fishin’” phase was inspired by the Savile Row tailoring of an English aristocrat, mixed with romantic historicism taken from Gainsborough’s pastoral paintings and portraits. Pages from hunting magazines and photographs of aviators were pasted into Galliano’s research books. The huntress theme included jodhpurs, hunting pinks, soft tan suede waistcoats and asymmetric trained skirts of luxurious crocodile. Galliano revisited another of his own key looks with a burgundy dress with scissor pleats first seen in his Fallen Angels collection. Fabulous hats by Stephen Jones were taken from seventeenth-century still-life paintings of dead game. If these two phases were a difficult for some of the less daring Dior clients to swallow, the next was a real

Look 16. Stella Tennant imperious in an ecru wool redingcote with leather bondage straps and a hat made from foxes and a single white dove.

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crowd pleaser. Fabulous bias-cut gowns in beaded tulle, metallic lace, embroidered chiffon and lingerie looks seemed to reference Galliano’s previous successes and even reprised some of the Goossens Mata Hari “chandelier” earrings, headdresses, Maasai beaded chokers and Marchesa Casati cameo chokers. For the finale, Galliano went back to the future with brightly coloured satin “warrior” dresses adorned with plastic panels, sequins and webbing straps worn with co-ordinating knee pads. The Amazonian models had their skin painted with brown stripes and their ribbon-woven hair formed into Mohicans. Carmen Kass was the last to emerge, dressed in shades of red and pink, dragging a huge pink parachute. Dior described their ideal woman: “Contemporary and innovative yet inherently romantic, this Dior woman brilliantly masters the modernity of a third millennial elegance.” Dior press release

In this last collection of the century, Galliano had not only referenced his own past collections, but showed glimpses of what was to come.

The beauty and romance that Galliano was known for and Dior clients expected had finally arrived. Look 32 was a pale pink beaded tulle and lace dress with matching bolero.

Carmen Kass provides a memorable finale in red and pink sequined plastic and satin parachute dress.

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2000 Spring/Summer

dior ready-to-wear

Logomania 5 October 1999 Théâtre National de Chaillot, Paris 53 looks

“In Paris Vive les Nouveaux Riches”

Evening Standard headline, 6 October 1999

Galliano took as his muse the hip-hop singer Lauryn Hill and songs from her album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which played during the show. The models wore dreadlocked hair, tinted sunglasses, hoop earrings and Matrix-collection–style laced knee boots. The collection was young, fun and featured lots of denim – even bias-cut chiffon was printed to look like it for use on skimpy cocktail dresses. The CD logo, which had previously been demurely sited on the sides of sunglasses or hanging as a charm on the side of a Lady Dior handbag, was emblazoned over everything – not only as a jacquard weave cotton for the clothes (first used in the 1970s on Dior luggage) – but as gilt buckles on belts and shoulder straps, as well as covering Galliano’s soon-to-be-classic saddle-shaped shoulder bag, which was launched in this collection.

A white rubberized cotton ensemble, influenced by the Matrix collection.

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The saddle shape was also used as pockets on jeans, shorts and skirts. Continuing the luxe trademark theme, Galliano went for a “witty take on the Hermes scarf” (WWD, 1 November 1999) with luxurious printed silk linings, halter-neck tops, wrap-around skirts and even boots.

Watered-down versions of the Matrix collection appeared with fencing/equestrian looks in the form of dresses and skirts with side pleats and long coats, some with asymmetric corsetry panels, quilting, top-stitching, straps and buckles in a variety of fabrics, including waxed linen, thin leather, rubberized

Hermès-type silks combine with Dior jacquard weave fabric and gangsta rap–style massive gilt necklace.

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cotton and stretch satin crêpe. A semi-transparent top retailed for $920, suede bustier $1490 – relatively expensive. For evening the equestrian theme continued with satin and velvet devoré bias-cut dresses woven with large spots and stars inspired by jockey racing silks, the models with large white painted numbers over their faces with matching jockey hats by Stephen Jones.

Although some leading journalists such as Cathy Horyn of the New York Times scoffed at the equestrian looks and more vulgar (to her) ghetto-chic aspects of the collection, “rarely has so much talent produced so little” (6 October 1999), it was enthusiastically received by the retailers, who loved all the wearable, highly commercial daywear, which they knew would appeal to a younger market and which sold in quantity.

Galliano dressed to match his models, with dreadlocks, tinted sunglasses, and wearing leather and denim.

Bright colours and large numerals signified the “racing silks” phase.

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galliano ready-to-wear

Music Icons 7 October 1999, 7.30 pm Espace Claquesin, 18 Avenue du Maréchal Leclerc, Malakoff, Paris 35 looks

Invitation: a “John Galliano Records” single.

“Galliano plays with 20th century pop culture” The Times, London, 8 October 1999

The chosen venue was a distillery in Malakoff, an inconvenient hour’s drive from the centre of Paris. It was a vast warehouse-like space with raised white catwalk with two Perspex cubes planted on top – one yellow, the other red – through which the models walked. The collection was based on musical icons from the various decades – mods, rockers, teddy-boy suits, prom gowns worn with bobby

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socks and punks. It opened with lots of black-andwhite striped, spotted, checked ensembles inspired by the Mod and Op art movements of the 1960s. Stella Tennant in a tulle-wrapped top hat and striped tunic had a vertebrae artfully painted down her back by Carole Lasnier, who produced individual makeup to match each garment. The prom gowns had contorted, twisted bodices, seemingly

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formed from men’s jackets over layered tulle skirts. The Mod suits came in strong, undulating blackgrey wool bands, worn with pork-pie hats, others with parkas in space-race silver, transparent plastic or floor length satin. Punk looks included bondage trousers in transparent lace and latex, loose mohair knits and pirate boots in homage to Vivienne Westwood with outsized safety pins for decoration and zips to produce “winking” seams. Gisele Bündchen wore a Kaiser Wilhelm-style spiked pickelhaube helmet; other models had pastel-toned WWII S/S-style caps trimmed with silver stars to accessorise their “biker” dresses.

Op art patterned Mod suit with metallic silver parka.

Pastel pink boulversé denim “biker” dress and military chain trimmed cap.

Overall the fashion critics declared the collection unwearable or too “costumey”, and WWD bluntly condemned it as “ridiculous” and a “prom moment gone wrong”(WWD, 11 October 1999). However, watered-down versions apparently sold well in the pre-collection. Galliano appeared at the end of the show with dreadlocks, pink vest and ripped denims. In December 1999, Galliano bags were launched again, adding to the workload, and a new Manhattan Dior boutique had a star-studded opening.

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A pink satin gown with twisted corset-like bodice and lace skirt was a star of the show, as it was both wearable and beautiful.

The Manhattan boutique opening invitation was in the form of a denim saddlebag.

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dior haute couture

Les Clochards or Homeless 17 January 2000, 2.30 pm Le Petit Palais, Paris 42 looks

“Galliano Tears Up the Rule Book” The Times headline, 18 January 2000

The ornate interior of the eighteenth-century Petit Palais Museum of Fine Art was hidden behind black screens to produce a stark backdrop to the long glass runway.

Look 1. Trousers printed with Galliano reviews from the International Herald Tribune.

The last phase of Dior’s Matrix show had indicated a new direction for the new millennium – a break with the traditions of the past. Galliano admitted, “I’m not all that interested in the old Dior clients” (Cathy Horyn, New York Times, 18 January 2000). The pretty, romantic, historicist looks that Galliano’s clientele had come to expect were banished. Ultimately, the fairy tale themes had become limiting and Galliano instead now tried to push the boundaries of fashion using deconstructivism, asymmetry and shock tactics. “We played the game for four years, I was still doing those jolie madame suits. At some point there had to be a rupture.” Interview with Tim Blanks, “Corporate Savage” article for The Fashion

As part of Galliano’s new health and fitness regime (he had given up drinking, had a special diet and went to the gym each day), each morning he ran around the Seine, where he witnessed homeless

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people sleeping rough on the streets. These tramps or clochards were to be the key inspiration for his next collection, combined with other threads, including Diane Arbus’ photographs of mental patients, the paintings of Egon Schiele and “Rag Balls” in Cologne during the 1930s where the rich liked to dress as the poor. Galliano justified his inspiration: “Children are brought up to watch Lady and the Tramp and Charlie Chaplin and The Little Rascals. I didn’t set out to make a political statement. I am a dressmaker. But jogging around the Seine has thrown Paris into a whole different light for me. I call it the Wet World . . . Some of these people are like impresarios, their coats worn over their shoulders and their hats worn at a certain angle. It’s fantastic.” New York Times, Maureen Dowd article, 23 January 2000

Threads were painstakingly removed by hand from silk to create plaid patterns. Dresses formed from men’s jacket components included interlining with zigzag embroidered tacking and basting stitches (elements normally concealed) with the Christian Dior label proudly displayed on the faux pocket outside. The muted palette was classic Dior; ivory-stone-grey. The clothes were accessorised with broken spectacles, bottle openers, miniature spirit bottles and nutmeg graters all tied on with string (shades of Fallen Angels and Afghanistan Repudiates).

For this most revered fashion house to have its “petites-mains” hand-shred and tatter the finest silk, rend holes in brocade, decoratively singe organdie and then adorn them with Lanel, Montex and Cecile Henri embroidery was a radical move indeed. The first phase “The Tramp Ball”, where “grand aristocrats dressed up as tramps” (quote taken from Dior research books), was accompanied by Madonna’s not-yet-released version of “American Pie”. Models with natural makeup and tousled hair emerged wearing asymmetric waistcoats with tattered trousers of newspaper-print silk.

Look 6. Adornments included a handwritten note from studio assistant Elisa Palomino thanking Galliano for giving her a job.

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Look 31. White rubberised linen straightjacket dress with balloon headdress by Stephen Jones.

For the “Loony Tune Ball” second phase, Healy’s playlist changed appropriately to “Loony Toons” and “The Lunatics Have Taken Over the Asylum”. The makeup changed to Charlie Chaplin “Little Tramp” looks with huge black eyelashes in white mask faces. Models wore back to front dungarees with wide clown trousers as well as more ladylike cocktail gowns in shredded scarlet chiffon or asymmetric gold/brown silk distressed-effect embroidered kimonos. Three figures tied together by bandages dressed in tattered white garments roamed the catwalk followed by a model in straightjacket dress. The theme of bondage continued with bra and suspender straps used as decoration. They carried white paper carrier bags naively painted with handbags. The “Hard Times, Flea-Bitten, Twinkly” third phase included two “deranged” ballerinas (Satya Arteau also had an arm in plaster) who walked on pointes and pirouetted down the catwalk to massive applause. The fabulous “Egon Schiele” phase formed the finale. Grey taffeta ball gowns, with an air of the 1890s, seemed to have been turned on their sides with the corsetry lacing forced from the vertical into a spiral that followed the curves of torso. The metal corsetry bones of one were exposed to form a spiked ruff collar. The models were painted to match the dresses painted by Alexandre, so that the colours merged. Stephen Jones produced a massive top hat with bashed-in crown to complete the look. The collection was barmy, but wonderful, and the reviews were mixed. Cathy Horyn of the New York Times believed that Galliano was not only trying to deconstruct the clothes, but also the aura of the Dior house itself. She also couldn’t imagine anyone buying it:

Look 35, “Deranged Ballerina”. Embroidered peach moire, lame, tulle and taffeta dress.

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“It’s hard to imagine a couture client shelling out $25,000 for a dress just so she can look like a bum.” New York Times, 18 January 2000

Pierre Bergé of YSL sneered that they would “sell well to tramps” (The Irish Times Ltd., 22 January 2000), whilst Le Monde commented that pennies were being placed in the begging cup of Dior. Fellow LVMH designer Marc Jacobs said it all sounded very “let them eat cake . . . and they cut off Marie Antoinette’s head over that!” Hilary Alexander suggested, “Imagine Posh Spice dressed as Gloria Swanson, dressed as Charlie Chaplin and you begin to get the picture” (The Telegraph, 18 January 2000). However, Mouna Ayoub, one of the more prolific couture clients at the time, loved it and put three outfits on reserve, including the “burnt” coat which Galliano had said looked as though the wearer had gone too close to the fire. Approached after the show, Ayoub’s response was: “Genius! Brilliant! . . . If there weren’t people like Galliano, we’d all be wearing the same old collection! Most people won’t understand, but what an explosion of expression!” Vanessa Friedman interview, front page FT, 22 January 2000

The show not only made the fashion pages, but also headlines the world over. A New York Times “Haute Homeless” article described it as “tasteless chic”. Charities working to support mental illness and French homelessness were appalled. All the main French broadsheets lambasted the Dior show, with Janie Samet of Le Figaro prophetically warning that, “When Galliano chooses a theme he goes all the way – he has Bernard Arnault’s confidence. Maybe one day, Arnault, who finds Galliano amusing today, may finish by finding him perturbing” (WWD, 19 January 2000). The weeks of furore came to a head finally at the end of January when riot police were called to Dior on the Avenue Montaigne to control angry homelessness activists trying to gain access. Wearing dustbin liners and chanting “We’re here for the casting call – this is the SDF look” (sans domicile fixe, i.e. homeless), the shop was forced to close for two hours.

Look 39, “Egon Schiele”. Pink and grey taffeta dress hand-painted by Alexandre.

In response John Galliano said, “I don’t mind if people think I’m mad. At the end of the day we’re in business and it’s doing incredibly well” (Tim Blanks, The Fashion File, ibid.). Indeed, sales at Dior for 1999 were up by 10 per cent to 220.3 million over the previous year. A Dior spokesman issued a statement defending the collection, saying that it was “about newness and at the beginning of the millennium once again the most originality was to be found at Dior” (WWD, 28 January 2000).

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2000–01 Autumn/Winter

dior ready-to-wear

Fly Girl 2 March 2000, 2:30 pm Théâtre National de Chaillot, Paris 60 looks Label: Christian Dior Boutique, 0H numbering prefix

“Galliano hits a high note with ‘Fly Girl’.” The Times, 1 March 2000

Following the commercial success of the S/S 2000 RTW Logomania collection, Galliano decided to revisit logos with added “bling” as well as raiding elements from the couture Homeless collection. It was aimed at “girls who have made mega fortunes on the Internet” and who weren’t afraid to show their wealth: “nowadays if you buy Dior, you want everyone to know it” (WWD, 1 March 2000). To reinforce the “bling” message, a 100-foot gold-mirrored catwalk was installed in the darkness of the Chaillot theatre. Fly Girl referred to rapper muses – Missy Elliot, Foxy Brown, Mary J Blige and L’il Kim. There were ghetto-fabulous floor-length sable, mink and chinchilla coats and jackets, long leather trench coats worn with bleachstreaked denim (some with clear sequin overlays) and ostrich leather skirts accessorised with denim trilbys and fedoras.

Ghetto-fab bleachstreaked denims worn with luxurious coats.

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Chartreuse-toned chiffon slip dresses were worn with G-strings that matched the lenses of the Dior sunglasses. Leopard prints were mixed with more denim and lace. A short jeans-jacket with slight fur trim retailed for £4300 and a denim-print chiffon dress for £1145. Short asymmetric dresses with “bouleversé” corset bodices appeared in croc-printed leather, leopard printed chiffon or denim. The CD logo was printed onto pretty printed bias-cut chiffon dresses or as massive gilt metal identity chains forming straps on dresses or buckles on belts. The second “Sexy Ballerina” phase included bias-cut dresses with tattered hems in pink and grey chiffon, lace or newspaper print silk. Some were worn with deconstructed Aran-knit dance boleros. Giant gilt safety pins (as seen in Galliano Music Icons, p. 195) were used as decoration as well as jacket closures. The final phase consisted of “Drippin hot chocolate maidens” (WWD, 1 March 2000), a procession of slinky long and short bias-cut dresses in dark brown lace, satin and chiffon, which the Dior press release suggested were “perfect for the Oscars and the Cannes Film Festival”.

Asymmetric denim skirt with leopard-pelt print. Resurrection Vintage Archive.

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“Sexy Ballerina” dress, the lamé bodice with “Dior Daily News” fabric, including Michael Woolley’s 1986 portrait of Sibylle de Saint Phalle.

“Drippin hot chocolate” lace dress worn with miniature saddlebag.

The saddlebag again was much in evidence – this time in richly coloured leathers, as micro versions worn across the breast, or as evening purses with handcuff-like gilt chain bracelets. To reinforce the “bling” factor, shoes and boots had gilt metal killer heels, toecaps and rhinestone studs on the soles. Galliano took his bows in gold leather jeans and white vest, with long flowing hair. This highly commercial street attitude collection pleased the retailers, but some fashion critics felt that it was just a regurgitation of previous looks with nothing new added. In Cathy Horyn’s judgment, it was “Nothing worth commenting on. The rhinestones stuck on the soles of the boots which only someone looking up from the runway would notice said it all – who needs them?” New York Times, 3 March 2000

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galliano ready-to-wear

Welcome to Our Playground 2 March 2000, 7.30 pm La Grande Halle de La Villette, Paris 52 looks

Galliano new millennium label—OH (for Europe) or OA (probably for US distribution).

“Madcap Galliano’s Costume Carnival” Guardian, 3 March 2000

The chosen venue was a grand Victorian former meat market with no extraneous decoration – just a long, mirrored catwalk. Although the invitation this time was conventional, the show was the opposite. Backstage the models’ cue cards had sweets stuck to them and their names were written in brightly coloured crayon. None of them had been called in for pre-show fittings as Galliano wanted to keep the element of surprise for a collection where he demonstrated that, for him, fashion was literally child’s play.

Dressing-up box look with outsized shoes and large pearl beads.

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The theme was childhood, innocence and dressing up, ideas last explored in his A/W 86–87 Forgotten Innocents collection. He wanted to “recapture forgotten innocence, that moment before you stop thinking for yourself. You make your own decisions until that day when you go off to school and are told what to think and how to do it.” WWD, 6 March 2000

Jeremy Healy mixed a soundtrack that included much-loved children’s British television themes such as Blue Peter and The Magic Roundabout. The male and female models marched out wearing brightly coloured wellington boots and outsized shoes, to give the impression of little children dressing up in mummy’s wardrobe. The highly imaginative makeup by Carole Lasnier included birthday party-animal face paints, freckles, beards and large pastel-coloured paper eyelashes. The boys went out in Galliano’s beautiful trademark dresses (one with a saucepan as a hat); girls wore outsized nylon “Galliano Wanderers” football strips with Peckham (a place in South London) as a pun on “Beckham”. There were Galliano football bags, and handbags were a key feature, with some models carrying two or three different styles at once. Cable-knit cricket sweaters were worn as skirts or with tulle asymmetric tutus. Intentionally outsized girdles and corsets were worn as skirts and bodices accessorised with hats, including Christmas cracker crowns and a lampshade. The audience became incredulous when a series of cardboard creations including a giant frog, an ostrich, assorted animals, colour-by-numbers cardboard dresses, a boat and a red foil car processed down the catwalk!

Pastel tartans were featured on coats and suits, some with fur trimmings.

A bevy of girls dressed in deconstructed white slips with ringlet rags in their hair were followed by a sexy “school mistress” (Gisele Bündchen) in a brown leather sheath with revealing sweetheart neckline. The Evening Standard declared “Galliano has gone mad” (6 March 2000).

Whilst many in the audience asked where the real clothes were, behind the spectacle and gimmicks they were heavily in evidence – pretty floral chiffons, fabulous tailoring. Galliano said he wanted larger, simple shapes as an antidote to some of the highly detailed work in previous collections. It was a vast collection, with only 30 per cent of it shown, the rest held in reserve at the atelier to show to buyers and press, who seemed to like it.

He took bows in a sheer chiffon shirt and patchwork combat trousers.

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Veteran journalist Cathy Horyn of the New York Times, who had sometimes been critical of Galliano, commented that whilst quite a lot of people had been horrified by the “schoolyard romp”, it

“struck a rare nerve, a joy completely absent from his sour Dior show.” New York Times, 7 March 2000

Cardboard frog dress, part of the playschool finale.

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dior haute couture

Freud/Fetish 7 July 2000, 2.00 pm École des Beaux Arts, Paris 45 looks

“Galliano Reveals a Fashion for Fetish” Hilary Alexander, Daily Telegraph, 8 July 2000

How do you make a collection more provocative than the Homeless collection, which had made headlines worldwide? How could Galliano top that? With S & M, it seemed. Whereas clothes on most catwalks would get you stared at, some of these would get you locked up!

The Freud collection dealt with repressed sexuality, fantasy and fetishism. Galliano justified this theme by explaining that in his view, it was part of the Dior legacy – citing the 1947 “New Look” as proof of sado-masochistic tendencies, with its restraining cage-like corsetry and padding to emphasize the sensuous curves of the body and M. Dior’s adoration of his mother. “I believe M Christian Dior was the first true fetishist designer. He had an Oedipus complex, he was in awe of his mother and his New Look was full of fetish symbolism. You only have to look at the high heels, the corsets which emphasized the bust and waist, the big skirts which emphasized the hips.” Galliano interview with Hilary Alexander, Daily Telegraph, 8 July 2000

Galliano also used a 1909 letter from Jung to Freud discussing sources of fetishism by way of explanation. This extraordinary collection possessed a sinister beauty that incorporated whips, corsetry and bondage straps as decoration. Nothing like this had ever been seen on a Paris couture catwalk before, which would have been more at home in Leigh Bowery’s notorious “Taboo” club. Opening look. “Demonic bishop” ensemble, lavishly embroidered by Cecile Henri, worn with Mr Pearl corset to produce the wasp waist.

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The blood-red mirrored glass catwalk emanated from a bank of floor-to-ceiling “CD” floodlights in a cavernous black space. A soundtrack of porn movie moaning and the lashing of whips helped set the scene. The show began with a bishop swinging a censer, filling the room with clouds of incense, wearing a Cecile Henri gold-embroidered wasp-waisted ivory silk cassock and matching mitre. The opening “Happy Families” phase included a Fellini-esque wedding.

Edwardian-inspired figure skimming gown and massive tulle swathed bonnet and her handsome bearded “husband” dressed traditionally, but all in white. The “grandmother” was played by the older, but equally beautiful, model Carmen Dell’Orefice. Other guests followed; the women in pure white beaded gowns with high necks, others in grey silk trimmed in mink or leather with dashing male companions. “Bright young things” wore 30s-style biascut creations. Steven Spielberg’s wife Kate Capshaw placed an order for the banded raspberry satin example with faux gem handcuff bracelets and choker.

The procession continued with twin-girl “bouleversé” bridesmaids, with bondage-strapped corseted bodices; Marisa Berenson (actress and grand-daughter of Elsa Schiaparelli) as the mother of the bride in

The pretty bride (the only one who smiled) in biascut satin; the groom with plastic-covered hair in beautifully tailored morning-suit, his hands tied behind his back with ropes of pearls.

Look 29, “Chinese Dragon Lady” puppet, staggered under large crucifix-like control bars, embroidered blue silk kimono and yellow dress.

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The “Law of the Father” phase followed with mainly military or equestrian looks. Then the “Children’s Nightmare/Trauma” phase took over, with creations including infant toys as well as adult objects of desire: Sophie Dahl as a bejewelled maid with rosebud lips and feather duster; a “clockwork” eighteenth-century Marie Antoinette doll; a sinister “Clown Mother” in striped coat made from feathers and appliquéd with Dior lettering; a “Chinese Puppet” and “Nurse Diesel/Wasp woman”

– with bandaged head and white painted face with red plastic crosses covering her mouth, wearing a white sequined dress with green corset and coordinating syringe. The final “Real Dior” phase was the most abstract of all. Model Anne Sophie was a corseted kinky “Dior Judge” in transparent scarlet chiffon dress, powdered wig and hangman’s noose necklace. A “Dior Equestrienne” in black leather bridle, complete with blinkers and throat lash, in a transparent

Clockwork Marie Antoinette doll, her dress exquisitely embroidered with guillotine scenes by Hurel.

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Looks 45 and 44. The “Dior Groom” in black and ecru silk dress with the dominatrix “Dior Bride” in red lace and satin corset dress.

plastic bodice and mauve taffeta dress covered in straps and buckles, clenched a riding crop. The Dior Bride was a dominatrix in red satin and lace, wearing a top hat adorned with corset laces. Galliano took bows in top hat and exquisitely tailored morning suit. The collection was shocking but beautiful and illustrated the technical brilliance of Dior’s “petitesmains,” but fashion critics found it hard to decide whether Galliano was a madman or a genius. WWD was not impressed:

“Only Galliano knows if the pressure to maintain his image as the madman of fashion too powerfully impacts his decisions.” WWD, 10 July 2000 “The question is Why? And what’s going on in Galliano’s head?” Observer, 9 July 2000

Whereas Colin McDowell came to his defence: “He is currently fashion’s one true revolutionary and he presents his revolution with absolute assurance and beauty. Only a fool would turn aside.” Sunday Times, 16 July 2000

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2001 Spring/Summer

dior ready-to-wear

Trailer-Park Chic 10 October 2000 Théâtre National de Chaillot, Paris 46 looks

“Enfant Terrible” Times of India, 31 May 2001

Galliano, having explored the excesses of New York rapper culture last season, now turned his gaze on the meaning of taste – “good, bad or no taste at all!” (YouTube video interview profiling this collection). The show opened with Healy’s provocative mix of music with mildly obscene lyrics (The Blakauts “Titty Twister”), which caused offence to some, but shocked and delighted others. Cathy Horyn of the New York Times wrote, “It had irony, which Mr Galliano had never before completely pulled off, but also a pop sense of composition, of taking things apart and rearranging them in a new form.” 11 May 2000

Galliano imagined a Wisconsin trailer-trash beauty pageant, the girls with badly made-up faces, wearing cheap tiaras and fairy lights in their tawdry highlighted hair. Football strips with large numbers were reconstructed into cocktail dresses worn over fishnet body stockings with nylon parkas. Track pants and tattered beauty queen sashes ironically bore the names of luxury perfumes: “Miss Dior”, “Diorella” and “Diorissimo”. Printed t-shirts bore the legend, “J’adore Dior”, which became a best seller. A new swimwear line was launched that season and this featured large, along with camouflage and vinyl leopard-print hot pants.

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Zip-trimmed camouflage bikini.

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Zippers were a major feature everywhere as detachable frills, decorative bands, halter-necks on dresses and bodices or even to attach to other garments so the wearer could create new, individual looks. Beautiful bias-cut tulle and citrus-toned floral appliqué dresses for evening were worn as over-bodices with the skirt at the front held in place by a belt formed from a jeans waistband. In contrast, silk jackets and chiffon dresses were made from highly detailed traditional Japanese obi-silk patterned fabrics. Galliano took his bows in black vest and track pants with “Oh Sauvage” in white lettering down the sides. Sidney Toledano, President of Dior, seemed pleased with the new contemporary direction and said that previously alienated Dior clients were now being reintroduced to the stores by their daughters. Galliano’s steamy advertising campaign (with photographs by Nick Knight), depicting oil-smeared models writhing inside Cadillacs, further reinforced the sexy, young image. Under Galliano’s eye, the marketing campaign was cohesive, with shop windows and advertisements for clothes and

Trailer park beauty queen in floral bikini, part of the newly launched swimwear line.

perfume launched to coincide with the show. The fashion collections now provided direct inspiration on which the accessory studios fed, with expanded ranges of lingerie, sunglasses, jewellery and shoes.

The new “Car” bag was introduced, inspired by the interior of a 1950s Cadillac, the clasp being the car door handle.

Strong sales of Dior ready-to-wear clothing, handbags from the “Saddle”, Cadillac bag ranges and “trailer-trash” t-shirts helped increase profitability by 35 per cent to $277.4 million, and the net income at Christian Dior SA (the parent group) rose 11 per cent to $824.9 million.

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Picasso 13 October 2000 Théâtre National de Chaillot, Paris 50 looks

“Joker Galliano takes self-plagiarism to new heights.” Guardian, 13 October 2000

Not only was it the same venue as the Dior RTW show a few days earlier, it also used the same (to some) offensive soundtrack and backdrop, with the addition of the JG logo. The same models stepped onto the mirrored catwalk in Dior clothes with Cadillac bags whilst a video of the Dior show was simultaneously played in reverse on a screen above. Was it a mistake? Was it a joke? Some critics thought that Galliano had just run out of ideas – which might be understandable considering the number of collections he had to churn out each year. But no, in explanation Galliano said that he wanted these designs to be seen again as if through Pablo Picasso’s eyes and that, as the artist was inspired by historical happenings, in this case the Dior show was to be that catalyst. The Dior garment elements became more torn and deconstructed until they eventually morphed into “cubist” looks inspired by Picasso’s “Guernica” as well as lover Dora Maar, and wife Jacqueline Roque, which he described as more “full on Galliano” (“John Galliano Spring-Summer 2001 Ready-To-Wear” backstage video, available on YouTube).

Karen Elson, wearing an orange nylon shirred jacket with matching wrap-over skirt printed with Matrix-style numerals, took a tumble on the glassy, mirrored floor.

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He wanted the brand to move away from the romantic, fairy-tale looks of earlier years whilst he continued to include his trademark bias-cut dress – “before we would dress it up, now we dress it down” – and he summed up the new direction as “Urban Femininity; more into reality but challenging people to dream” (internal communication). The collection featured skin-tight leggings with open-work patterns and patchwork decals. Outsized leather zips were used as belts or jacket closures and giant press-studs as decoration. White leotards and bikinis bore graffiti anarchy logos and slogans including “punk chic”, “We live in class war” and “I wanna see some men”, which seemed rather dated and kitsch in the new millennium.

Long dresses and trench coats in the new “Galliano Gazette” newspaper-printed fabric again reprised the Dior couture Homeless looks. For the controversial finale, eight male models strode out wearing football strip deconstructed dresses, togas, shorts, leather jock-straps and gilt crowns of thorns in imitation of Jesus Christ which caused further puzzlement and consternation in the audience. Some of the tops were stencilled “Galliano 5” and “Galliano Religion”. One model even went so far as to strike a crucifixion pose with head lolling to one side – was nothing sacred? Apparently not. Despite accusations of blasphemy, Galliano defended these religious references,

Bondage leotard, original design and finished look.

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“Footballers like David Beckham are the new gods. They are icons and Jesus is the most beautiful man in the world.” Hilary Alexander interview, Daily Telegraph, 13 October 2000

The reviews were very mixed, many of the journalists finding the collection both baffling and offensive. Lisa Armstrong wrote: “there wasn’t a thing to wear . . . but as a spectacle it was extraordinary.” The Times, 13 October 2000

Jess Cartner-Morley of the Guardian asked, “Now that Galliano has succeeded in offending just about everybody, what can he do next collection?” 13 October 2000

Galliano nonchalantly appeared bare chested, wearing a pair of white jogging pants with “Oh Picass So!” down the sides.

Galliano and Steven Robinson fitting a football deity ensemble.

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dior haute couture

Comic Strip Warriors 20 January 2001 École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris 42 looks

“Galliano steals a march with superhero army” Guardian, 23 January 2001

An internal Dior press release stated, “John Galliano stages an icon of American comics of the 50s. Through the revisited prism of his soaring imagination, he tells us the story of ‘Wonder Woman’ who is either a secretary, a Baby-Doll or a rock-star and an Amazon she-warrior, who definitely exposes her swaggering femininity.”

It opened with female Clark Kent repressedsecretary looks, the clothes reflecting “sexual frustration” (US Vogue, April 2001). The models, in prim, black-framed spectacles, wore sexy black or white ensembles which incorporated camouflage prints, sutured seams, bondage straps, corset bodices, bouleversé jackets, suspender belts and spider-web tights. The next “Grown Down Land” phase consisted of layered white organza trapeze line/baby doll dresses with stiffened underpinnings, hand painted and appliquéd with Warhol-inspired Brillo pads, (Diorillos), Martini glasses, teddy bears, lamb chops on a plate, gardening and various domestic objects. These “Doris Day” 1950s housewives cradled dolls like children and wore curlers in their hair with headscarves tied firmly under the chin. Look 7. Sexy secretary looks opened the show. Galliano described them as “Pleasantville bookworms . . . but through the clothes you can see hints of the liberated women they will become” (Vogue.com).

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Look 12. Hand-painted organza baby doll dress.

Next came the antidote to all this repression – ten female superheroes, who included Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Spider-girl, Poison Ivy, Catwoman, Firestar, Moonstar and Shadow. They wore satin American flag or sequined denim bustiers, studded G-strings worn over knickers, torn fishnets and rocker jackets emblazoned with Lesage, Lanel and Cecile Henri embroidered comic book motifs, which included “Ka Pow”, “Boom” and “Zap”. Rock star looks included a white t-shirt with embroidered Coca Cola and crucifix motifs, which was said to cost $50,000 (worn with a lace edged chiffon skirt, which was extra).

Look 16. Lesage embroidered “Wonder Woman” ensemble.

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For the “Paradise Island” finale (a place populated with women of youth, beauty and peace) the palette changed to gold, olive, saffron and rose. There were Pocahontas looks (including Indian chieftain feather headdress) in embroidered suede, chamois, fringed and slashed leather with hand-painted jackets and a magnificent floor length fur-edged coat appliquéd down the back with female warriors. Galliano also envisaged a population of “Mad Max”–style, bare-breasted, bronze-dusted

Amazons, wielding hockey sticks, baseball bats and clear Perspex shields. WWD commented that the beautiful bias-cut dresses in chiffon and satin, with a few modifications (i.e., enough fabric to cover both breasts) could be popular! Whilst the breath-taking artistry and skill of the couture atelier was much admired, there was also criticism that many of the looks had been pillaged from previous Galliano/Dior collections (TrailerPark Chic, Pocahontas, and Matrix, in particular). The recurring point that much of it was unwearable and disappointment that no fresh ground had been broken. Galliano appeared in decal-covered, roadie-style denim waistcoat and trousers with “Black Sabbath” sequined down the back. Hedi Slimane (poached from YSL) launched his first “Dior Homme” range on 28 January 2001 and the Paris rumour mill suggested that Galliano was not best pleased, having always enjoyed designing menswear himself. In December 2000 it was announced that Galliano was also to produce a menswear range for his eponymous line that was planned to be in the shops no later than 2003, further increasing his enormous workload.

Look 26. “Amazon She Warrior” in satin “goddess sheath”.

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2001–02 Autumn/Winter

dior ready-to-wear

(Boxers, Boho & Rave) 13 March 2001 Théâtre National de Chaillot, Paris 50 looks

“Galliano’s anti-establishment manifesto was as loud as the techno-music that powered the show . . . here were clothes that were young, sexy and more importantly filled with optimism that was both insolent and romantic.” Hilary Alexander, Daily Telegraph, 14 March 2001

Minutes before the show started, Galliano told the press that “Dior is exploding”, which the colours, ideas and energy of this collection amply illustrated. Nick Knight worked with Galliano and model Karen Elson to produce a high-octane Dior press campaign; the vibe was youthful, colourful and energy-packed. It opened with Rave-inspired separates – colourful hologram and graffiti-patterned leather jackets and baggy pants, t-shirts and chiffon dresses. These were followed by strong masculine tailoring: sharp trouser-suits in fine pinstriped wools or dandy checks, looks inspired by Irish bare-knuckle fighters and horse traders in the film Snatch. The models appeared with faux black eyes, bruises, their hands wrapped in bandages. There were hip-hugging leather and dyed snakeskin trousers with sheepskin/fur used as linings and trimmings on the jackets and coats. Luxurious printed satin Model in rave-inspired, graffiti-patterned leather pants carrying a “Boom Box” overnight bag.

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shirts, waistcoats and hoodies were accessorised with metal heavyweight boxing belts, masculine leather trilbies or Spiv ties and metal “tool-kit” handbags. The popular “J’adore Dior” t-shirt was reintroduced and joined others, including an acid-house smiley-face t-shirt with C and D forming the eyes – others with boxing references, such as “Champion 1947” (the year the house was launched). The next phase (inspired by a gypsy wanderer) was more feminine, with Boho girls wearing outsized knitted beanie hats, twinkling sequined harem skirts and bodices inset with Rajasthani mirror embroidery.

Denim print slip dress with decals and lace trim. Resurrection Vintage Archive.

Masculine tailoring in loud checks, “Spiv” leather trilbies and ties inspired by Irish bare knuckle fighters.

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Rajasthani beading combines with rich brocades edged in fur, twinkling tulle and beanie hats.

Some of the elements were quite “grown-up”, with sophisticated brocaded silk evening coats lined and edged in mink, but the general mood was youthful and perfect for summer festivals. There were classic 30s-style printed floral chiffons and others with Central Asian or Indian-inspired colours and patterns, patchwork jeans with mirror discs and patchwork leather or fur coats and gilets, which all gave off a happy, hippy 70s vibe.

Galliano as prizefighter takes his bows, with greased up torso and faux black eye.

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galliano ready-to-wear

Techno-Romance 15 March 2001 Théâtre de l’Empire, Paris 51 looks

Woven label – the last time it is used.

“Club Gear” WWD, 19 March 2001

This was another commercially successful collection by Galliano, combining cycle-courier looks with English chintz and buccaneer/pirate themes. Models wore leather headbands with attached hairpieces. Features included trousers with matelot-style buttoned fall-fronts, over-sized wide-legged denims or pirate-style with contrasting turn-up hems. Crocheted “granny squares” were formed into skirts, ponchos and coats which contrasted with high-tech performance sports fabrics for parkas, tops, skirts and neoprene jackets.

Granny square skirt. Resurrection Vintage Archive.

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Laser-cut leather coat combined with vinyl and high-tech fabrics.

Edwardian old-rose prints were used on eveningwear, taffeta and chiffon gowns (some with integral hoodies or trench coat details) or as the facings on double-breasted jeans jackets and ivory satin cocoon coats. Colourful tartan patterns were printed onto leather jackets, parkas and bandeau tops, as well as chiffon separates. Laser cutwork circles and florets adorned fabrics as well as cutwork skulls with cycle-courier radio motifs (instead of crossbones) on suede and leather garments. Accessories included Edie Sedgwick–style lowheeled boots and new ovoid leather clutch bags.

The collection proved popular with retailers as it successfully combined athletic/street looks for day with more romantic Galliano bias-cut classics for night. Galliano appeared in floral shirt and tartan buccaneer pants. On 24 April it was announced that the Galliano’s Girl line was to be relaunched with cheaper, more sports-related clothing, including Lycra t-shirts and swimwear.

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dior haute couture

Rebel Chic 9 July 2001 Théâtre National de Chaillot, Paris 39 looks

“Galliano’s magpie approach to cultural references would be hellish in other hands, but is a joy in his.” Guardian, 13 July 2001

The show opened to the accompaniment of the National Opera of Paris orchestra, who played in combination with Jeremy Healy’s techno soundtrack. This combination of classical tradition mixed with contemporary trends was also reflected in the sartorial cocktail of clothes. Galliano’s recent ethnic researches were much in evidence – Japanese Samurai silhouettes, rich brocades, Pakistani mirror-work, Tibetan appliqués (but made in Paris), which he masterfully combined with antique Toile de Jouy cottons, sequined city suitings and even military references. The opening luxe nomad looks included pinstriped jackets with sergeant stripes, worn with sheer chiffon hoody-dresses edged in coins or all-in-ones with embroidered bands to the hips. Movement and proportion were important to him, so he used lots of layered separates – tunics over skirts over trousers. “I wanted to work with new volumes – to explore the lyricism of fabrics and embroidery.” US Vogue, September 2001

Skirts were formed from woven red and white chequered Ghutra fabrics. He wanted the components to stand alone, to be purchased and mixed like items of sportswear.

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Look 1. Islamic and military looks. Sequined dress under olive wool jacket.

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Look 19. Couture “pak-a-mak” jacket worn as a headdress over a tunic embroidered by Lanel.

Look 24. Alek Wek in tie-dye and hand-painted chiffon “Goan Girl” dress and bikini.

“Goan Girls” followed, wearing hand-painted psychedelic and tie-dyed floaty “Peace and Love” dresses with hip-slung pleated skirts adorned with acid-house smiley faces, “Party Animal” cartoon characters, marijuana leaves and butterflies with a colour palette that was exuberant and uplifting. Some bore tongue-in-cheek messages like “Trance Lady” and “X-ta-sea”.

For the magnificent “Barbie Goes to Tibet” grand finale, Galliano’s ethnic warriors emerged wearing patchwork and quilted leather puffa coats, brocaded layered patchwork “Samurai” coats and kimonos, some worn with leather chaps and massive fur boots. The kaleidoscopic patterns, shapes and textures needed to be seen up close to fully appreciate the workmanship.

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Look 38. Magnificent “Barbie Goes to Tibet” ensemble with patchwork “Samurai” coat, leather chaps and massive helmet by Stephen Jones.

“‘All the ethnic research was great inspiration,’ said Galliano. ‘But ultimately, the collection is about the lyricism of fabrics and clothes.’” Vogue.com

Galliano wore a red shirt with black Arabic headdress and patterned middle-eastern trousers with boots.

In July, Dior announced the plan for a major retrospective of Galliano’s work at the Design Museum, London, on 30 November, but after the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers on 11 September, Dior cancelled the show, citing “international instability”.

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2002 Spring/Summer

dior ready-to-wear

Street Chic 9 October 2001 Polo de Paris, Paris 56 looks

“Galliano gives Dior a lesson in Street-Style” Times of India, 11 October 2001

In the aftermath of the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers on 11 September 2001, Paris felt deserted and the luxury stores, normally thronging with tourists, were empty. During Fashion Week, many shows were cancelled as major American buyers refused to fly, but the LVMH group proceeded regardless. Some in the fashion press expressed a desire for romantic looks as an escape from the prevailing world situation, but Galliano was not going to acquiesce, producing instead a collection based on hard-edged street looks. The show opened quite prettily enough; white and pink chiffon lingerie-inspired dresses with bouleversé / twisted corset bodices, others of printed (Victorian scrap album motifs) silk, trimmed with contrasting military-style webbing straps and buckles as well as lingerie lace.

The controversial “J’adore Dior” t-shirt, worked in red sequins with faux blood trails below.

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The models’ white daubed faces peeped out under tan military-style caps that matched the “ammunition” belts and the new spike-heeled sandal-shoes came with detachable pouches. The following GangstaGirl phase saw tattooed models who snarled and strutted their way down the mirrored catwalk in outsized sports vests, layered chiffon skirts worn over red logo track pants, “Addict” t-shirts, python jackets and ghetto hair-nets.

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Silk scrapscreen print dress. Resurrection Vintage Archive.

Islam-inspired chiffon dress with integral head veil. Resurrection Vintage Archive.

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These gritty looks were followed by girls wearing turbans in middle-eastern–inspired chiffon dresses and all-in-ones with Sirwal harem pants, a multitude of layering and separates that included a “J’adore Dior” t-shirt with blood-effect embroidery. The “Islamified” pieces contrasted with the all-American “Viva Las Vegas” looks, which included a white “Elvis” trouser suit with “Memphis” and guitars picked out in coloured sequins. The gambling theme was continued with a waistcoat beaded with dice (similar to Galliano’s A/W 89–90 collection) and t-shirts printed with fruit machine symbols. Striped swimwear continued the use of military webbing, belts and pouches. The “Cowgirl” finale featured layered chiffon dresses and hoody tops, denim and python jackets, knitted long-johns, wide denim pants and Havana cigar– printed fabrics. He took his bows in white shirt and pants with “Dior 47” painted onto his oiled chest.

Embroidered satin “Memphis” trouser suit.

The Islam-inspired looks proved controversial. Suzy Menkes condemned them as “insensitive” in the prevailing political climate, and she was refused entry to the Galliano show later in the week in retribution. Negotiations for Galliano to sell his remaining 25 per cent to Arnault probably began at the time of his contract renewal in spring 1999. The label changed between the March and October collections 2001, which usually signified a change of ownership with the firm, so this is probably when Galliano finally relinquished control of his own name.

Cowgirl finale look with denim Stetson and Navaho printed chiffon dress.

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galliano ready-to-wear

(Africa) 11 October 2001 Théâtre de l’Empire, Paris 55 looks

The woven label changes to a nude rubber example, with sliced-off, black, gothic “John Galliano” lettering.

“To say that more is more chez Galliano is a colossal understatement.” WWD, 15 October 2001

Themes running through this collection included Formula I racing (with printed “Team JG” logo silks, coats-of-arms denim prints and boiler suits appliquéd with prints of shoes and bags) and Africa (inspired by portraits of Zulus, wearing a mixture of traditional and 70s hip clothing, taken by Bobson Sukhdeo Mohanlall in the early 70s) with beadwork collars and multi-coloured printed fabric thongs used everywhere as decoration. Layering, which had been seen in previous seasons, continued here, with denim and pinstriped wool jackets and trousers worn with t-shirts, pretty 30s-inspired prints and bold kaleidoscope print dresses.

Kaleidoscopic print chiffon combined with a chunky knit.

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On 27 November 2001, Galliano was made a Commander of the British Empire by Her Majesty the Queen. To his delight and surprise, his arrival was announced by the Buckingham Palace band playing “Hello Dolly”. He “sort of” followed the strict dress protocols by wearing a traditionally tailored Brioni grey morning suit – but with no shirt, his oiled bare chest proudly on display. Some years later he gave the medal to his friend and supporter André Leon Talley, who had come to his rescue in 1994 when he helped to find financial backers.

Pinstriped suiting combined with African tribal striped bands.

Nicole Kidman modelled a chiffon dress in British Vogue’s April issue. This riot of colours, patterns and layers was interspersed with traditional Argyll knits and an Argyll-patterned suit made entirely from snakeskin patchwork. Although the pieces were individually interesting, not everyone was a fan of the “got dressed in the dark” look. Ginia Bellafante of the New York Times wrote, “There’s such a thing as too much energy and there is a palliative Mr. Galliano – Ritalin.” 16 October 2001

Galliano wore a black leather jacket with thongtied trouser legs and plaited leather belt, with blonde-highlighted straggly hair.

Mr Galliano after being awarded his CBE by Her Majesty the Queen.

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dior haute couture

From Mongolia to Russia 21 January 2002 Polo de Paris, Paris 42 looks

“Magnificent Madness” WWD, 22 January 2002

Galliano and his close team went on a research trip to Russia in November for twelve days. They visited St. Petersburg and Moscow, exploring Catherine the Great’s summer palace (Tsarskoye Selo), the Hermitage, textile archives in the Russian State Museum (which included Russian traditional dress, Inuit and Siberian-Chinese cultures), as well taking trips to a Mongolian circus and a ballet school. All these experiences and discoveries were channelled into this collection and show, which was something of a sensory overload in terms of colours, textures and shapes. The show was heralded by the rhythmic beats of on-stage semi-naked Japanese Kodo drummers to an Adam & the Ants “Kings of the Wild Frontier” soundtrack.

Pat McGrath gave the models white mask faces with Russian-doll rosebud lips framed by gold filigree doily paper in imitation of Russian icons.

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Galliano’s “Russian” collection was as far from Saint-Laurent’s 1976 collection as it was possible to get. Not for him the luxe Ballets Russes/Cossack looks; instead, he was inspired by treasures discovered in the Russian archives, the teenage ballerinas of the Russian ballet, the colours and drama of the Mongolian circus.

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The Guardian described the show as “as close to a circus as it is possible to get without installing a trapeze.” 22 January 2002

Magnificent coats, composed of luxurious brocades or inset with leather and fur, were worn with towering busby-style fur hats in brilliant colours. Some of the sleeves were ankle length with fur cuffs or pointed shoulder details and were lavishly embroidered or beaded. The models wore mukluks, some with high platform wedges. Stephen Jones also produced towering conical corrugated card hats plus others like giant pom-poms from tousled caterpillar threads or giant chunky knits.

Flowing coat with rose-print panelling, worn with blue Busby hat and mukluk boots. (This print was first used in the Galliano Techno Romance collection, A/W 2001–2.)

An oriental figure in a dragon mask with antlers and ten-foot-long antennae pranced and bowed his way along the catwalk, followed by flag bearers wearing patchwork coats inset with cheetah fur to BowWowWow’s “Go Wild in the Country”. Ballerinas pirouetted en pointe and twirled ribbons in multi-coloured feather-trimmed tutus. One wore a bias-cut gown painted with cherubs and clouds with a WWII Japanese khaki military-inspired hat. For evening, there were black, white and red Pierrot separates. Ginia Bellafante of the New York Times wittily stated that, “not a single piece of clothing would be appropriate outside of a charity ball held in an igloo somewhere in a former republic that contains the suffix ‘Istan’.” 2 February 2002

But in the week that Yves Saint Laurent announced his retirement from haute couture, Galliano’s show was a shot in the fashion arm. The sheer energy, vibrancy, quality and imagination of this collection proved that haute couture was far from dead. In an interview after the show, Galliano confirmed, “This is couture for the next generation. Couture will not cease.” US Vogue, April 2002

Galliano took his bows in tightly fitting matador pants, naked from the waist up with a crayoned Errol Flynn moustache.

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WWD agreed, “Each piece shone, a stand-alone jewel . . . (despite SaintLaurent’s retirement) haute couture is anything but dead. Rather, in the right hands it is brilliantly alive.” WWD, 22 January 2002

In January 2002, Galliano’s own-label lingerie line was launched again, adding to his workload. The Innerwear line was exhibited at the Salon International de la Lingerie, Paris, 25–28 January.

Look 42. Handpainted taffeta ball gown, which took four seamstresses 300 hours to complete. Fundación Museo de la Moda Collection.

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2002–03 Autumn/Winter

dior ready-to-wear

Funky Folklore 7 March 2002 Trocadéro, Paris 51 looks

“A cross-cultural joy-ride delivered by John Galliano at his showstopping best” WWD cover, 8 March 2002

Gisele Bündchen strode majestically onto the catwalk in a gold-embroidered, burgundy cotton jersey mini-dress and Peruvian knit “Mohican” hat to Shakira’s “Whenever, Wherever”. Despite being made only of t-shirt fabric and retailing at £1184, this was to be the “must-have” dress of the season. Drawing on the spring Dior couture’s globetrotting elements, this collection included denim flares with Rajasthani mirror-work, Afghan smocks with button decorations, Chinese embroideries, flounced skirts with Indian bells on the hemline and Inuit boots. The colours and patterns were kaleidoscopic – including provincial Russian paisley prints on lacquered leather, silk and chiffon, rainbow stripes, and denim mixed with gingham. The coats were masterful and included insideout furs with a patchwork of sutured suede seams on the outside. The t-shirts and skirts included embroidered “Iron Cross” medallions bearing the CD initials and “20 02”.

Gisele in the best-selling dress of the collection.

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Strapless tops and dresses were fastened across the chest with leather belts, worn with knitted Mohican or gladiator hats. Peruvian pom-poms combine with bias-cut lace, and ribbon appliqués reminiscent of “Haute Bohemia”.

Many of the clothes in the collection were appliquéd with the Addict perfume’s name.

Jackets and coats were made from unusual leathers, including coloured eel and fish-skins. The finale included classic bias-cut chiffon and lace evening gowns, one with appliqué bow motifs (taken from the Galliano S/S 1998 Haute Bohemia collection), another printed with playing cards. The Saddle Bag came in pretty colours with miniature versions for evening and giant versions in fur patchwork. A new crescent-shaped shoulder bag was introduced in denim and leather. Galliano appeared in a black suit, no shirt, and short brunette hair. The press and buyers alike loved the collection for its joyous use of colour and wearability. On 4 October, Dior launched their “Addict” perfume and threw a huge party at the Lido in Paris.

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galliano ready-to-wear

Esquimeau 10 March 2002, 7.30 pm Théâtre de l’Empire, Paris 42 looks

“Call him Genghis John” WWD, 12 March 2002

The ethnic looks seen in the Dior couture and RTW shows were further explored, but this time the emphasis was on Eskimo and Chinese iconography with just a smattering of Peruvian pom-poms, Scottish tartans and flamenco-frilled skirt hems. Make-up artist Pat McGrath excelled herself – the models’ jaw lines were outlined in white with a single brush-stroke down the nose and Geisha-style rosebud lips. Others had coloured feathers or fur encircling one eye, or feathers seemingly sprouting horizontally from brows or cheeks like some newly discovered alien race. Feathers and fur were threaded through the hair and Stephen Jones produced large, cushion-shaped headdresses formed from bolts of fabric and pelts. From head to toe the attention to detail was incredible; bobble-knitted stockings worn with thong-lashed platforms or elaborate renditions of the Eskimo boot (mukluk) and embroidered or bleached denim satchels.

brown suede kimono coat, dragon masks on t-shirts and dresses and Chinese shawl fringing for bodice backs and trim. Peruvian knits were combined with oriental brocades – but it all magically worked! Galliano appeared bare-chested in sheepskin waistcoat, gold lamé trousers, yeti boots in red bandana and plaits.

“Esquimeau” boot. Bryan Purdy and Roger Vale Collection.

Fur and fabric patchwork stars were appliquéd everywhere, from floaty bias-cut dresses to massive angular suede parka jackets. The “Bar” jacket with overtly padded hips reappeared in bleached denim (it was also to appear in the following Dior HC show). The Chinese influence was strongly in evidence in the form of embroidered butterflies covering a

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Dress inspired by Chinese theatre costumes, with feather make-up by Pat McGrath and fabric turban by Stephen Jones. Chiffon dress with Chinese shawl-like fringes, fur tassels and wool pom-poms. Resurrection Vintage Archive.

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dior haute couture

New Glamour 9 July 2002, 2.30 pm Hippodrome d’Auteuil, Paris 41 looks

“Dior Gathers the Moss” WWD, 9 July 2002

Galliano and his team had taken a research trip to Mexico via the movie warehouses of Hollywood in search of ideas to trigger this new collection. He wanted a collection that combined the glamour of Hollywood’s golden age with the relaxed style of supermodel and friend Kate Moss, whom he described as “The Marilyn Monroe of today . . . She’d put on an old Seditionaries T-shirt with a fifties Dior skirt, vintage Balenciaga with Noel Gallagher’s parka!” US Vogue, October 2002

The London Community Gospel Choir (shipped in specially for the show) stood either side of the catwalk and belted out Moby’s “In My Heart” in time to Jeremy Healy’s techno beats. The show opened with a decidedly unglamorous garment – an outsized parka lined and lightly padded with foam to emphasize and hold the shape. Steven Robinson, Galliano’s right-hand man, told WWD that at every stage the studio team would ask themselves, “How would Kate wear it?” (WWD, 9 July 2002); in this case, it seems, with towering suede and crocodile wedges with curled-back Turkish toe flaps, reminiscent of 1940s Ferragamos. The opening look, brown nylon and orange silk-lined parka jacket—parkas being a favourite garment of Kate Moss.

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Ginger Rogers–style feathers were a big feature, too, in the form of a magnificent knitted mohair and marabou ball gown, a black ostrich leather and plume coat, and as the lining to an outsized foam-lined nylon trench coat. Marilyn Monroe’s Seven-Year Itch moments were recreated as models posed above a vent in the catwalk that saw the hemlines rise and swirl over their heads, revealing the fluttering ostrich linings. Experiments in scale were demonstrated by outsized coats worn with wispy or hobble skirts. Rippled button closures first seen in his Afghanistan Repudiates S/S 1985 were seen again on coats and dresses.

Look 13. Viscose jersey dress with integral knotted macramé panels accessorised with Busby Berkeley–style feather showgirl headdress, the models’ lips smothered in scarlet sequins by Pat McGrath.

Look 11. Ostrich feather–lined navy nylon trench coat, the feathers twirled over the wind machine.

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Westwood/McLaren’s strappy parachute top was reworked in painted cotton with webbing, the theme continuing with flight-related dungarees and long trained skirts of silk. Some of the more challenging looks included metal “body sculptures” with conical breasts, distended stomachs (Kate Moss was pregnant at the time) and buttock panels. These were reminiscent of the female robot in the 20s silent movie Metropolis, but also of the primitive African sculptures that had shocked Paris and inspired Picasso and other artists in the early 1900s. By including them Galliano hoped to elicit a similar response from the audience.

By the end of the show the whole audience was up on their feet dancing to the euphoric sounds of the choir. Galliano took his bows dressed all in white, with Native American Indian headdress, where he posed above the air vent creating his own special Marilyn moment. Dior’s President Sidney Toledano was pleased to announce that sales at their network of 130 boutiques was up by 50 per cent at the end of June; the first-half sales of leather goods and footwear increased by 60 per cent and ready-to-wear clothing by 40 per cent.

Look 15. One of the Picasso/tribal art–inspired metal body sculptures made by Leroux Fraboulet.

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Tough Chic 2 October 2002 Trocadéro, Paris 51 looks

“There’s gold in those tills with Galliano.” Daily Telegraph, 4 October 2002

Elements were taken from the couture New Glamour collection and refined for the mass market. There were no long dresses; the looks were young, short and sexy with clingy micro-minis below the hips and billowing bat-wing bodices and jackets above. Fluorescent pink, yellow, gold and silver Lycra were used for minimal bikinis and swimsuits. Draped jersey cocktail dresses incorporated pleats and macramé banding. Elevated wedge bondage shoes, which were treacherous to walk in.

Pat McGrath glued blue lace or sequined arches over the models’ eyebrows and drew harsh new eyeliner versions above, with heavily painted lashes to the lower lids that some journalists described as drag-queen looks. One commented that Gisele looked like “a trannie” (Vogue.co.uk).

2003 Spring/Summer

dior ready-to-wear

The tailoring was exquisite, with a stylish “Le Smoking” as well as deconstructed men’s jacket styles, ruched and gathered into a rhinestone buckle at the waist. The ripple-effect jacket closures reappeared. The accessories were some of the stars of the show and included punk-style chains and belts, which were worn over silver lamé cargo pants as well as slinky little cocktail dresses with contrasting “parachute” strap trims, the neon waistbands flashing “Dior” in rhinestones to the back. Several of the models almost took a tumble in the elevated wedge shoes decorated with rivets and chains made in exotic leathers, suede and neon patent. The limited edition “Victim” print Columbus handbag made its appearance with detachable militarystyle pockets. Galliano took his bows in black waistcoat and pants under a shower of golden confetti. Penelope Cruz, Claire Danes, Rosanna Arquette and Gwen Stefani (whose wedding dress he had made) were among those on the front row.

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Alek Wek looked ready to dance with Fred Astaire, dressed all in white, the cotton jacket covered in a cloud of ostrich plumes over a chiffon skirt with ostrich hem.

The fabrics included fluid satins, printed chiffons with “25% off” (which had been used in the couture show) and “Uproar” prints; others had graffiti or Sex Pistols-style ransom-note lettering.

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Bollywood 6 October 2002 Théâtre de l’Empire, Paris 31 looks

“Joy to the World” US Vogue, December 2002

This show was more akin to performance art than a fashion show, with journalist Laura Craik stating that this time “there were no wearable clothes at all” (Evening Standard, 7 January 2002). Jeremy Healy played a revved-up version of Dolly Parton’s “Working 9 to 5” mixed with techno beats and traditional Indian serenades. But in reality, few secretaries would have dared to wear this riot of colours and layered garments to the office. The clothes combined Leigh Bowery’s notorious Taboo club looks with Bollywood glamour and paid tribute to the performance artist renowned for his outrageous outfits and his “Pakis from Outer Space” fashion creations. He and his lover, Trojan, sported blue body paint, traditional Hindu face-jewellery and makeup, frills, short baby-doll tops, giant sequined polka dots, glittery lurex and lamés. Top models hired for the show were unrecognisable, smothered as they were in Pat McGrath’s makeup and body paint. The first models emerged, their limbs and faces painted Krishna-blue, with sequined lips, gilt metal face veils, giant tinsel pompom wigs and feet lashed into towering Japanese “geta” sandals with glitter soles. Styling included Krishna-blue body paint and tinsel wigs.

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The clothes were a cacophony of colours and patterns, including tie-dyes, animal prints, shimmering glitter tops, silver leggings, multi-layered ruffle dresses, baby-doll creations with crinoline-hooped ostrich trimmed hem and sari hoodies. These were worn with outsized jackets, some printed with Krishna portraits, others military-inspired but with lace appliqués and shirred lace-up detailing. Saris were edged in contrasting frills or bands of real peacock feathers. There were exotically named “Tanjore” tunics, “Runda” dresses, “Goa” jackets with Nehru collars, shimmering silver “Parvati” pants, “Hindi” skirts, tinsel-edged “Jaya” and “Roshan” coats. Pat McGrath again excelled with the models’ faces painted white, edged in blue and spangled with gold glitter. Patterned fabrics were replaced by monotones to produce a less busy, more sculptural silhouette: denim cocoon coat, jackets with segmented sleeves were worn with ruffles, silk saris and short crinolines, accessorised with Chinese “coolie” shaped hats. Backstage each ensemble had been pelted with contrasting powder paint – red on pink, blue on black, yellow on red. As the models moved and twirled, they cascaded showers of the paint onto the audience members in the front row, who squealed with laughter.

To further elongate the silhouette, the models’ hair was backcombed into a frizz and inset with party balloons.

The colours and exuberance of India were reflected in the finale, inspired by the Hindu Holi Festival of Colours, where revellers pelt each other with coloured powder to celebrate the return of Spring.

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As he walked off the runway, Galliano was heard to ask, “It’s about time for a bit of joie de vivre isn’t it?” Anna Wintour agreed. She loved it, writing in her US Vogue introduction that she had “‘never been more up-lifted – spiritually, politically – by fashion,’ and that, ‘We need showmen like John now more than ever, not least because they inspire retailers to fill stores with the entirely wearable off-shoots.’” US Vogue, 2 January 2003

The models queued up backstage to have their make-up removed, but Erin O’Connor couldn’t wait and returned to the Ritz hotel to shower still covered in black body-paint, much to the astonishment of the hotel receptionist. Watered-down versions of the more extreme catwalk looks were eagerly snapped up by retailers. The saris were turned into bias-cut summer dresses and blouses, which were teamed with military jackets. The powder-paint effect was converted into printed denim that looked as though the powder had been ground randomly into the fabric. Critics would later concur that this was one of the most joyous, exuberant collections of his career, which fulfilled a longing for escapism in a harsh political and economic climate.

Erin O’Connor’s coal-miner look.

Galliano took his bows in a white suit that had also been pelted with powder-paint.

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Hardcore Romance 20 January 2003 Hippodrome d’Auteuil, Paris 40 looks

“It was Asia, but not as we know it.” Sarah Mower, Vogue.com, 20 January 2003

Galliano and his team had enjoyed three weeks of a research trip to China and Japan in search of inspiration for this collection. Galliano was captivated by the history and traditions of both countries and was struck by the contrasts of the traditional and new architecture and the sheer scale of the modern cities, in particular Shanghai and Beijing. In China, they visited the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden city, museums and galleries, a sex museum with sixteenth-century artefacts and a flea market where Galliano swapped his Levi’s jacket with a young Tibetan mountain boy’s hand-made coat with fur lining. They went to a kabuki theatre in Tokyo and admired the street-fashion of the Harajuku district.

The show opened with a group of Tai Chi Kung Fu Shaolin monk/acrobats who performed gymnastic feats with spears and menacing-looking chains. To reflect the sheer size of China, models followed wearing out-sized kimonos in a dazzling array of painted, brocaded, printed and embroidered silk and leather. Look 19. Satin crêpe coat painted by Cotte with Japanese-inspired patterns, over a Lesage embroidered tulle dress edged in sable, and a paper carp fan.

The show was delayed two and a half hours and the cramped atmosphere backstage was tense. Despite the fact that the Dior “petites mains” had been working night shifts for days, the clothes still weren’t completely finished and had to be rushed across Paris by taxi. The by now virtually unrecognisable top models, in their complex wigs, faces plastered with make-up by Pat McGrath’s team, had a very uncomfortable wait. Galliano described it as “Chaos. I mean cha-os. You would not believe. We had Shaolin monks, Chinese acrobats, all the interpreters . . . There were monks jumping over Stella [Tennant]. She’s normally so lady-like, but the clothes were quite heavy.” He mimics the blue-blooded mannequin snarling through gritted teeth “Get me a chair!” Independent Fashion Magazine, 22 March 2003

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Look 10. White mask face peeps out above a Lesage-embroidered rose damask jacket and rose chiffon dress with Pierrot collar.

Some of these were so voluminous and enveloping that all that could be seen of some the models were the tips of their noses. Others had white mask faces painted with rosebud lips. They teetered on vertiginous super-elevated platforms, some with S&M straps, others with ribbons tightly bound around their legs. Walking was difficult and one poor girl in layered lilac hobble skirt looked particularly vulnerable as she slowly meandered her way to the end of the catwalk. The cumulative weight of the clothes eventually caused one of the red lacquered catwalk panels to crack.

Suzy Menkes, writing in the International Herald Tribune the following morning, described it as “the most staggering example of self-indulgent luxury since Louis XIV held court at Versailles.” 21 January 2003

Galliano had pulled off another spectacular show and collection for Dior, which was still more akin to performance art, as few of the clothes could be described realistically as wearable. It remained to be seen how the ideas and experiments of the couture “fashion laboratory” would translate into wearable garments for ready-to-wear next season.

The Shanghai Beijing acrobat troupe tumbled and contorted their way down the catwalk amid the models; one man held aloft a little girl pedalling a monocycle, above a twirling parasol.

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Galliano muscle-posed in white t-shirt and jeans wearing a Pearly King cap made for his Ludic Game show in 1985. Despite difficult trading conditions, Dior reported that its couture fashion house revenue for 2002 grew 50 per cent from the year before to $522 million (sales having doubled over the past four years), with an operating profit amounting to 6 per cent to 7 per cent of sales.

Acrobats from the Shanghai Beijing opera troupe.

Look 14. As an East-meetsWest tribute to the Queen Mother (strange but true), ostrich feathers were used to cover large side-tilted picture hats by Stephen Jones.

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Hardcore (Fetish and Japan) 6 March 2003 Trocadéro, Paris 43 looks

“Rubber Leaves the Clubs and onto the Catwalk” Observer, 21 September 2003

Galliano combined fetishism, Japanese iconography and basketball numbers to produce this collection. His old St Martins college friend Robin Archer of “House of Harlot” was commissioned to produce around twenty garments in shiny latex rubber, including skirts with tiered hems, skin-tight body suits that partially covered the face and latex lace-up leggings. These came in black, red, transparent and vibrant purple.

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The models’ hair, combed tight to the head, was held in place by criss-cross bootlaces that echoed the laced-up pants. Pat McGrath produced masklike visages with exaggerated black eyeslashes; the result was part kabuki, part drag queen. “A Dior spokeswoman described the collection as, ‘Hardcore glamour – always beautiful but in raunchy latex. John thinks every woman deserves to be desired.’” Ibid.

Black and white cut-velvet gown with boxy neckline.

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The show opened with pretty, pastel-pink jackets with Pierrot-like cube-cut and goffered organza flounces. Short, low cowl-necked satin “goddess” dresses were embroidered in silver with Japanese carp or rhinestone spangles. The masterly outsized jackets came in embroidered satin, leather, crocodile and vinyl and incorporated complex pleated gigot-like sleeve-treatments; one looked as though it had been inset with rubber water-wings with rectangular, boxy seams. Mini-micro tight skirts in latex or python were accessorised with super-elevated platforms with bondage straps and bows that connected the heels to the vamp. Two models (including Alek Wek) slipped and fell on the black-mirrored runway. Handbag sales by now were big money spinners for Dior, and new designs were regularly introduced. The models carried the latest addition – a mezzaluna-curved shiny leather bag with narrow “bondage” straps and the “Saddle” bag, Japanese style.

Degradé-effect dyed mauve and green fur was used for full-length coats and jackets. A fur protester managed to jump onto the catwalk before being shoved sideways by one of the models and dragged off by security guards without causing much disruption to the show. Pretty layered organza dresses were printed with large angular basketball numbers and traditional Japanese Meiji patterns in pink and green. Japanese prints with fishes and roundels were embroidered onto organza bodices and repeated in graphic black and white cut velvet for the show’s finale in the form of voluminous jacket, a bias-cut dress with rectangular boxy neckline and a ball gown worn with a red lurex body suit that partially obscured the face.

The fashion press captures Galliano’s fetish fashions.

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Galliano took his bows dressed demurely in black suit with long, straight, blonde-highlighted hair. He looked happy and relaxed – probably buoyed by Dior’s recently announced profits of $36 (£24m) for 2002 and projected sales to top $1billion by 2006.

Ball gown worn with red latex body suit.

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In the Mood 9 March 2003 Théâtre de l’Empire, Paris 32 looks

“The Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Paris” Evening Standard, 3 October 2003

With world powers ensconced in the Iraq war, Galliano looked back at the 40s fashions of WWII. To reiterate the war theme, Healy introduced the show with a cranked-up version of the Andrews Sisters singing, “Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy”. The make-up was cartoonish, Joan Crawford-esque with giant beauty spots, exaggerated scarlet lips, heavily shaded eyelids formed from coloured rhinestones and arched plastic eyebrows.

Outsized cherry print on chiffon.

The fabric palette was redolent of the 40s with sage greens, mustard yellows, air force blue, oyster pink, shades of beige and masses of prints – mainly pretty florals, but also outsized cherry motifs on slinky satin and chiffon. The models wore stockings seamed both front and back, large brooches, pearl necklaces, giant fabric corsages, trilbies and turbans with face veils and snakeskin platforms. Galliano described it as his “Granny from hell” look (Vogue.com). The fitted day suits incorporated large bow-like pleats as well as 40s-inspired bustles, shirred gathers and draped side panniers to the skirts, sometimes accented with a rhinestone buckle. Shoulders were padded and curved to emphasize the narrowness of the waist.

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The Greta Garbo–style, wide-legged trousers came in negligée silk and chiffon. Pin-up–style, all-inone, girdle-like teddies, complete with suspenders (Betty Grable would have felt most at home in) were worn with fur stoles. For homecoming glamour, Galliano used silver-screen-siren hourglass shapes for evening. One of the most dramatic – a peony pink silk bias gown with trained fishtail hem – was perfect for red carpet events. The finale look was a white and silver confection of midriff-baring ivory satin halter-neck encrusted with rhinestones, worn with an inside-out white fox swing coat with asymmetric panelling.

A sage-green wool suit had inserts of cherry print satin, which peeped out from zippered bodice seams to form giant puff sleeves and basque.

Halter-neck bodices and silk wiggle-dresses had sweetheart necklines with cleavage-enhancing corsetry.

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Galliano, perhaps in reaction to the anti-fur protests earlier in the week, provocatively slung a vintage fox stole (with intact head) over one shoulder of his simple black suit. At the end of May, a long-held ambition finally came to fruition, as the first ever Galliano boutique was opened. Glass-fronted and situated at 386 Rue Saint Honoré, the interior was designed by Jean Michelle Vilmotte. The changing rooms had mockcroc tiled floors and the loos were lined with rich embroidery. It opened with both pre-collection as well as runway looks on sale.

Sales at Galliano had totalled $29.7 million the previous year, with sales growing about 25 per cent annually. Although 80 per cent of the sales were for clothing, the remainder was for the recently introduced handbags, shoes, lingerie and sunglasses that became an increasingly important part of the business. It was also announced that Galliano would launch his new menswear line on 27 June. He had designed for both men and women until 1986 when his then-backer Peder Bertelsen put a halt to it. At Dior, Hedi Slimane was successfully producing menswear, so it would be interesting to see how the two compared the next season.

The finale look was pure Hollywood glamour.

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Creating a New Dance 7 July 2003, 3:05 pm Hippodrome d’Auteuil, Paris 49 looks

“Galliano’s Exhilarating Dance” New York Times, 8 July 2003

Known only to a handful of people, Galliano’s father had died in Gibraltar just three days before the show. Despite his grief, he was adamant that the show should go on with the least possible disruption. Bernard Arnault kindly arranged for him to be flown in his private jet to attend the funeral, where traditional flamenco was danced. He returned the day before the show to continue with last-minute adjustments and fittings. Galliano’s theme this time was dance in all its forms, triggered by a research trip to India where he observed a young girl performing a traditional dance, which made him question how dance evolved worldwide and through time. “Researching forms of dance from ceremonial African dance, through the dance halls of Jamaica, Balletic off the ground technique to Martha Graham more on the ground technique. What became the most touching and inspiring was the feeling captured in the moments of rehearsal.” Dior press release

Look 45. Ballet-influenced, chartreuse tutu-dress with broderie anglaise camisole, bloomers, adorned with nylon stop-cords usually found on hiking gear.

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He watched Sydney Pollack’s 1969 film They Shoot Horses Don’t They? with its eight-day long dance marathon competition, where by the end the sweatand dirt-smeared dancers pushed themselves to the limits of human endurance. He wanted to create couture clothes that emphasised movement and danced with the body, unlike recent collections where the emphasis had been on volume and

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proportions. Some toiles were modified up to sixteen times before the desired effect was achieved. The show opened with Flamenco wailing, the sounds of drumming feet, clapping hands and castanets. The grim-faced models were smeared with grime, in imitation of dance marathon competitors (one had a “no 47” panel attached at the back), and the ambience was sombre. He wanted the girls “to look as though they have been dancing for eight days and nights, I want to see the sweat and the grime and the exhaustion and the fear and the pain. I want agony in the expression and the clothes. I want to feel it. I want to rip and tear it and cut it until the pain is in the dresses.” Observer Magazine, 30 November 2003

The dance inspirations were myriad and kaleidoscopically combined: Flamenco – polka dot frills worn with grimestained embroidered bodices, bustier-bras and dresses made from Spanish shawls. Charleston – tiered, beaded flapper dresses combined with silk jersey hip-hop tracksuit jackets. Ballroom – billowing tiered tulle skirts. Indian – sumptuous skirts made from sari silks and Rajasthani embroidery. Ballet – dresses formed from leotards, satin corsetry, tulle adorned with twisted warm-up cardigans and leg-warmers. Afro-Caribbean – Bob Marley prints (the “Rasta” proved very popular in the form of ready-to-wear spin-offs). Tango – bias-cut dresses in cut-velvet, lamés and satins. Tiller-girls – spangled fitted bodysuits and feather aigrettes. Can-can – corsets worn with frilled knickers and skirts.

Look 5. Tiered and pleated organza flamenco dress with satin bustier, which took 420 hours to complete.

The cube-cut, first used in the January HC collection to produce layered flounces, was used in this collection to form massive flowers on the clothes. Nylon stop-cords, normally found on hiking gear, were used to ruche the silks and as decorative fringes. Although incorporating hi-tech materials, the couture atelier craftsmanship was superb as always. The complex dresses were highly labour-intensive – just one “flamenco” dress of wine silk had 310 hand-pleated insertions to create the skirt and sleeves, trimmed with black lace, sequins, jet and pearl beads. It took nineteen people 420 hours to complete.

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Galliano came out to take his bows apparently drenched with sweat and artfully scattered with dust, wearing motocross pants with sequined arabesque sides (part of his S/S 2004 unreleased menswear collection), dance bodice and t-shirt. Backstage, when asked how he was feeling, he replied,

The potential of the Rasta print from the couture collection was exploited in a best-selling range of clothes and accessories in the additional S/S 2004 RTW collection that followed.

“That was for my father today. I hope I would have made him proud.” Observer Magazine, 30 November 2003

Myriad dance-inspired looks grace the catwalk.

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Homage to Marlene 8 October 2003 Les Tuileries, Paris 50 looks

“Galliano’s Simplicity Pleases Paris” The Guardian, 9 October 2003

Galliano had admired Marlene Dietrich since his youth, and for his S/S 1988 Blanche DuBois collection, her portrait formed the backdrop to the show. In June 2003 the Palais Galliera held an exhibition that triggered many of the looks in this collection. The sound of wartime sirens opened the show. The models wore berets perched atop frizzed blonde hair, thin arched eyebrows and eyeshadow formed from Swarovski crystals. Swarovski also supplied the massive earrings, chokers and other jewellery for the show. The figure-hugging, slinky, silver-grey and pink stretch satin and cotton Prince-of-Wales checked suits had a strong 40s vibe and were worn with embroidered bustiers or elaborate tattoo-effect body stockings.

Tattoo body stocking worn with corseted dress with suspender straps used as decorations.

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Criss-cross corsetry lacing was incorporated into sleeves and skirts and some had stretchy suspender belt hems. Minimal bikinis with criss-cross straps in silver and gold Lurex or white jersey with black patent straps were worn under fox fur jackets or hip hop–style jersey track suits.

stole shoulderstraps. For evening there were Galliano bias-cut trained dresses in lamés and floral chiffon with flamenco frills running from shoulder to hem. These were worn with trained satin trench coats or grey suede jackets inset with lashings of fox fur.

A new “D-Trick” bag of punched leather was introduced to match, with optional pearl-strand or fox

Galliano took his bows in a Dietrich-esque silver satin trouser suit.

Skimpy Lurex bikini and new “D-Trick” handbag inspired by Dietrich’s co-respondent brogues.

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Pretty Baby 11 October 2003 Théâtre de l’Empire, Paris 30 looks

“Giddy babies sprung from their prams” Cathy Horyn, New York Times, 14 October 2003

Unlike the Dior show earlier in the week where the clothes were cut close to the body, in this collection Galliano again seemed to be pushing the boundaries with outsized frilly baby-doll silhouettes and giant puffball sleeves and ruffles.

“It’s something I had to do to get to the next phase,” he told Vogue.com’s Sarah Mower. This time he cited his inspiration as Victorian dolls as well as Brooke Shields’ not-so-innocent portrayal of childhood in the 1978 film Pretty Baby. The clothes were a mixture of Broderie Anglaise nursery frills crossed with Belle Epoque decadence.

Victorian doll look with teetering tiny boater hat and printed muslin dress with giant puffball sleeves.

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The models with their white painted faces looked like figures from a Toulouse Lautrec bordello, whilst the towering hairstyles and pearl choker necklaces were more redolent of King Edward VII’s elegant consort, Queen Alexandra. The mainly white and pink cottons were combined with pretty printed florals and a plethora of ruff collars, flounces and ribbons. Corsetry was a key theme – both waist-length and longer cuirasse styles, which were worn with suspender belts, white lacy stockings, knee-socks, lingerie-weight silk skirts and Edwardian-style ankle boots, some edged in fluffy marabou.

Edwardian sailor suit elements were mimicked, complete with straw boaters perched atop towering wired coiffures.

Little leather purses had curved closure flaps with buttoned ankle boot detailing that the models swung on long chain handles. The more grown-up finale evening looks, in mainly dark fuchsia, black and red, were pure Moulin Rouge. Galliano took his bows in “Galliano Gazette” print trousers, shredded denim jacket and black leather trilby from his soon-to-be-released Galliano menswear collection.

Cuirasse-shaped satin corset combined with striped organza ruffled skirt.

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Egyptian 19 January 2004, 2.30 pm Polo de Paris, Paris 31 looks

“In the grip of Nile Fever” Financial Times, 17 July 2004

Galliano’s recent research trip to Egypt had started in Cairo with its treasure-filled museum of antiquities. He then followed the Nile to Luxor and Aswan by hot air balloon, stopping off to visit the Valley of the Kings where Tutankhamun’s tomb was discovered in 1922 by British archaeologist Howard Carter. Back then it had triggered a worldwide “Tutmania” craze, with Egyptian hieroglyphs and iconography used in domestic furnishing, jewellery and in fashion by couturiers ranging from Vionnet and Paquin right down to everyday streetwear. However, Galliano’s vision for his collection was not so single-minded. Just as when he travelled to India, the resulting collection had ended up exploring “dance”, he was never going to just “do” ancient Egypt. This collection would combine the iconography of ancient Egypt with the refinement of 50s Paris couture to produce one of the most spectacular collections ever to hit the runway. Galliano came across fashion photographs by Richard Avedon and Irving Penn, which illustrated Balenciaga’s dramatic use of fabric and proportion and also Dior’s H-line, with its emphasis on the raised waist. Galliano was struck by the hauteur and elegance of those 1950s mannequins with their unnatural poses and controlled, concave, elongated silhouettes.

Look 11. Anubis headdress worn with turquoise snakeskin ensemble of triple organza hand-painted by Atelier Dynale with appliqué and embroidery by Cecile Henri, Lanel and Muller. It took 280 hours to complete.

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All of the models wore specially made hip-length corsets and sleeves that were set further back to provide the desired Sphinx line. The corsetry, in combination with the lavishly beaded elevated platform shoes, meant walking became something of an achievement. Each model stopped as she reached the halfway mark to strike a 50s-style backward-leaning pose. Gold was the dominant colour, accented with turquoise and coral, which was used on snakeskin, feathers, lamé, tulle and slubbed silk as well as to adorn the models’ faces. Galliano used layers of specially hand-dyed fabrics, taken from a romantic, vintage 1950s palette (researched from stacks of vintage magazines) of Nile-green, smoked-grey, aqua-blue, silver and mauve. Two days before the show, despite the atelier working night shifts, only a couple of the dresses were finished as so many specialist outworkers and craftsmen were involved. The embroidery was commissioned from Lanel, Muller Atelier Dynale, Cecile Henri and one piece (look 28) from Lesage. Gold feathers were dipped into paint for one dress; on another the silk was used as a canvas to paint hieroglyphics over a skirt. Papyrus blooms were meticulously appliquéd, jewel-toned crocodile was formed into mosaics and gilt panels were formed into “pyramid” sleeves and skirts. The jewellery by Goossens was equally spectacular and included scarab beetle headdresses and winged eagle breastplates. Stephen Jones, with a team of twenty-five assistants, produced masks in the form of the Egyptian gods Horus (falcon), Bast (cat) and Anubis (a jackal) as well as Tutankhamun’s own death mask.

Look 1. Erin O’Connor as Queen Nefertiti in organza bodice and shantung skirt, completely embroidered and appliquéd in gilt platelets by Lanel.

Two dresses formed from ribbons of white and shades of grey organza strands, shimmering with sequins and beads, intimated the shrouds of the mummy.

Erin O’Connor made a majestic entrance in shimmering gold jacket with dramatic “pyramid” cuffs, voluminous polonaise skirt, and Nefertiti crown, complete with pharaoh’s false beard.

Others, with their graduated voluminous skirts, puff-ball pleated capes and sack-back trains, gave the impression of a Nefertiti princess who had risen from her tomb in the 1950s and gone shopping at Dior.

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Model striking a pose in look 10, a coral and gold feather–covered, handpainted, green organza ball gown, worn with coral scarab jewellery.

Look 16. White chiffon and crêpe “Mummy” dress embroidered by Vermont.

The term “walk like an Egyptian” took on a whole new meaning in this show. The procession of teetering models in their hobble skirts had been so slow (albeit stately) that this time the girls did not return for the usual final curtain call. Galliano appeared alone in a chalk-striped suit and leather trilby to take his bow to rapturous applause. Wearable? No – but this collection was featured in the world press the following morning and is a tour de force of couture workmanship and imagination. On 24 January 2004, Galliano launched his first eponymous menswear line.

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(Teddy Boys & Poiret) 3 March 2004 Espace Ephémère Tuileries, Paris 49 looks

“It was a Barnum & Bailey world at Dior where Galliano left the real clothes out of the line up.” WWD, 4 March 2004

Gisele opened the show in a tartan silk and leopard-print Poiret-esque cocoon coat with huge rosette to the collar and matching chartreuse silk dress with rosette-like pleats to the hem.

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The styling had been inspired by the art-deco Vogue illustrations of Eduardo Benito of the 1920s, combined with teddy-boy quiffs. There was no daywear. But for evening there were columnar loose chemise dresses in pretty pastel tones, which could be combined with full-on cocoon coats or teddy-boy jackets with wide shoulders in a range of shimmering fabrics and tones.

Stripes, tartan and leopard prints all combine in this cocoon coat, the opening look of the show. Marilyn Glass Archive.

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Fur was much in evidence – dyed-green and chartreuse, degradé-toned mink was used for tall “pyramid” collars or arctic fox teamed with white satin. The lapels were pulled up so high they almost became hoods. Grey fox was also impractically used to hem draped silver lamé trousers. The leopard prints, metallics, snakeskin patterns, gold crocodile leather and swirling organza hems from the haute couture collection reappeared, many with gambler dice decorations. The palette ranged from yellow/green through aqua/blue, to brown/ gold, ending in crimson, pink and purple.

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Snakeskin-printed damask chemise dress with “gambler” accessories and brothel creepers.

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The models wore flat snakeskin and leopard print “brothel-creepers” with crêpe soles as well as elevated platform versions. Other accessories included the new Dior-tinted Perspex bangles, identity chain necklaces and a “bowling” handbag that was introduced with giant metal dice pendants. The press response was generally muted. The mixture of colours, patterns, metallics, and textures seemed excessive and the lack of daywear was a problem for many retailers. There seemed to be a yearning for a return to simplicity – to less is more. Vogue’s Sarah Mower recalled and contrasted the perfection of his A/W 1994–95 Black collection (p. 98), where using just simple black fabrics in combination with superb tailoring and restraint resulted in a truly magical and memorable collection. To take his bows, Galliano wore a finely checked wool suit with suspender belt hem straps from the Galliano A/W 2004–5 menswear collection, his hair dressed in a greasy teddy-boy quiff.

Leopard print “Gambler” bag with gilt dice. Resurrection Vintage Archive.

Outsized teddy-boy jackets were teamed with columnar chemise gowns with exploding tulle mermaid hems.

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Mapping the World 6 March 2004 Théâtre de l’Empire, Paris 44 looks

“Forks and frills from Galliano” New York Times, 8 March 2004

This collection was a riot of colours and ethnic looks, sifted from Bolivian peasants’ patterned skirts and Yemeni tribeswomen’s coin headdresses and veils, mixed with bag ladies wearing Scarlet O’Hara crinolines, pulling rubbish laden shopping trollies, their jackets tied with string. One of the crinolines was so large that it didn’t make it onto the catwalk.

Stephen Jones had produced wigs made from crocheted wool adorned with coins, metal cutlery and even Coca Cola cans. Perched on top were little straw hats or turbans made from Mickey Mouse t-shirts and on their feet pretty ankle boots edged with pom-poms. One poor girl, her shoes swathed in newspaper print fabric, tripped over her shopping trolley and went flying. The cutlery, string, found-object decorations were reminiscent of his early Ludic Game and Forgotten Innocents collections.

One of the large crinoline ensembles that managed to make it onto the catwalk, complete with newspaper-print bag-lady shoes (redolent of Westwood's Buffalo collection) and a shopping trolley.

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No one realistically expected customers to buy ten-foot-long crinolines that wouldn’t fit through doors, but these outrageous statement pieces were required to ensure press attention and for the sheer spectacle of it all. In amongst the colourful madness were lots of beautifully detailed, wearable separates, including snug-fitting suede jackets embroidered with pink flowers and other beautifully tailored examples covered in myriad pleats. The “Galliano Gazette” printed fabric first used in his A/W 2000–01 Welcome to Our Playground collection was used everywhere and combined with his signature pretty bias-cut chiffon gowns printed with pink roses. Knits included colourful pom-pom cardigans and long multi-coloured patterned coats. The corset, which had featured large in many recent collections, was still much in evidence but this time with layered frills over the breast.

When the retailers later visited the showroom, they found many of the more outlandish looks tamed for retail, such as the “Galliano Gazette” garments, which had transformed into less challenging slipdresses printed in cotton jersey with matching gloves and accessories.

Printed red toile dress with frilled inner corset and objets trouvés and coin jewellery.

Cacophony of printed cottons, accessorized with Galliano newsprint bag.

At the end of the show Galliano stood in silhouette for several minutes against the pink neon backdrop for maximum effect, before eventually emerging to the strains of “Glory, Glory Hallelujah”.

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Empress Sissi/Zsa Zsa Gabor 6 July 2004, 2.30 pm Polo de Paris, Paris 29 looks

“Wild Fantasy and Rich Reality” WWD, 7 July 2004

Galliano chose as his muses two Austro-Hungarian beauties – Empress Sissi (Elisabeth of Austria, 1837–1898), renowned for her elegance, and the actress Zsa Zsa Gabor, famous for her glamorous lifestyle and nine husbands. She once quipped, “I am a marvellous housekeeper. Every time I leave a man, I keep his house.”

Galliano had recently returned from research trips taking in Istanbul, Central Europe and Vienna, with its superb art collections and museums. This collection combined nineteenth-century historicism with 50s glamour and lavish wedding-dress looks. There was no ready-to-wear whatsoever, just twenty-nine over-the-top “princess” gowns, each more opulent than the next.

Look 4. Crimson moiré and velvet gown lavishly embroidered by Lesage with rabbit fur hem in imitation of ermine.

The satins and silks, in a palette that included jade, amethyst, Wedgwood blue, imperial purple, crimson and pristine white, were used as a canvas for the stunning embroidery and hand painting inspired by the patterns of Fabergé eggs and Sèvres porcelain. A Prussian double-headed eagle was emblazoned down the front of a swaying crinoline skirt, others were worked with gold and silver arabesques and embroidered peacock feathers. Models emerged with an air of pomp and circumstance via an archway of giant, outsized roses, with powdered white faces and lashes, wearing tiaras, crowns, faux

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gem parures, and star-shaped brooches in imitation of royal orders complete with sceptres and orbs. The heavily corseted, cleavage-enhancing bodices had nude panels to increase the sense of décolleté with fifteen-inch waists and rounded hips to produce perfect hourglass silhouettes. Pleats were used to form breast cones and in layers to form “Cadillac bumper” basques over the hips. They were so extreme on one dress that the model looked as though she was emerging from a lily. The models had no option but to walk in a slow, stately manner due to the tight hobble skirts with exploding mermaid hems, redolent of Charles James’ “Tree” and “Lampshade” silhouettes. The enormous dresses, the jewellery and the crowns weighed more than some of the models wearing them. The crinolines grew to such gigantic

proportions that models found them difficult to manoeuvre. The first model out, Karolina Kurkova, couldn’t navigate the exit steps, causing a bottleneck of “Empresses” to stack up, until she was lifted off the catwalk by four burly bouncers. Erin O’Connor, after stumbling three times, came to a complete halt before summoning up the courage to finish, when she was rewarded with a round of applause. There had been a spate of royal weddings that year in Spain, Holland and Denmark and so perhaps that is why Galliano chose a bridal gown for the finale look – which was unusual for him. Or perhaps it was because he knew Melania Knauss was in town (fiancée to Donald Trump, on the hunt for a couture trousseau, specially invited to Paris by Vogue, who were photographing the spree). Galliano’s bride sashayed her way down the catwalk in a vast, crinolined meringue of a gown—sort of “Big Fat Gypsy Wedding” chez Dior!

Alek Wek in Look 25, a Lesage silver embroidered grey-lilac satin suit, redolent of Charles James “Lampshade” silhouette.

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Erin O’Connor in Look 16, blue moire and black lace dress with fur trim and beading by Lefrane. It took 420 hours to complete.

Other A-listers in the front row included Oprah Winfrey, Juliette Binoche, Katie Holmes and the former Mrs Trump, Ivana (tactfully seated at a distance from Melania), who was overheard declaring the show “fantastic”. Galliano’s tactic worked. Melania loved it. When she became the third Mrs. Trump in January 2005, she wore a slightly toned-down version of Galliano’s “Bride”. American Vogue ran a fourteen-page feature on the wedding and placed Melania in all her splendour on the front cover of the February issue. Her dress took 300 metres of the finest Duchesse satin and 500 hours of embroidery, produced at a reputed cost of $100,000 – a small fortune at the time.

Look 29. Bridal gown of ecru Duchesse satin and organza, embroidered by Vermont.

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The Latest Blonde 5 October 2004 Espace Ephémère, Les Tuileries, Paris 67 looks

“Dior’s Reality Show” WWD, 6 October 2004

The show opened to the sound of an engine revving and the screech of tyres – but the clothes that came onto the runway were the opposite of tearaway. This was an extremely commercial, wearable collection. Gone were the extreme ethnic or fetish looks. It was presented in four sections, inspired by Galliano favourites – Riley Keough, Kirsten Dunst, Kate Moss and Gisele Bündchen.

2005 Spring/Summer

dior ready-to-wear

The opening phase palette was mainly ecru and grey, with pretty tufted wool and grey denim city suits and dresses with disappearing lapels, and floral embroidered suits with Dior Insignia weave repeats and matching accessories (logo jacket retailed for $3180 and skirt $535). The vibe was young and fun. Necklaces were formed from heart-shaped padlocks, with faux candy or fruit pendant. Rainbow-coloured bikinis were worn with matching bangles and floor-length, hippy Afghan or flamenco-tiered, saccharine-toned tops and skirts.

Vibrant Argyll knits, some with pom-pom adorned footwear.

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For evening the palette changed to a more dramatic black, silver and wine and included a disco-style sequined trouser suit as well as a plethora of flamenco frilled bias-cut dresses. Models wore 80s-style toques with face veils.

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To the sound of John Lennon and later Madonna’s versions of “Imagine”, a troupe of Biba-babes with frizzed hair and glittery crochet skull caps emerged in Pucci-style prints, frilled trousers – puce, khaki and plum separates. Art Nouveau script metal necklaces and belts spelt out “Dior” in imitation of vintage Biba labels. The retailers were delighted (WWD’s report opened with “Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you”) as Galliano had produced a huge number of pretty, young, casual looks with matching accessories – perfect for summer. Perhaps Galliano was in a subdued mood or perhaps the Dior management had brought him to heel, but although hugely saleable, this collection somehow lacked his usual provocative edge and sparkle. Dior were gratified to see a 59 per cent surge in firsthalf net profits to 157 million euros, with couture sales rising to 274 euros million in the same period. At the show’s end, Galliano stood in silhouette against a white backdrop and emerged dressed like Charlie Chaplin in a bowler hat over a hanky tied in four corners, with a baggy black suit and an umbrella. Demure daywear looks in neutral tones.

Kate Moss/Biba–inspired styling with t-shirts and jackets declaring “Dior for Peace” and “Dior not War”.

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Too Rich Too Walk 9 October 2004 Théâtre de l’Empire, Paris 73 looks

“In Paris . . . come out to play” New York Times, 11 October 2004

The fashion-fable this time round was It Girl and actress Sienna Miller–meets–Woolworth’s heiress Barbara Hutton (one of the richest women alive in the 1950s–60s and the original “poor little rich girl”) who go off to Glastonbury to party together. Jeremy Healy’s soundtracks reflected the timelines with Nirvana (“Come as You Are”) one minute and the Beach Boys (“Good Vibrations”) the next. The whole collection had a summery, feel-good vibe. The accessories were notable. Stephen Jones came up with a series of inflatable plastic hats, redolent of seaside toys, which included an orange lobster, a giant pair of pink lips (later to become a favourite of Anna Piaggi), as well as domes of flower petals, floppy hippy-hats covered in tinfoil and fringed rubber bathing hats that looked like thatch.

Galliano Newsprint dress with sensible boots.

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Stephen Jones’ inflatable “Lips” hat.

t-shirt dresses in grungy brown and grey were mixed up with pretty florals and “Galliano Gazette” prints. Sexy swimwear in chartreuse, yellow, pink and psychedelic patterns were worn with novelty sunglasses and cardigans knitted with bright pink flamingos. Eveningwear included luxe looks – hydrangea-print silk damask tent coat, shimmering pink brocade and gold or bronze lamé bias-cut gowns, worn incongruously with sheepskin hats, by models with natural hair and makeup (for the first time in a long time) trailing animal-shaped funfair balloons.

Big plastic flowers and seashells were formed into bracelets and earrings and used on the bodices of some of the dresses. Evening as well as daywear was worn with clumpy leather ankle boots (good for the Glastonbury mud).

Sixties kaftan and sari gowns with heavily beaded edges were very Mrs. Hutton, whereas the full on psychedelic-groovy sequined flared jeans, jacket and evening sheath were very much Miss Miller.

Haute-grunge combined with 60s sophistication to produce original new looks. Handbags and long denim coats were embroidered with kitsch – shocking pink poodles. Draped and swagged outsized

Galliano took his bows in a shredded white t-shirt and brown trench coat with military arm stripes, knitted hat with cowboy hat on top, grasping a bunch of silver star-shaped balloons.

The final look – an ombré chiffon ball gown – combined the silhouette of a 1950s prom gown in the colours of a Glastonbury sunset.

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Edie Sedgwick Meets Empress Josephine 24 January 2004 Espace Ephémère, Tuileries Gardens, Paris 43 looks

“Bob Dylan once said ‘Andy Warhol is Napoleon in rags,’ and with that quote the journey began.” Galliano in Dior’s press notes

The marquee was transformed into the interior of Warhol’s Factory, with foil-lined walls, silver helium balloons, stacks of TV monitors, beaten-up armchairs and rugs, all bathed in a red light. For the first time since the 1990s, there was no catwalk, with chairs placed along the models’ route, bringing the audience into closer contact with the clothes. An aging chanteuse trilled Marianne Faithfull’s 1964 hit “As Time Goes By”. Sixties “It Girl” Edie Sedgwick (Bob Dylan was her boyfriend) became Warhol’s muse. Attracted by her looks and pedigree, Warhol prophetically cast her in his 1965 movie Poor Little Rich Girl. Sienna Miller (muse for Galliano’s last collection) went on to star in the biopic film Factory Girl. The opening looks were simple enough – black leotards and fishnet tights combined with crocodile and leather bodices and skirts, teamed with flatheeled crocodile “go-go” boots. Models wore big dangly rhinestone earrings and crocodile baker-boy caps. Lesage black and white sequined tops and dresses were reminiscent of Saint Laurent’s S/S 1966 collection. She carries a “Detective” bag.

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Galliano said he “wanted to compare the sixties adolescent silhouette with the Empire line.” Dior press notes

The music changed to a Philip Glass composition played by a string quartet, and the mood and palette altered also. “Red is the most flattering colour to wear by candlelight,” Mr Dior once said, and so the black ceded to pink and bordeaux for double-breasted dresses and pea-coats with Directoire-style belts, large angular “Napoleon” collars

and outsized buckles. The pregnant-belly silhouette was inspired by sixteenth-century Cranach portraits, the fabrics boiled, stretched and embossed to give new texture and lightness. For the final phase, the music changed to a soundtrack of Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” and the dresses to pure white – in satin, tulle and organdie. Chandelier-like droplets were woven into “Pompadour” hairstyles and crystals also sparkled on the clothes. Sofia Coppola (in town to direct her Marie Antoinette movie) sat next to Marianne Faithfull (who appeared in the film as the Queen’s mother) as well as actress Monica Bellucci.

Galliano, with dyed red hair, appeared wearing a Napoleon-style bicorne, greatcoat and “Galliano Gazette”-print pants.

Look 43. The final look was a coat with eighteenth-century–style side panniers, Directoire-style waist and belt with Lesage-embroidered flowers couched with goose feathers in patterns reminiscent of eighteenthcentury Dutch Delft pottery.

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Look 29. Lily Cole in painted and degradé velvet Directoire coat.

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dior ready-to-wear

Off Duty Icons 1 March 2005 Espace Ephémère, Tuileries Gardens, Paris 57 looks

“Forget Ready-to-Wear – this is Ready for Anything” Dior press note

Galliano had designed a collection that a cool young jet setter could throw into a suitcase at a moment’s notice to fly to some exotic location. He had looked at women from past eras and imagined how they would dress today. “Think of Amelia Earhart in her flying gear, Garbo, Edith Piaf . . . imagine them being followed by paparazzi. I wanted modern icons that would make these looks their own.” Ibid.

A pair of pianists, positioned either side of the catwalk, opened with “Downtown” and continued with other 1960s classics. First onto the catwalk were “It Girl” Edie Sedgwick-inspired looks (distillations of the January HC collection), such as striped mohair sweater dresses with intentionally distressed areas, worn with crocodile baker-boy caps and low-heeled knee boots.

Edie Sedgwick looks reprised, this time in mohair.

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Models with painted “Twiggy” eyelashes carried the new, capacious leather “Detective” bags with C and D pendants on the side pockets. Metal D rings and outsized buckles were decorative features on the clothes and used throughout. Orange “Please remove before a flight” swing tags were added to the clothes. Suede and sheepskin were key themes not only in the form of superbly tailored coats and flying jackets (with pouch pockets on the sleeves similar to the handbags) but also in the form of comfortable pinafore dresses, skirts and dungarees. For evening the palette changed to silver, black and rich berry tones. Soft velvet dresses with “Blown Away” pockets and tops were combined with the

hard shine of crocodile. There were finest sable capes and trench coats of mink, much to the annoyance of the anti-fur lobby camped outside. Full-on glamour came in the form of silver-grey sequined silk and lamé dresses with asymmetric necklines or straps held by D rings. Galliano summed up the collection as “A mix of sheepskin and lamé says it all” (ibid.). Each and every piece was desirable and wearable, for the second Dior RTW show in succession, much to the retailers’ delight. Galliano emerged from tinsel-fringed curtains to “Hit the Road, Jack” wearing a silver-grey silk evening suit and matching homburg.

Leather pinafore dress with matching low-heeled Edie Sedgwick boots.

New “Detective” bag.

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Renée 5 March 2005 Studios de France, Saint-Denis, Paris 48 looks Invitation: Annotated film script

Galliano had last used Renée Perle as his muse in his Hairclips collection, A/W 1988–89. Immortalised by her lover, the photographer Jacques-Henri Lartigue, Galliano now cast her as the star of a silent movie. The show invitation came in the form of a film script seemingly with Renée’s pencilled annotations. The studios were transformed into the back-lot of an early film set with photographs of film directors and silhouettes of scene shifters as a backdrop with arc lights above. A “Galliano Studios” director’s chair was drawn up against Renée’s dressing table, the mirror marked with a red lipstick reminder “Meet John at Hemmingway’s Bar 7pm”. Again, there was no raised catwalk, so the audience could be brought close. As in the 1980s show, the models wore 30s-style makeup, their natural eyebrows concealed and thin arches drawn above, with heavily shaded eyes and black lipstick. They wore white angora berets (just as Renée had been photographed) over finger-curled hair. The collection featured masculine Garbo-esque tailoring as well fluid bias-cut dresses. Elongated versions of his “John Wayne” trousers (first introduced in his 2004 menswear line) with curved legs and buttoned hems (resembling shirt cuff finishes) were worn with beautifully tailored double-breasted jackets and high-heeled versions of golfing shoes with fringed tongues. Striped blazer jacket with “John Wayne” denim trousers with negative photographic “eye” print.

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The phases of the collection followed the development of photography, starting with a palette of black and white and sepia, ending with colour. Photographic negative eye motifs were printed onto denim, reminiscent of Westwood’s 1992 “Always on Camera” collection. Pyjama suits and jackets in oyster satin were appliquéd with giant flowers and shirring was used to gather skirt hems or sleeves on opera coats. A chartreuse satin cagoule was embroidered with Chinese dragons and edged in mink. Warhol-esque prints of the eye were printed onto a large pneumatic quilted evening coat as well as brightly coloured large carnation repeats and butterflies onto bias-cut silk and chiffon dresses, some with pretty organdie flowers.

Soft, lingerie-pink evening coat with lamé appliqués and marabou edging.

Galliano’s curtain calls were becoming more stage-managed and elaborate. On this occasion, the lights dimmed before he emerged amid clouds of smoke with sparks cascading from the roof. Flanked by bodyguards (presumably due to the anti-fur lobby), Galliano strutted out in appliquéd pop art–style pinstriped jacket, ripped jeans, large felt hat and fringed suede boots. He stopped halfway down the route, where a jet of air blew the hat off his head, before striking a pose and luxuriating for several minutes in front of a wind machine. He opened his jacket to reveal a t-shirt with Warholesque print of himself in the role of Napoleon in the last HC show. Dita von Teese shivered in the front row wearing only a low-cut pink chiffon cocktail dress surrounded by an audience wrapped up in wool and fur coats.

Galliano posing in the wind machine.

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Monsieur Dior’s 100th Birthday Anniversary 6 July 2005, 2.30 pm Grand Palais, Paris 43 looks

“The New New Look” New York Times, 28 August 2005

Galliano envisaged this collection as a tribute to Monsieur Dior in the 100th anniversary year of his birth and to the loyal directrices, atelier workers and clients who had helped shape Dior’s success. He also touched on the image makers: photographers

such as Cecil Beaton and Lillian Bassman and the illustrations by René Gruau and Christian Bérard who so well understood and disseminated fashions of the 1940s–50s.

Atmospheric mise en scene – with M. Dior as a child, wearing traditional sailor suit, alighting from a carriage with his mama represented by Erin O’Connor.

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There were ten separate phases to the show, which opened with, “The young Christian Dior observes the strict formality of Edwardian dress” (Dior press notes).

The show had a theatrical opening with swirls of mist, a black-draped horse-drawn carriage which halted outside the large gates of Granville, Dior’s childhood home, overgrown with ivy, the catwalk covered in black sand and littered with broken statues and discarded chandeliers.

Stella Tennant in Look 2, “Jaqueline”, another transparent painted, grey degradé tulle creation with scissor-pleated skirt, bonnet with dove, tulle-wrapped pearl sautoir.

Madame Dior (Erin O’Connor) alighted from the carriage in shades of embroidered grey tulle worn over a nude corset with curved and padded derriere forming a bustle. With her broad picture hat, tall pearl choker, long transparent embroidered gloves, she was every inch the Edwardian grande dame. The “Creation” phase (looks 4-7) was composed of dresses seemingly unfinished; part toile, part nude corset, part Stockman mannequin, all of which were assigned names of some of Dior’s favourite models – Lucky, Praline, Victoire. The show notes stated, “Now the work of the ateliers could be revealed through the use of transparent tulle, and the techniques of ‘les petites-mains’, which are usually hidden, are exposed in their splendour!” Ibid.

Look 5, “Praline”, illustrated the skills of draping, cutting and pinning a toile. Models wore bracelets formed from pincushions.

The “Directrice” phase (looks 8-10) paid homage to Mesdames Mizza (his muse), Marguerite (technical genius) and Raymonde (head of the studio), as Galliano imagined fashion through the eyes of illustrator René Gruau. He used Lillian Bassman’s experimental photographs of the 1950s, with their use of shade and blurred lines, as influence for the layers of black tulle over nude corsetry. “It was this technique and spirit that I wanted to capture in the dressmaking process,” he said (New York Times, 10 November 2005). The transparent tulle garments were embroidered in silk and raffia with Dior signatures, such as the leopard spot, polka dot and hound’s tooth check, worn over nude corsets. In celebration of Dior’s 1947 groundbreaking “Corolle” or “New Look” (looks 11-16), the curvaceous ballerina-skirted lines were repeated, this time in black over nude tulle that sometimes exploded into colour. Galliano, on a recent research trip to Peru, had been struck by the surprising similarity of the silhouette of the New Look and traditional Peruvian dress – hence the vibrant palette change.

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Look 21. Eva Herzigová, a Hollywood siren in “Vivien”, hand-painted degradé violet tulle and taffeta gown embroidered by Vermont with trompe l’oeil corset.

Dior had dressed many Hollywood stars, so the next series of gowns (including models Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Eva Herzigová and Shalom Harlow) channelled seductive red-carpet glamour (looks 17-23). After a drum roll, a series of short cocktail dresses emerged entitled “Clients” (looks 24-27). These were of embroidered black and nude mesh and tulle, aimed at the new young Dior buyer. The “Debutantes” gowns (looks 28-32) were inspired by Cecil Beaton’s photographs of twentyone-year-old Princess Margaret wearing Dior. These extravagant pastel-toned layered tulle and pleated petal flounced confections bore similarities to Dior’s 1950 Venus and Junon gowns. Covered in frills, raised embroidery, and appliquéd organza blossoms, they were the quintessence of innocence and romance, although Look 31 bore disturbing skull and bones motifs on the skirts. The “Degas” phase (looks 33-35), a series of brightly coloured elongated tutu-gowns followed, inspired by another Dior client, Margot Fonteyn, whom he imagined entertaining Christian Dior, Jean Cocteau and Christian Bérard with a Peruvian ballet. The “Catherinettes” phase (looks 36-39) included bright yellow and green striped chiffon dresses in tribute to the annual celebration of St. Catherine, the patron saint of seamstresses and spinsters, when the atelier staff traditionally dressed up as bees or wore green and yellow hats.

Look 12. “Pandora” black tulle “New Look” dress with grey chenille Peruvian flower embroidery worn with trompe l’oeil nude corset.

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Look 31. Nataliya Gotsii in lilac tulle Debutante ball gown “Cecile” with 3D skull and cross-bones.

The lights dimmed, bells tolled, there were claps of thunder and lightning as the carriage and horses drew up to the gates and disgorged the designer himself. He took his bows in pinstriped waistcoat, satin trousers printed with “Galliano Gazette” and Stetson, with long bleached-blonde hair.

As if all of this wasn’t enough, the final “Masked Ball” phase (looks 40-43) presented gowns in pure white, glittering with embroidery, with elements inspired by religious iconography, the gilded interiors of churches and the colonial paintings of the Cusquenian School where angels appeared with wings and rifles. Alek Wek, dressed all in black, appeared like a Queen of the Night, whilst Lily Cole, with crimped hair, dressed as an angel in lacetrimmed organza, complete with spangled wings and gilded crown, which issued a halo of twinkling stars. Lily Cole resplendent in Look 42, “Vierge”, a white satin gown with Lesage embroidery and handpainted bodice by Catherine Jahan.

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2006 Spring/Summer

dior ready-to-wear

Nude 4 October 2005 Grand Palais, Paris 34 looks

“Let’s Get Naked” WWD, 6 October 2005

The new show venue was the magnificent but austere glass and metal “Grand Palais”, built for the Universal Exposition of 1900 and recently reopened after expensive and lengthy restoration. With vaulted roof, unadorned except for the huge mirrored backdrop bearing the Dior brand name, 1000 guests squeezed into banks of seating either side of the white painted floor. The show’s harsh soundtrack of smashing glass and loud drumbeats contrasted with the soft, drifty feminine clothes.

Galliano took the layering, transparency and nude themes from his A/W couture show and expanded them here. The chic brown cardboard programme listed the phases – “Dior nude black, Dior nude lace, Dior nude print, Dior nude layering, Dior nude degradé”. For the latter part of the show, the nude chiffons were combined with more substantial fabrics – “Dior washed denim, Dior washed leathers”. There were simple nude cocktail dresses, slip-style or with cowl necks and contrasting ripped mesh and lace contrasts. Faux trouser lines, pockets and corsets were outlined in tape and beads on dresses and jackets. Seam lines were on display in contrasting white banding as were pocket flaps – similar to his Galliano Honcho Woman of the 1990s – and Dior labels with “1947” seemingly inked in red were worn on the outside.

Inside-out jacket with Dior 1947 faux bolduc label.

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Degradé magenta, pink and orange were introduced to skirt hems as well as complex Chinese-lantern effect and swirling rose effect pleats (a degradé chiffon dress retailed for $3800). To spaghetti western–style music, a small number of day looks were introduced of wine green and brown leather in the form of waistcoats, jackets, trench coats and flared

trousers. A new softer, slouchy Gaucho bag was also introduced in leather and washed denim. Galliano took his bows in bandana, black t-shirt cut with a V neck, waistcoat, pants and bovver-boots, accompanied by a pair of bodyguards. Lucy Liu, Rachel Weisz and Sharon Stone were in the front row.

Catwalk filled with nude-palette looks.

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galliano ready-to-wear

Everybody’s Beautiful 8 October 2005 Studios de France, Saint-Denis, Paris 35 female looks

“Real people to wear real clothes” Camilla Morton, Vogue online report, 8 October 2005

Michael Howells’ rendition of a 1920s black and white art deco–style theatre included a concert piano, potted palms and a stuffed polar bear. Unlike the slick productions people had come to expect, here technicians in white boiler suits were visible and made intentionally clunky scene changes as the show progressed. As a further clue that everything was not the norm, the lyrics of “Everybody’s Beautiful in Their Own Way” by Ray Stevens had been placed on all the seats.

Lily Cole in bias-cut chiffon and elderly gentleman in Chinese-style robe embroidered with “Don’t Cry For Me Fashionistas”.

Unlike the usual array of tall, stick-thin, expressionless models who usually inhabited the catwalks, real people began to appear in literally all shapes and sizes. The first out was soignée, middle-aged actress, Marianne Chicero Borgo, in a tailored jacket overlaid with black tulle, accompanied by a sleazy-looking man in open shirt and trousers wearing a rosary as a necklace. In this show, you got two for the price of one, as the Galliano S/S 2006 menswear collection was shown alongside the womenswear – size of garments permitting. Young, old, black, white, Asian, Oriental, gay, straight, handsome, ugly, giant, dwarf, swarthy gigolos, elegant young men about town, grey-haired Sugar Daddies, flamenco beauties were all mixed in unlikely couplings on the runway.

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Plus-size models in twinkling clouds of tulle showed real attitude as they strutted their stuff.

Bearded twins in transparent bias-cut women’s dresses.

Sets of twins appeared, including performance artists Monette and Mady Malroux in brocaded coats (one covered in bows). Pretty red-haired girls in gold toned and sequined flapper-style dresses looked like entrants to a child beauty pageant.

Most, though not all, of the audience enjoyed the performance and it certainly opened up the debate of inclusiveness on the runway that had been raging for some years – at least in terms of size and race.

Model of the moment Gemma Ward in a fuchsia tulle gown carried a puppet of herself in the identical dress, accompanied by a diminutive old gentleman in “Galliano Gazette” print romper suit. A Galliano puppet came out to take the customary bows, but the audience refused to leave until the man himself appeared in person to huge applause.

However, the spectacle had been the main focus of the show and the clothes somewhat secondary. If you looked closely, there were great embroidered denim and jeans ensembles, sharp tailoring, embroidered oriental evening coats with “Don’t Cry For Me Fashionistas” mottos and a clutch of pretty bias-cut chiffon gowns retailers had come to expect.

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Gemma Ward with a puppet of herself.

A diminutive bride and groom couple closed the show to “Everybody’s Free to Feel Good” by Quindon Tarner.

Galliano and his puppet take bows.

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The Passion 23 January 2006, 2.30 pm Polo de Paris, Paris 30 looks

“RED IS THE NEW LIBERTINE PLATINUM IS THE NEW MARIE-ANTOINETTE LEATHER IS THE NEW LUXURY VEILING IS THE NEW SEDUCTION DIOR IS THE NEW EROTICA” Dior press release

The catwalk was bathed in sinister red light and over the sound system a woman intoned verses from “The Beast”, Book of Revelations 13.1. The models, all of them with peroxide-white hair, powdered white faces with grey shadow ringing the eyes, looked like the products of a post-apocalyptic, dystopian new world, many branded in black on their necks with the date of the onset of the French revolution, “1789”. During October and November 2005, France had suffered some of the worst riots since 1968. It seemed the taste for revolution had never been lost for Paris or for Galliano, who had first used it as the theme for his student collection of 1984. On a research trip to the South of France the previous summer, he had stopped off at the Villa Noailles,

Distorted, deconstructed corsets formed bodices with tight lacing, which was also used down the front of the trousers. Look 14, painted ecru leather, taffeta, chiffon and tulle dress.

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one of the first modernist buildings, commissioned by patroness of the arts and surrealist muse Marie-Laure de Noailles and her husband Charles. She was a direct descendent of the Marquis de Sade, writer and revolutionary best known for his libertine approach to sexuality. In Lyon, Galliano visited the “Scandale” lingerie factory, which had produced Dior’s corsetry in the 1950s. In Arles, he met with the artist Lucien Clergue, a friend of Picasso, who used the passion of the bullfight as a key theme. Red, the key colour for this collection, Galliano said, signified not only passion, but was the

Look 30. White tulle, lace and crin pannier gown, embroidered by Lanel with vignettes of a Galliano/ Napoleon crowning himself.

favourite colour of Monsieur Dior. These various threads – corsetry, eroticism, passion, bloodshed and revolution – were interwoven to produce this unsettling show. Portraits of the executed Queen, Marie Antoinette, were printed and embroidered onto skirts and capes as were vignettes of his hero, Emperor Napoleon I. The words “Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité”, the clarion call of the French Revolution, were embroidered onto cuffs and painted onto leather coats with slashed collars and cutwork hems with skeletal motifs.

Blood-red silk pannier gown embroidered by Safrane, worn with brown leather Cavalier boots and a large crucifix, was inspired by one of the last portraits of the Queen and her children, painted by Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun at Versailles in 1787.

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A procession of dystopian figures with beautifully embroidered and painted bloodstain effects.

Large painted wooden crucifixes and pearl chokers with garnet bead droplets were painted to resemble blood. Chiffon veils obscured some of the faces and were threaded down the back of the gowns by means of large gimlets. Beautifully embroidered and beaded blood spatters created by Hurel, Cecile Henri and Safrane were worked to great effect over pure white organdie skirts and tight white crocodile trouser hems, which gave the effect of the models having just walked through a massacre. It was hard to imagine an occasion where any of these dresses might be worn, as gore-covered gowns were not the usual province of the red-carpet crowd. Suzy Menkes in the International Herald Tribune described it “Carnage couture”, but it was wonderful theatre. The French press in particular was hostile, describing the controversial content as blasphemous.

At the show’s end, the lights dimmed, wailing flamenco music played, and the slashed-black leather clad Galliano appeared, brandishing an épée, his hair straggled and greasy.

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2006–07 Autumn/Winter

dior ready-to-wear

Gothic Chic 28 February 2006 Grand Palais, Paris 50 looks

“The Christian Dior woman has turned into a goth-metal rock chick” Sarah Mower, Vogue online report, 28 February 2006

This sombre collection combined different fabrics and fabric treatments and prints in a palette that began with black and white, which segued into grey and ultimately rich prune and bordeaux shades for evening. He used degradé/shaded effects so that one fabric almost merged into the next. The show programme listed “Bouclé to Chiffon, Wool to Organza, Lurex to Taffeta, Lamé to Silk”. In a red Perspex box inside the cavernous Grand Palais, the severe-looking models marched out to “My Sharona” and 80s anthems by Bryan Adams and Pat Benatar, taut bandanas tied around their black or peroxide-white ironed flat hair. Swinging the new Gaucho bag, they marched out in kneehigh Cavalier boots with blunt-edged toes, taken from the spring couture show. Sunglasses featured large, either completely black or with new rhinestone-covered lenses which must have been difficult to see through but looked fabulous.

Sunglasses—a key accessory along with Gaucho bags and belts with outsized buckles and giant crucifix necklaces.

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These were not girls to be messed with – tough fashions for tough girls. Outsized filigree metal buckles with small pendant crosses were a key feature (also taken from the Spring HC collection) and radiating trapunto pleats were used as subtle details on cuffs and jacket tails. The degradé effect was achieved by placing a black boucle jacket above a floaty chiffon skirt embroidered with points of boucle wool as if the two different fabrics had merged. Wax was used

as an unusual finish on denim, organza and taffeta, and rubber backed linen for skirts. Black lacquer and rubber were also used for print effects. Leather and sheepskn featured large, in short fitted jackets to full-length white sheepskin patchwork examples. The finale looks included full-length bias-cut gowns in chiffon and devoré velvet, or with waxed taffeta gypsy skirts in shades of prune and bordeaux. It was another highly commercial collection with many separates that could work for both day and night. Galliano took his bows all in black with a bandana tied over his straight blonde hair to match his models, silver crucifix, accompanied this time by four bodyguards.

A denim version of the new Gaucho bag.

Printed prune felt and leather jacket edged in Mongolian lamb, worn with lacquer-printed prune silk dress.

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Gothic Americana 4 March 2006 Stade de France, Paris 53 looks

“Prairie girls making this once more the land of the free” Camilla Morton, Vogue online report, 4 March 2006

Much to the annoyance of the journalists, the show took place in the far-flung Stade de France on a rain-drenched evening, where he had staged his first Givenchy couture collection. The set was relatively simple – a mirrored catwalk divided along its length by a tall fret-worked cardboard candelabrum. Healy’s soundtrack began with the sound of howling wind, followed by Joan Baez and others singing mournful country and western classics such as “The Winter of 65” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”. Galliano’s femmes fatales this time round were the frontierwomen and camp followers at the time of the American Civil War who accompanied their soldier-sweethearts to the battlegrounds. Orlando Pita and his team crimped and braided the models’ hair, which was worn under confederate caps or large beaten-up felts made from bolts of antique felt by Stephen Jones and scattered with charcoal dust for an air of authenticity. Pat McGrath described the make-up as “American Wild-West mixed with Gothic” – pale faces with rose-tinted cheeks, white lashes and pale lips with a hint of gloss. The new outsized, heavy brown leather boots and shoes looked scuffed and dirt-kicked as if after a long march. As in the Dior show earlier in the week, the palette was muted but this time in earthwashed tones, brown, indigo and grey, using waxed

Confederate cap by Stephen Jones worn with printed chiffon prairie dress.

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Star-spangled Galliano print top in new cursive script.

Carpet-bag Navaho print needlecord coat.

and bleached denims, leather and sheepskin. Broad navy pinstripes combined with blue tartan, paisley print, bank note print prairie-chiffons and carpetbag patterned needlecord. The fabrics had been reworked to give them a tired, lived-in look, as Galliano said he wanted to imbue these new clothes with “soul” as if they already had a previous history. Long, loose officer coats and tight short jackets were redolent of Civil War uniforms. The “Old Glory” stars and stripes flag was inset into tight jeans, printed onto chiffon bodices and inset in patchwork onto coats and jacket fronts. “Galliano” in a new cursive script was appliquéd onto denim and painted onto long white dresses. Galliano mixed the soft fluid bias-cut and dropped-waist dresses with the stiff structured

leather coats to achieve his desired nostalgic Americana Gothic effect. Despite his frontierwomen, Galliano wasn’t breaking any new boundaries himself. The clothes were easy to wear, casual and comfortable, but WWD said it lacked “high voltage glamour” and that Galliano aficionados didn’t expect him to dress them as “country bumpkins” (6 March 2006). Meanwhile, the McQueen show, with a holographic image of Kate Moss twirling in layers of chiffon as the finale, created a groundbreaking sensation. Galliano took his bows in confederate cap, US flag t-shirt, dust-covered grey jeans and boots, and long white patchwork shearling coat (similar to those in the Dior show earlier in the week).

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Planet Botticelli 5 July 2006, 2.30 pm Polo de Paris, Paris 39 looks

“Armed and Dangerous” WWD, 6 July 2006

The show was set in an imaginary garden replete with topiary and box hedges clipped into CD roundels, with a catwalk formed from terracotta bricks. The backdrop of a sky at night changed from sunset red to a spinning astrological wheel and twinkling stars as the show progressed. Galliano interwove disparate themes, including the classic 1942 Marcel Carné film Les Visiteurs du Soir (starring actress Arletty, set in fifteenth-century France, where Satan sends emissaries to bring despair to mankind), Renaissance paintings, Salvador Dali, Joan of Arc, Hollywood glamour, punk rock, Blade Runner and Britannia-style warriors. The collection was presented in seven sections, opening with “Joan of Arc”. Embroidered hourglass-shaped evening gowns in black, gold, copper and pastel tones were smothered in embroidery or sequins with integral single armour sleeves. Stephen Jones’ headdresses were made of draped beads or glass droplets, one with a crown of seahorses. The following Edwardian/punk phase mixed black and red patent, silver foil and eel skin. The giant cartridge-pleated skirts bore handprints and antique numeral decorations, bodices with puffy Belle Époque sleeves, adorned with red parachute bondage straps. The models’ faces were ghostly white with black-circled eyes and fantastical black headdresses.

Look 2. Gold dress embroidered by Vernoux with patinated brass armour by Carel.

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Look 10. Red patent leather coat with bondage straps, painted with designs taken from an antiquarian book (punk phase).

Look 17. Coat of Dormeuil wool crêpe embroidered by Vermont with ivory georgette skirt (Salvador Dali phase).

The “Salvador Dali” phase included brightly coloured wool crêpe and georgette cocktail suits, with lavishly embroidered bar-shaped jackets over pencil skirts and hats formed from lobster claws and fishes.

Blade Runner looks followed, the models with short peroxide hair and black racoon eye makeup. Tight leggings were worn with jackets and smocks of red, black and copper lamé edged in fur or feathers, one with an embroidered serpent.

The “Jousting” section included empire-line crin framed gowns with red and yellow striped satin bodices and billowing, concertina curl-pleats, worn with medieval-style crossed-sword and trumpet herald headdresses, like something out of Alice in Wonderland.

Forties-style, pastel-coloured evening gowns represented Hollywood glamour, but these too included sequined “armour” sleeves and hip pleats down one side. For the finale, a group of over-the-top embroidered foil ball gowns with bubbling trained skirts and degradé colour changes were worn with gladiator helmets.

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Galliano summed up the collection as “the dream of Dior Haute Couture on Planet Botticelli”. Dior press notes

As if to emphasize his total disconnection with planet earth, he appeared at the end in a space suit, borrowed from astronaut Claudie Haigneré, who had worn it on the Mir space station in 1996. It took four men to get him into it. Galliano, with his blonde teddy-boy quiff, struggled to walk in it with its weighted feet, and he made a hastier-than-normal exit. The collection seemed to lack cohesion, but perhaps after the recent highly commercial ready-to-wear lines, it was time for him to produce something extreme and unwearable, to get the creative juices flowing. Cher, Drew Barrymore and Liv Tyler were in the front row. When Ms. Tyler was asked by a reporter which pieces from the show she would wear, she replied, “There were some shoes I really want.” Aluminium-effect painted and Vermont embroidered ball gown, worn by Stella Tennant, ends the show.

Galliano looking out of this world.

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Back to Basics 3 October 2006, 7.00 pm Le Grand Palais, Paris 50 looks

“Dior strikes a low-key note” Irish Times, 5 October 2006

2007 Spring/Summer

dior ready-to-wear

It had been almost ten years since Galliano’s inaugural S/S 1997 Maasai collection for Dior, when he began to reinvigorate the venerable house. This restrained RTW collection referenced the traditional Dior-grey, from the colour of the invitation, to the show’s set, to the clothes themselves. As if to emphasize the point, Christina Aguilera belted out, “Going back to basics, it’s where it all began” on the soundtrack. Whilst flights of fancy were all well and good for the couture collection, Sidney Toledano commented that ready-to-wear needed to sell, and Galliano needed to design real clothes for real women. Discreet, refined city suits and dresses in shades of grey, white and khaki had nice design details – pretty self-coloured guipure lace overlays on bodices and hems to give texture.

Suit with lace appliqués, pleats and chainmail inserts at the cuffs.

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Distillations of the “Joan of Arc” looks in the fall HC collection also appeared, chain bands inset into handbags, leather cuffs and hems, carefully slashed details in the crook of the sleeve, curved pleated panels which echoed armour on shoulders and hips. Orlando Pita had created “Joan of Arc” looks with chain braids running down the centre-partings. For evening there were pretty draped jersey and satin cocktail gowns, some with organza panels appliquéd with silk leaves and flowers, others patterned with overlays of silver chains. Full-length “goddess” gowns followed in muted neutral tones. The only subversive elements were the sharp-toed shoes with inverted or spiked heels. Although it lacked the “wow” factor, the retailers loved it. Galliano took his bows in the smart, classic double-breasted suit and fedora he had first worn for the Maasai collection in January 1997 in celebration of his ten-year tenure and delightedly told a journalist after the show that “still it fits”.

Chain-mail adorned satin dress worn with armour-inspired heels.

Ten years on—Galliano in the same Dior suit he wore for the Maasai collection, accompanied by Mr and Mrs Arnault.

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galliano ready-to-wear

The Work of Fabergé, As Seen Through the Eyes of Jeff Koons and Roy Lichtenstein 7 October 2006 Carreau du Temple, Paris 51 looks

Galliano had chosen a new venue – a nineteenthcentury indoor vegetable market with slatted shutters as a backdrop and rows of metal-canopied lights illuminating the runway. Anyone expecting fireworks after the restrained Dior Back to Basics collection earlier in the week was going to be disappointed. Galliano had tried to reimagine luxurious Fabergé enamels as seen through the eyes of contemporary artist Jeff Koons and pop artist Roy Lichtenstein. The show opened with nicely tailored white suits, dresses and coats with hook-and-eye closures, some with triple-layered pockets at the hips, worn with white crochet platform shoes with ankle ties. Outsized poppies (Koons) and outsized spots (Lichtenstein) were printed or sequined onto the dresses, made into corsages or applied onto Edwardian-style skeletal wire-framed hats by Stephen Jones.

Agyness Deyn with painted black eyebrows, in white cotton twill suit with giant press stud closures and crochet raffia platforms.

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Slinky goddess-style dresses in pastel satin and chiffon had asymmetric necklines, some with single twisted satin shoulder straps (à la Vionnet). Twotone cocktail dresses continued the drapery and sequined details, some with metallic skirts painted with bouquets of Edwardian roses (inspired by Fabergé). The finale looks included 40s-inspired gowns with sequined motifs running down one side.

WWD, who usually applauded daywear and luxurious cocktail eveningwear, gave it a thumbs down, describing his daywear as “mundane”, the evening gowns “garish”, with embroideries that “looked like metallic stickers from the corner Hallmark store”. Galliano took his bows in black leather flat cap, black shirt with lace inserts, jeans and leather gun holster across his chest, but no bodyguards, for a change.

Giant, wired chiffon corsages were added to most of the cocktail gowns.

Model with black and gold painted paper outsized cupid’s bow lips in Stephen Jones’ skeletal Edwardian hat.

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dior haute couture

Madame Butterfly 22 January 2007, 2.30pm Polo de Paris, Paris 45 looks

“This was Galliano at his finest and after a decade it seems that no one can tell a story like him” Camilla Morton, Vogue online report, 22 January 2007

It had been sixty years since Monsieur Dior created his “New Look” and ten years since Galliano’s triumphant Maasai collection debut. This was an important anniversary for the house and for the designer. He had recently made a research trip to Japan where he explored the countryside and more traditional aspects of Japanese culture: its textiles, geishas and teahouses. He took Puccini’s tragic opera Madame Butterfly as the catalyst for this collection, which tells the story of American Lieutenant Pinkerton, who abandons Cio-Cio-San – his “Butterfly”. The show opened with Malcolm McLaren’s rendition of the opera, the album cover for which Galliano and Harlech had first worked on together back in 1984. Michael Howells designed a complicated Dior-grey/ Alice in Wonderland–inspired set with a mirrored revolving platform, a quadrangle of posing platforms adorned with giant Dior chairs and white boughs of blossom, linked by treacherous stairs which security guards needed to help the models navigate in their towering geta sandals.

Look 13. “Koji-San” straweffect silk evening gown with Lanel embroidered carp.

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With this “East Meets West” collection, Galliano combined elements of Japanese origami, kosodes and Samurai armour with Dior’s “New Look”. The opening looks were inspired by the Japanese countryside and nature – cocktail suits and dresses in shades of wisteria and cherry-blossom, with stiffened “Bar” jacket basques, origami pleats and basket-weave chiffon.

There were a few black cocktail ensembles with angular lines, one entirely covered in feathers, which combined origami pleats with traditional Samurai armour, others with stripes of elongated bugle beads or crocodile. However, overall the colour palette was ravishing – sugary pinks, mauves, sea-foam greens with contrasting lime and tangerine.

Ecru straw-textured silk dresses were embroidered with leaping carp and a white linen tent-coat with pin-tucked bodice and collar was painted with Hokusai’s wave over the skirt with white sequins picking out the sea foam. The cartridge-pleated collar echoed his banana wool “Poiret” coat of A/W 1989–90, inspired by a vintage magazine photograph which was pasted into his research scrap book (see page 66).

Stephen Jones had surpassed himself with headdresses, including three open fans, chunks of bamboo, branches of fir, giant hair combs, hats made from parasols or coolie-style basket weave, but in early 50s Dior shapes.

Look 1. “Konnichi Kate”, embroidered pink silk gazar suit with origami pleats.

Look 8. “Cee-Shi-San”, evening coat based on a traditional kimono shape and a sheath of acid-green Taroni silk embroidered by J. P. Ollier.

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Look 17. “Suzurka-San”, white linen coat embroidered by Safrane and hand-painted by Anne Gelbard with Hokusai’s “Wave”.

Degradé (where one colour segues into another) commonly used for kimonos was a key feature here. The “Clam” dress from Blanche DuBois was reprised as a ball gown in shades of yellow to turquoise and worn by Debra Shaw with a small toque with pink silk peony. He chose Shalom Harlow (who had modelled for him since the 1990s) as his finale “bride” resplendent in an embroidered and beaded white silk origami gown with billowing tulle trained skirt, her black geisha hair inset with trembling pendant rhinestone pins.

In terms of sheer beauty, creative genius, workmanship and spectacle – this would go down in the annals of Paris haute couture as one of the best, most romantic collections ever, and one surely Monsieur Dior himself would have approved on this anniversary of the house. Galliano said, “Women 60 years ago wanted to look feminine, romantic, strong, yet seductive. What really has changed?” US Vogue, April 2007

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Shalom Harlow in “CiaCi-San” bridal gown of embroidered white gazar and tulle with trembling “geisha” headdress.

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Cascades of paper butterflies showered down as Galliano, with blonde curled hair, appeared dressed as Lieutenant Pinkerton.

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2007–08 Autumn/Winter

dior ready-to-wear

(Return to Luxury) 27 February 2007, 2.30 pm Espace Ephémère, Tuileries, Paris 58 looks

This label is used as an alternative to the usual Dior boutique labels.

“Galliano color brings house down.” Irish Times, 28 February 2007

Unlike the previous season’s RTW collection (packed with bland grey suits), this was full-on glorious glamour. Michael Howells created a pair of sweeping staircases with banks of white roses on either side and the silhouette of a chandelier projected onto the backdrop. The collection had a distinctly Joan Crawford/Lauren Bacall 1940s Hollywood vibe, with sequined shoulders, sleeves and hips redolent of Hollywood designer Gilbert Adrian. There were lashings of fur – in particular, fox – which was used for striking sleeves and skirt hems or in combination with Breit­schwantz for suits and coats. Models channelled Joan Crawford looks with heavily painted eyebrows or softer, natural visages with gently curled hair à la Bacall. Daywear came in the form of dove-grey suede suits with fine pin-tucks and superbly cut grey tweed and wool dresses with thin belts, draped derrieres and trains. Matching accessories included “Samurai” handbags and platform shoes.

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Luxury, glamour and vibrant colour epitomize this collection. “A return to luxury, quality, considered design. A return to glamour—matching shoes and handbags, which we haven’t seen really since the 1940s.” Post-show interview transcript, Dior archives

Ostrich and leather jackets had scarf ties formed into pussycat bows. Some of the origami pleats from the HC show were used as clever pocket or closure details, and one white crêpe evening gown was finished with pleated points.

Other distillations from the HC show included “Clam” ball gowns and cocktail skirts and the rich colour palette, which ranged from dove-grey and pale pink through to rich fuchsia, deep purple, inkblue and green in myriad shades – emerald through to chartreuse, all with matching shoes and bags. Nick Knight shot a striking series of single-colour adverts to coincide. One sensational gown followed another in jewel tones, perfect for red carpets everywhere. It looked more like couture than ready-to-wear.

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Origami pleats adorn a white organza evening gown.

The collection was universally acclaimed by audience, buyers and press. “There’s no-one like him.” Bernard Arnault in New York Times, 28 February 2007

WWD stated, “Dior is basking in a radiance it hasn’t seen perhaps since the glory days of Dior himself.” WWD, 28 February 2007

Galliano took his bows dressed demurely (for him) all in black with pencil moustache and beret. After the show, considering his time at Dior, he stated, “Well, I hope they are just looking forward to the next 10 years because for me it’s just the beginning . . . First of all I never thought I’d get to Dior, I still pinch myself when I am interviewed and I’ve been there 10 years, which is the same amount of time as Mr. Dior.” WWD, 27 February 2007

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galliano ready-to-wear

The Family That Eats Together, Stays Together 3 March 2007 Indoor market, Carreau du Temple, Paris 44 looks

Gillray inspired Pop-up invitation.

“It was an opulent spectacle but nothing could upstage the clothes” WWD, 5 March 2007

It was just like the Galliano good old days. An interesting invitation was sent out printed with a caricature of a grotesque Regency family at the dining table, and the indoor market at the Marais had been transformed into a mise-en-scene by Michael Howells. There were the trappings of an English country house, ready for a weekend party. Props included a stuffed stag ridden by an old teddy bear, a British flag draped down one wall, a lit candelabrum, antique furniture, a chicken coop and hay bales. Actors included an aged Mary Poppins and a busty squire’s daughter, whilst a sailor and a country lad in flat-cap lounged in a bed to ogle the models as they walked past. However, these weekend guests were far from aristocratic – they sprang from the lens of Brassaï and

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the Montmartre bordellos of the 1920s–30s. Galliano was particularly caught by the portrait of “La Môme Bijou” or “Miss Diamonds”, whom the photographer described in his diaries: “Behind her glittering eyes, still seductive, lit with the lights of the Belle Époque, as if they had escaped the onslaughts of age, the ghost of a pretty girl seemed to smile out. Had Miss Diamonds really been a demimondaine . . . or had she walked the streets from the Moulin Rouge to the Place Pigalle?” Brassaï, The Secret Paris of the 30s, 1976

The show opened with a black and white 1920s-style silent film projected onto an old sheet showing Galliano in his atelier inspecting fabrics and adjusting toiles on models.

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The opening looks were mainly in burgundy and black, with a coat made from spiralling wool panels, another entirely covered in frills. Velvet devoré, jet beading, 1890s leg o’mutton sleeves and bias-cut florals were worn by Kiki de Montparnasse lookalikes in red and black wigs by Julien d’Ys. One clutched a 1920s boudoir doll, others swung evening bags based on vintage originals. The dress silhouettes ranged from barrel shapes c.1917, followed by 20s-inspired flappers

Tiered pleats and frills in a variety of fabrics were a feature of this collection.

and 30s bias-cuts in nude chiffon, black satin and wine velvet adorned with yet more frills. These were followed by tailored black riding-habit looks and transparent tulle and chiffon evening gowns. The models had waxed hair and run-mascara as if they had been drenched with water. Galliano took his bows in yellow silk dressing gown, striped pyjama bottoms, waistcoat with medals, a flat cap over a hairnet and green Hunter wellingtons!

Lily Cole in beaded Edwardian-inspired flounced coat.

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The Death of Steven Robinson This was the last collection Steven Robinson (1969–2007) worked upon before his untimely death, aged just 38. Galliano’s friend, confidante and right-hand man had been found dead in his flat on 1 April 2006. Robinson had joined Galliano as student intern in 1988 and basically never left. He had shared the rollercoaster of Galliano’s career, from the penniless early days sleeping on friends’ floors to the glittering couture world of Christian Dior. Whatever Galliano’s magpie imagination envisaged, Robinson had made it happen. Fiercely loyal, he protected Galliano from everyday mundane studio matters so the designer could focus

on the creative process. Hugely talented, Robinson lived to work and was involved at every stage in the design process from first sketch to shooing-out the models onto the catwalk on show day. In contrast to the lavish fashion world he inhabited, Robinson lived a simple life, usually wearing a plain polo shirt and jeans. Shy and reserved, he hated to be photographed and shunned the limelight. He would be sorely missed by friends and family but especially by Galliano, who described him as “my rock, my dearest friend” (Daily Telegraph Obituaries, 11 April 2007), whom he had come to rely upon.

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dior haute couture

Le Bal des Artistes 2 July 2007, 8.00 pm l’Orangerie, Chateau de Versailles 45 looks

Dior invitation.

“We explored Mr. Dior’s first collection, not of fashion, but of his favourite artists. Using the spirit of the Neo-Romantic artists his gallery represented we have created the ultimate Le Bal des Artistes as a tribute to the memory of Steven Robinson.” Dior press notes

The last time Dior had shown at Versailles was in July 1999, when Galliano had shocked and outraged the more traditional clients with his audacious, futuristic, new millennial Matrix collection. However, in this sixtieth anniversary year of the house and his own tenth anniversary as Creative Director, he provided one lavishly romantic crowd-pleasing look after another. The creations demonstrated not only his own design talents, but the technical brilliance of the atelier staff and highly skilled specialist embroiderers and dyers. As his main inspiration, Galliano chose great visual artists – fashion illustrators, photographers, and artists – ranging from Old Masters to Picasso and Cocteau. “New Look” silhouettes abounded in honour of Mr. Dior, as well as historicist looks which he had utilised since student days. There was a strong Spanish element in recognition of his own heritage triggered by a trip to Seville, where he had met the

famous toreador, Miguel Abellan, who had taken him into the inner sanctum and prayed with him privately before the bullfight. “I went to Sevilla, it was after the Semana Santa, after we lost Steven, and I hung out with the gitans and the toreros, and they reminded me of what a celebration death can be. What a fine line there is between life and death, and to celebrate it.” Dior archive transcript of a post-show interview

No expense had been spared. Michael Howells filled the cavernous space with a 130-metre-long raised, mirrored catwalk, supported by a pair of prancing white plaster horses emerging from banks of white roses. Other en-situ antique statues had been given white Cocteau-esque masks and these proved useful as props to pose and lean against, especially as the new 16 cm high disappearing wedge shoes were particularly difficult to walk in.

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Shalom Harlow in Look 45, “Michelangelo”, a degradé green Duchesse satin gown embroidered by Vermont.

Look 7. “Bérard” gown of triple organza, hand painted by Genevieve Cott and embroidered by Muller.

Gisele Bündchen backstage said,

dancers and Jeremy Healy in DJ mode. The invitation advised a dress code of “elegance extreme”.

“Pray for me, you’ll know why when you see my shoes.” WWD, 3 July 2007

The music was a fusion of flamenco with a string-orchestra and a gospel choir. For the show, 1200 guests filled the hall, later joined by 1500 additional guests for the “Bal des Artistes” party set in the Versailles gardens. Dining tents were decorated in Hispanic-Moorish style and entertainment was provided by the finest flamenco musicians,

For Galliano this must have been a bittersweet moment, his first collection without the collaboration of Steven Robinson. The day before, Galliano said of him, “He was a friend, family, there’s a very big hole. But I have a guiding star up there. I’m feeling him.” WWD, 3 July 2007

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Gisele Bündchen in the opening look, “Irving Penn”: embroidered black wool evening suit with lily of the valley brooch and treacherous suede wedge shoes.

Gisele Bündchen, in the opening look inspired by an Irving Penn photograph, wore a sparkling black “Bar” jacket, pencil skirt and lily of the valley brooch. Galliano thus continued Mr. Dior’s tradition of placing a sprig of lily of the valley for luck on the first look of the collection. She was followed by garments in black and white, like sketches dashed off by Cocteau’s pencil or photographs by Penn. Colour was introduced gradually – the first intimation: a strapless cocktail dress, inspired by Gruau, one hip caught in a rose-shaped swirl, hand painted

Look 6. Gruau-inspired white silk dress hand painted by Anne Gelbard, embroidered by Muller. The artist’s palette hat by Stephen Jones with sequined “oil paint”.

in pink, accessorised by a hat in the form of an artist’s palette with sequined “paint”. Ball gowns followed in colours redolent of pigments used by the Old Masters and their followers – magenta, ultramarine, cadmium yellow, malachite, cobalt blue and raw sienna. Cathy Horyn summed up the luxurious offering: “At Versailles Let Them Wear Cake” New York Times, 5 July 2007

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The show, which featured some of the current leading young models, also became something of a supermodel reunion: Stella Tennant, a Galliano stalwart since the 1990s, in a striking scarlet satin and black ball gown with mantilla, inspired by El Greco; Helena Christensen in black dinner dress inspired by Horst; Naomi Campbell, in a mauve blossom-covered silk column inspired by pre-Raphaelite artist Alma-Tadema; Linda Evangelista with newly dyed red hair in magenta satin with purple raised-work flowers, inspired by Caravaggio; Shalom Harlow in green satin ball gown with mother of pearl sequins and embroidery, inspired

by Michelangelo; Amber Valetta in a pale blue taffeta bustle gown, inspired by Renoir; Karen Mulder in a sequined black sheath, under voluminous black embroidered ivory faille evening coat inspired by Beardsley; and Lily Cole in a purple satin ball gown inspired by Tiepolo. Galliano appeared in a skin-tight toreador’s “Suit of Lights” and took an extremely long curtain call, prowling the catwalk to resounding applause, greeting his model friends. But he was more sombre than usual.

Galliano surrounded by supermodels wearing creations “Caravaggio”, “Alma-Tadema”, “Irving Penn” and “Renoir”.

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2008 Spring/Summer

dior ready-to-wear

Gangster Girls 1 October 2007, 2.30 pm Espace Ephémère, Tuileries, Paris 57 looks

“Gangster chic is back (again)” Irish Times, 2 October 2007

After the giddy luxe heights of the couture collection, this one seemed prosaic in comparison. It was a retailer’s dream though, filled with desirable, wearable non-controversial pieces, with opening looks in black and white. He said it was inspired by Marlene Dietrich (again), Ava Gardner, Greta Garbo and seen through the eyes and the lens of the photographer Peter Lindbergh, “because I love that grainy quality of the film”. Androgynous threepiece trouser suits in woven pinstriped wool for day or with stripes of bugle beads for night, were worn with gimlet covered berets or matching fedoras. Zebra prints were used on coats, separates, the new leather bags and platform shoes with pierced metal conical heels.

The opening look—sharply tailored black wool pinstriped “gangster” suit with gimlet covered beret.

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For day there was a 40s Hawaiian feel with leafprint chiffons for pretty blouses and bias-cut dresses with floaty hems. For evening came satin wrap-over dresses with bow ties to the hips and a plethora of 20s-style flapper gowns with fringed or tiered hems.

A parade of 30s-40s–inspired, full-length, bias-cut gowns followed in pale pink and pale jade, before ending in dramatic black, red and zebra stripes. The finale look was a white trouser ensemble worn with top hat echoing that worn by Dietrich in her first Hollywood film, Morocco, in 1930.

A printed satin pyjama suit jacket retailed for $1990, and a matching camisole and trousers for $1590.

The audience A-listers included Ivana Trump, Trudie Styler and Sting, whose “Englishman in New York” was played in the show as Galliano’s tribute to Quentin Crisp. Galliano appeared briefly at the end of the catwalk, smoking a cigarette in black top hat, waistcoat, socks and suspenders – but seemed to have forgotten his trousers. (He said he was channelling Marlon Brando’s introduction to Marlene Dietrich as detailed in the book, Marlon Brando Unzipped). Galliano in one of his more unusual outfits.

Reprising his “Mizza Bricard” theme from S/S 1997, there were leopard print slip dresses and cami-knickers (now called combinettes) worn with damask silk peignoirs edged in Calais lace.

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galliano ready-to-wear

It’s All in the Stars/Grey Gardens 6 October 2007 Le Stade Français, Paris 52 looks

“Edie Bouvier Beale meets Edie Sedgwick on holiday with Andy Warhol in Coney Island with Spanish feria” Michael Howells, interview with the author

The official name on the cardboard disc invitation was It’s All in the Stars, but Galliano’s chosen muse was “Little Edie” Bouvier Beale – a cousin of Jackie Kennedy Onassis. The daughter of a wealthy lawyer and high society mother, she had a privileged if somewhat unusual upbringing. In her youth she ran away to Palm Beach until her father discovered her and returned her to their grand East Hamptons home – Grey Gardens. A striking beauty, in her 20s she worked as a fashion model for Macy’s and in 1952, aged 34, she optimistically announced she was on the verge of making a breakthrough in the movie business. Her mother, in her 50s, by now divorced, pursued a cabaret-singing career. Both failed. In 1975, a documentary film by Albert and David Maysles revealed the eccentric lives of the pair, living by then in total destitution in the dilapidated house filled with cats, wild raccoons, piles of rubbish, and infested with fleas. The local authority served an eviction notice, citing sanitation breaches, but cousins Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Lee Radziwill came to the rescue and paid to have the property fumigated, cleaned, junk removed and new plumbing installed. It was remarkable that even in these straitened circumstances, surrounded by detritus, “Little Edie” (by now wearing headscarves as she had lost her hair) managed to maintain an aura of hauteur and style and was subsequently featured in Vogue Italia and Harper’s Bazaar.

“Little Edie” cardigan-dress with button band and integral headscarf.

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Flamenco inspired rose chiffon dress.

The evening of the show got off to a bumpy start as a major football game had just taken place in the main stadium and the audience had to fight their way through a sea of rowdy soccer fans to find the annex where Galliano’s show was to take place. After a long, hard day, many important fashion editors and guests were understandably disgruntled. However, once inside they discovered the miseen-scene of a run-down seaside fairground resort with full-sized carousel, a handsome lifeguard on duty (who handed carnations to the models as they walked past) and fish dangling from the ceiling. The show opened with 1920s-style baby-girl starlet cuties in short chiffon dresses in every shade of pink, some with tiered embroidered capelets taken from Edwardian originals. The models weren’t the usual poker-faced “walk up and down” types – they showed real character, dancing and coquetting their way along the broad walk runway and posing for the cameras in front of a wind machine that blew paper scraps in their faces. There was nothing new in this collection – but it was young, fun and desirable. Amidst the pretty floral chiffon bias-cuts were “Little Edie” references – cardigans turned into body-hugging eveningwear with spiralling button bands and integral hoods or turned into skirts with sleeves forming decorative bows as well as a “fur” coat formed from brown marabou feathers, and black point d’esprit lowlegged bikinis and swimsuits so beloved by Edie. Flapper dresses and silver leather coats were now micro-mini short and the show ended with classic 30s-inspired bias-cut flamenco dresses in chiffon and tulle in shades of fuchsia to red which were reminiscent of the Galliano A/W95–96 collection even down to the hairstyles. There was nothing new in this collection, but it was light-hearted, very saleable and cheered everyone up at the end of a long stressful day. Galliano appeared wearing layered floral sun hats with green balloon decorations, orange jacket, yellow t-shirt, tartan shorts, printed leggings and grey boots – and his smile lit up the room. Jackets inspired by Edwardian cutwork capelets.

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dior haute couture

Madame X & Klimt 21 January 2008 Polo de Paris, Paris 40 looks

“Wildly luxurious and full of extraordinary craftsmanship” WWD, 22 January 2008

John Singer Sargent’s portrait of Madame X (Amelie Gautreau, wife of a successful French banker) scandalised polite society upon its unveiling in Paris in 1884. By today’s standards it is relatively tame – a pale statuesque woman in figure-hugging black sheath with thin straps. But at the time, it was not just the scant dress, but also the air of blatant sensuality that so offended. None of Galliano’s collection remotely resembled the dress in the portrait, but the collection was

borne from an idea of the elegant seductress, combined with the brilliant colours of Klimt, Symbolist paintings and “aligned with the exactitude of Monsieur Dior’s cut and silhouette” (Dior press notes). The silhouettes were reminiscent of Balenciaga’s sculpted creations of the 1960s. Galliano played with volume: trapeze lines, ballooning sack dresses, sack-back trains, puff ball hems, tent coats, graduated hems inset with rose-shaped swirls – all employed to dramatic effect.

Lavishly embroidered cocktail and evening ensembles, with 3D embroidery.

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The set was inky-black with pools of dark water between the catwalks, which made the colours pop – brilliant yellow, deep purple, magenta, lime, ochre, and fuchsia. Heavy Duchesse satins and stiff ziberline silks were used as the canvas on which to embroider and paint with a style and lavishness rarely seen since couture’s heyday of the 1950s– 60s. There was no daywear. The embroidery was so lavish that more than a dozen different specialist embroidery studios were needed. Layers of floral plastic and jewel-like paillettes were applied. The latter phases were adorned in patterns reminiscent of Klimt’s glittering paintings.

books included images of Klimt paintings, Gloria Vanderbilt and Diana Vreeland wearing highly patterned clothes in equally patterned interiors, Saint Laurent African collection dresses and metal dresses by Paco Rabanne.

Stephen Jones’ hats came in metallic thimble, dish and lampshade forms. Galliano’s research scrap

Catherine Rivière of Dior reported that the previous year’s haute couture sales had been the largest in the company’s history, with many of the buyers now coming from the Persian Gulf or Russia, which might also explain the use of such lavish ornamentation.

Detail from Look 37, a vermillion Mikado silk coat and dress with Klimt embroidery by Vernoux.

The models attempted haughty 1950s-style poses, but the towering shoes that incorporated a spiked heel over a thick wedge base and a metal toe cap made just walking an accomplishment. Galliano made his bows in an Elizabethan-style black ensemble with gold painted curls.

Look 6. Fuchsia Mikado silk dress with puffball hem, embroidered by Hurel with treacherous wedge platform shoes.

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2008–09 Autumn/Winter

dior ready-to-wear

Pure Glamour 25 February 2008, 2.30 pm Espace Ephémère, Tuileries, Paris 60 looks

“Imagine Mrs. Robinson in the Valley of the Dolls” Sarah Mower, Vogue online report, 25 February 2008

Michael Howells produced a dark brutalist backdrop, this time with water coursing down glass walls and cascading in a waterfall down steps. “Never forget the woman”, the house declared in 1961 (Dior press notes). The models looked like Talullah Getty/Baby Jane Holzer clones with long, bouffant backcombed locks and exaggerated Twiggy eye makeup. It seemed Galliano had raided the Dior archives from the late 60s and early 70s for inspiration. There were sophisticated ladylike looks for day and evening. A regiment of soignée “Mrs. Robinson” types strode down the catwalk (to the Simon and Garfunkel song) in luxurious mink coats, smart city suits with boxy jackets and A-line skirts in richly coloured wool or crocodile. Black and white came in the form of piebald ponyhide jackets, classic hound’s tooth checks and tweeds edged in black patent. Prints were bold and graphic – either psychedelic 60s-style abstract splodges or large graduated circle patterns which were used for day and night. Accessories were key: ladylike leather platform slingbacks (which the models could walk in for

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For day, over-size monotone tweeds.

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Yellow satin gown reinterpreting Dior’s S/S 1967 neckline with metal links.

Abstract print cocktail dress with embroidered embellishments.

a change), outsized fine straw Stetson-like hats, worn with matching gloves, metal chain-link belts and the new “61” handbag. Slim columnar evening gowns came in lime, purple, emerald, and cobalt colour-ways with outsized sequins, embroidery and rhinestone embellishments. For anyone secretly harbouring major Jackie O aspirations – this was the collection for them! Galliano took his bows dressed all in black with a black baseball cap.

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galliano ready-to-wear

Pleasure Dome 1 March 2008 Grande Halle de la Villette, Paris 53 looks

“Clothes are the scripts to make you dream. You just have to decide what character you want to be” John Galliano in WWD, 24 March 2008

Galliano invited his guests to his version of “Xanadu”, an indoor vegetable market on the outskirts of Paris. After struggling their way across the city, the show was more than an hour late starting and the spectacular Michael Howells Pleasure Dome set did little to assuage audience frustration.

Galliano’s starting-off point for the collection had been John Taylor Coleridge’s poem (which told of a mythical oriental palace) combined with the 1954 cult film Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome. He and Howells decided that the show’s backdrop should be based around a 1940s film as if actors and extras were preparing to shoot a “Xanadu” movie. The extras included Marilyn Monroe and costume designer Edith Head look-alikes.

The catwalk snaked around pools containing revolving platforms adorned with semi-naked young men dressed as sultans or angels and Buddhist statues.

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The makeup, hair and accessories were major features. Pat McGrath produced eye makeup designs of colour-blocks in clashing colours with giant eyelashes as Galliano’s brief had been for something non-traditional and bold. Stephen Jones excelled with hats ranging from giant knitted Edwardian cycling hats, ostrich plume halos to flower-pot hats covered in blossoms in Schiaparelli early-60s style. Candyfloss-like, colour-cloud headdresses and hairpieces were formed by wrapping nylon clownwigs in net. Shoes came in the form of riveted strapwork sandals, 1940s Perugia styles or elevated Mary Jane’s. Galliano had launched a new jewellery line – which included bold vintage-style large enamelled brooches and necklaces. The clothes included Paul Poiret orientalist looks with dhoti-style trousers (Galliano said he wanted to create a hybrid between skirt and trouser) in soft velvet, satin and transparent chiffon. These were worn with beautifully tailored loose coats and

Tailored wool jacket with chiffon harem pants.

double-breasted jackets with elements taken from the 1910s. As usual there was a generous offering of pastel and 30s floral-patterned garden party and flapper-style gowns, much loved by the buyers and always in demand. Galliano summed up his philosophy to fashion at the time, “I think that essentially fashion is to seduce, to shock and above all, get you to escape.” WWD, 24 March 2008

During those bleak economic credit-crunch times, a little bit of “Xanadu” escapism was probably just what was required. The collection, though commercial, was not ground-breaking. The same week McQueen presented his sensational “The Girl Who Lived in a Tree” collection to universal acclaim.

Galliano, always a lover of knitwear, included a roomy blue cardigan coat with crewelwork patterns.

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dior haute couture

Contemporary Couture 30 June 2008, 2.30 pm Musée Rodin, Paris 44 looks

“Couture in a contemporary way. A season of change, cut and sophistication. There’s a sexy new step in the salon.” John Galliano, Dior press notes

Galliano wanted to take iconic Dior elements and decontextualize them for the modern woman. He had in mind two muses – both Dior mannequins. The first was Lisa Fonssagrives, immortalised in early 50s Dior by her adoring husband the photographer Irving Penn; the second, France’s new first lady, Carla Bruni Sarkozy, who had graced Dior catwalks throughout the 1990s. The clothes were certainly wearable and desirable to the modern woman – but the shapes were classic “New Look” with a modern twist. The opening daywear looks, mainly in black and white, incorporated exaggerated curved “Bar” basque corset belts in contrasting patent or studded leather. The little cloche hats (inspired by Eduardo Garcia Benito drawings and Vogue covers of the 20s and 30s) in felt and leather were decorated with metal eyelets.

Look 8. Black crocodile jacket with bell sleeves after a Dior 1950 model and a crin skirt, a fabric traditionally used by Dior for interior petticoats.

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Degradé effects were achieved by placing a silk jacket over a wool skirt with latticed rhinestone studded hem. All of the clothes were rigidly structured – built up from the famous Dior tulle corsets. Decorative buttoned bands also echoed early 50s dinner gowns as did the lines of an empire-line white wool jacket with gold sequin banded sleeves. There followed a series of romantic, mainly strapless, cocktail dresses and full-on ball gowns, mainly in pastel shades, including lilac, celadon, and a clutch of ivory numbers that would make perfect bridal gowns. The finale piece was architectural in its construction, with exaggerated crin stiffened rear skirt pleats

Look 33. Soft pastel chiffon is combined with the structured riveted leather of the “Bar” corset-bustier with exaggerated basque hips.

redolent of the 1948 Zig-Zag line, but with the addition of the new curved, basque Bar-belt. Composed of 110 yards of tulle, it took 400 hours to construct and a further 800 hours to complete the 600 beaded degradé shell-shaped repeats in shades of grey to silver beads. It was a gown Mesdames Fonssagrives and Sarkozy would have understood and respected – “pure Dior” (ibid.). Galliano took his bows in black knitted hat with gothic Galliano G motif, black dinner jacket with patent lapels, black vinyl trousers, and long blonde hair, which was something of a contrast to the refinement of the dresses.

Christian Dior ball gown, “Cyclone” collection, A/W 1948, the inspiration for Galliano’s finale look.

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Look 39. Pale rose silk gown with organza trained skirts, delicate silver and crystal banding by Vernoux.

Look 44. Fabulous black crin and tulle ball gown with Bar-belt, embroidered and beaded by Lesage with amethyst fan patterns.

336  Dior Haute Couture  2008–09 Autumn/Winter

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Tribal Chic 29 September 2008 Espace Ephémère, Tuileries, Paris 45 looks

“The message was sexiness, luscious color mixed with neutrals and lots of leg” New York Times, 30 September 2008

As the crisis on Wall Street deepened and shares in the retail sector in particular plummeted, Dior needed to produce a strong, inviting, commercial collection, which it largely succeeded in doing. Of his African theme, Galliano said, “You know I spent two days with a Maasai tribe, it was like a couple of years ago and I was so moved because I didn’t know which was the real world; is this the real world we are in today or was that the real world?” Post-show interview, transcript Dior archive

Despite the title, it wasn’t full-on African tribal themed, more a “sideways glance” with little conch shells forming decorative bands, python and tan suede bustiers, zebra-printed hide used on bags and belts and scarification patterns used generally on leathers or embroidered on knitwear. There was a galuchat (shagreen) jacket which took “48 skins of fish and you see the prime quality ones have been used and it is a beautiful, classic piece” (ibid.). Metal grommets and bell sleeves from the Contemporary couture collection were reintroduced.

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2009 Spring/Summer

dior ready-to-wear

There was nothing you could sensibly wear to the office and no trousers, just a couple of pairs of leggings. There was a distinct 90s Versace vibe with short, sexy dresses with flirty chiffon skirts, boned fitted bodices and a finale of goddess-style dresses with lots of leg on show to tempt young women still with cash to spare in those recessionary times, but it wasn’t up to Galliano’s usual sparkling standard. Galliano appeared in black waistcoat and pants with slick long blonde hair after the usual fanfare of drum rolls and strobe lights. Shoe heels were moulded in the form of primitive African fertility gods (taken from the Stephen Jones wooden hat from S/S 97 HC).

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Black and nude knitted dress with scarification patterns. Resurrection Vintage Archive.

Galuchat jacket and ivory pleated skirt.

338  Dior Ready-to-Wear 2009 Spring/Summer

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galliano ready-to-wear

British 4 October 2008 Atelier de la Villette, Metro Repair workshop, Paris 47 looks

“John Galliano chose exactly the right moment to get real.” WWD, 6 October 2008

It was a freezing cold Saturday evening as guests fought through gridlocked traffic for over an hour to reach the venue on the outskirts of Paris – this time a terminus for repairing Metro rolling stock. The invitation came in the form of an outsized first-class train ticket and station benches lined the under-lit catwalk positioned over the tracks. The show, which was scheduled to start at 8.00 pm, was over an hour late, and people were forced to queue up outside in the cold. Many of the major fashion editors expressed their displeasure in person and later in print. The show really needed to deliver to compensate. As the title suggests, the collection had a very British feel. The styling was based on the Queen Mother and James Gillray’s late eighteenth to early nineteenth-century caricatures (which Galliano discovered on a visit to the Greenwich Maritime Museum), which lampooned royalty, society and the politics of the day. Models, their noses and lips smudged in gold, wore brightly coloured exaggerated frizzy periwigs and pigtails, some with outsized hats – part Beefeater, part mobcap and satin bicornes. The poor girls had again been given challenging shoes, this time of metallic leather with multiple narrow straps, on a heel and platform formed from moulded resin lobes, which Galliano said had been inspired by the sculptor Brancusi. Numerous models teetered and slid, before regaining control, to slowly mince their way down the catwalk.

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Vertiginous “Brancusi”–inspired footwear.

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Military-scarlet and black opened the show, the models in towering Stephen Jones ostrich feather guardsman-style busbies.

Cleverly tailored fan-shaped pleats adorned dresses and parka-inspired jackets with pull cords were worn with floaty chiffon shorts or skirts. Another key feature, multiple descending braid tabs, was taken from Victorian Hussar officer’s patrol jackets. The dresses that followed were transparent with short, flirty skirts and layers of frills – inspired by Hartnell’s tulle creations for the young Queen Mother in the 1930s. The palette broadened to include contrasting pink, lime, mauve, apple green and typical 30s-style garden-party florals in chiffon and satin.

Periwigs and patterns.

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A tulle dress with sequins retailed for $3810, with a matching faille coat at $4945. The clothes were pretty, commercial with some fabulous tailoring and generally very wearable – albeit with underslips! Did it appease the fashion editors? Not quite.

Galliano took bows in black cap, wide legged pants tucked into boots and long ponytail, accompanied by a pair of bodyguards.

A revealing, long, sheer bias-cut evening gown with low cowl back shimmered with sequins for evening glamour.

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dior haute couture

Flemish Old Masters 26 January 2009, 2.00 pm Musée Rodin, Paris 39 looks

“Master Strokes” WWD, 27 January 2009

As the worldwide economic recession showed no signs of abating, Galliano again looked to the past for inspiration. He took Monsieur Dior’s full skirts and cinched waists and combined them with a colour palette taken from the great Dutch Old Master painters – Vermeer and Van Dyck. To continue the sense of antiquity, the clothes were shown against Michael Howells’ backdrop inspired by ancient stained-glass windows. The first gown out was a Vermeer-yellow silk dress with white puritan collar and balloon sleeves, formed from finely pleated organdie and voluminous “four-leaf-clover” skirt of crin-stiffened faille reminiscent of Charles James. This was worn with a wisp-like picture hat and thong-laced shoes, the platforms of conjoined rococo scrolls in matching yellow. Throughout the collection, the curved hips of the “Bar” jacket featured, as did elements of seventeenth-century dress – laced up bodices, tabbed hems and the clever use of ribbons. Ribbons were coiled to form collars, looped to cover jackets and even threaded through buckles. A pretty white silk dress with black silk ribbons was very similar to a Dior original from S/S 1957.

Look 1. Yellow silk and organza coat with puritan collar, embroidered by Ollier.

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There was no daywear – but pretty cocktail suits and dresses that segued into full-blown ball gowns as the show continued. Elements of blue and white Chinese porcelain and Dutch Delft were used to embroider bodices, which were revealed inside the hem edges of evening gowns. Regiments of cartridge pleats formed dramatic skirt tops and some bodices appeared to have the interior linings turned inside out, showing beautifully

Look 19. Pretty white organza dress with black silk ribbons, similar to a Dior original from S/S 1957.

finished boning struts. Galliano explained that, having pored through early Dior originals in the archive, “I really studied the constructions and discovered his soul.” WWD, 27 January 2009

He appeared all dressed in black, in a chiffon shirt with large neck bow, jet-beaded waistcoat and trousers and a tall felt hat.

Dior fashion sketch S/S 1957. © Christian Dior.

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Looks 32, 31. Frilled organza ruffles with blue and white “Delft” embroidery by Muller and ivory faille gown with embroidered tulips by Nina Gill.

Look 34. Rose faille gown with floral printed taffeta skirt, the corseted bodice with external boning.

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Orientalist 6 March 2009 Espace Ephémère, Tuileries, Paris 44 looks

“Persian miniatures and the rich decadence of the Orientalists inspire a new look” Dior Programme

Backstage Galliano told reporters that,

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“There’s a credit crunch, but not a creative crunch . . . Now women are going to be so much more demanding and discerning . . . It’s now my job to make women dream more than ever.” Style.com video interview with Tim Blanks online

The collection had a luxurious and sophisticated air with a relatively inexpensive (according to Michael Howells, the designer) but opulent-looking backdrop of a gilded frieze moulded with lily of the valley repeats and a gold mirrored catwalk. Daywear in shades of grey opened the show with more reinterpretations of the “Veste Bar,” which Galliano admitted he found endlessly inspiring. Shirring and pleated details lifted these out of the ordinary. Poiret and Persian miniatures were cited as other key influences. Lantern-shaped skirts had fullness caught into hem bands, a silhouette also redolent of YSL for Dior, 1960. The use of tasselled belts, buttoned side closures from neck to hem, frogging fastenings as well as satin and lamé harem pants were all features used by Paul Poiret c.1912.

Fuchsia silk layers.

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To further stress the orientalist theme, instead of the classic Dior wool pinstripes and checks for day, these were swapped for grey and black ikat

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weaves and soft, floaty dresses in brightly coloured, Bokharan-inspired ikat prints or paisleys. The models wore helmet-like bobbed wigs each covered in around 250–300 hair clips per head (inspired by silent film actress Louise Brooks) and reminiscent of the A/W 1988–89 styling. The make-up was in shades of purple and gold to follow Poiret’s orientalist vibe. There were just a couple of very sculpted contemporary looks made from black and red horizontally pleated zibeline silk.

Shimmering gold and black damask gave way to fluid, chiffon evening gowns in a palette including aqua, magenta, ochre, coral and white with Poiret-esque sequined panels. Galliano appeared in the same black waistcoat and trousers he had worn for the S/S HC show, but with the addition of a black tailcoat and red patent heeled boots.

A day-to-eveningwear phase in deep purple and black included a suede suit with broad fox trim that Denise Poiret would not have looked of place wearing c.1914. The harem pants (another Poiret signature) recently seen in Galliano’s Grey Gardens, appeared in even more luxe versions using lamé and oyster satin and worn with broadtail and fox trimmed waistcoat.

Bold ikat weaves redolent of Japan and Central Asia.

Soft textures – fur combines with flowing ivory satin.

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Ukrainian Brides 11 March 2009, 8.00 pm Halle Freyssinet, Paris 31 looks

“Galliano struck out on his own into the frozen wastes of Russian-Balkan folklore” Sarah Mower, Vogue online report, 11 March 2009

If the Dior collection earlier in the week was all about luxury and sophistication, this one gave a contemporary take on traditional Balkan and Ukrainian folk fashions. Galliano had spent some time in the Benaki Museum in Athens researching its extensive collection of eighteenth and nineteenth-century folk dress and textiles sourced from

across the Balkan/Ottoman empire. The show took place in a former 1920s railway depot, which set designer Alexandre Betak converted into a 70-foot, blue laser–lit tunnel with falling snow. As in the Dior show, the collection opened with a palette of mainly grey and black, but these were covered

Models in shades of grey wool appear amid the snowstorm.

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in lashings of contrasting braid and embroidery and the shapes were a mixture of eighteenth-century panniers, nineteenth-century Dolman jackets, Albanian surcoats and Greek Evzone skirts. Raquel Zimmerman twirled like a Dervish in a silver satin example. Macedonian pafti metal buckles were used not only as belts, but also purely as decoration on everything, and the models wore swathed silver tulle headdresses, with silver coins framing their faces. The embroidery was by Lesage and other top specialists. The construction took place in the Galliano Atelier with a standard of workmanship usually only found in haute couture. Galliano said the sandals reminded him of sleighs and had been inspired by Brancusi’s “Bird in Flight” sculpture shapes. Pretty embroidered, full-sleeved, silk “peasant” blouses (these retailed for $1370 a piece) were worn with red and black crin-stiffened pannier mini-skirts, waistcoats and jackets with decorative hanging sleeves. Edwardian tailoring could be seen in some of the outsized double-breasted frock coats. The structured tailoring evaporated into soft, transparent eveningwear for

Elevated platform sandals, their soles made from spliced wood, were laced to the knee and trimmed with (Greek Evzone–style) pom-poms.

the finale – seven “Ukrainian Ice Princess” brides, their glistening pale faces wreathed in tattered tulle veils, eyelashes artfully painted with frosting, all clutching rosaries. The dresses ranged from figure-hugging silver grey criss-cross fringes to biascut silver lamé and diaphanous tulle examples in shades ranging from silver to white. Betak’s spectacular set didn’t prove popular with the audience. Journalist Suzy Menkes used her invitation to shield the laser lights from her eyes and the soap-flake snowstorm caused everyone to splutter and dash for the exit as soon as possible. The collection was otherworldly and quite unlike anything else shown in Paris that week, which helped set it apart. Galliano appeared in eighteenth-century–style powdered wig, large tan frock coat, Toile de Jouy print pants and jackboots.

An Ice Princess bride.

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Cabine Fever 6 July 2009 Dior HQ, Avenue Montaigne, Paris 35 looks

“The layers, supports and underpinnings that sculpted the iconic silhouettes of Mr. Dior are revealed to the clients” Dior Press Notes

Galliano wanted a traditional fashion show done just as in Monsieur Dior’s day, in the more intimate setting of Dior’s dove-grey painted Grand Salon. In the archive he discovered photographs of the founder making pre-show adjustments in the Cabine, triggering the idea for this collection. Look 2. Violet wool dress with “Bar” crin basque worn like a belt.

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In the fashion world, the word “Cabine” had dual meaning: the room in which each model had her own appointed place with mirror and dressing table in which to prepare for the show; or the group of runway models working exclusively for the fashion house. Dior was exceptionally fond of his models (or “Chéries”, as he liked to call them). A superstitious man, from 1955 there were always thirteen, which he believed to be his lucky number. Balenciaga preferred character-less models as he believed great beauty and personality detracted from the clothes. However, Mr. Dior preferred girls who exuded allure or sophistication to help bring the clothes to life. Marie-Thérèse and Lucky had an air of drama and would sweep down the catwalk, swishing their skirts so that those seated in the front row lost their pencils. Renée, with her fuller figure (like a perfect shop window mannequin), could wear anything he put her in; “She brings fabrics to life so exquisitely that her face is lost,” he wrote. Victoire (who among her peers had a reputation for being something of a man-eater) was of slight figure but with strong shoulders, good bosom and no hips and she reminded M. Dior of the cool young students from Saint-Germain-des-Prés. He loved her impertinence and she also became a firm favourite of the young Yves Saint Laurent, who was working as his assistant.

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Galliano’s models, some as young as sixteen, had practiced walking in the high shoes (which included suspender belt and bra strap adornments) in imitation of the haughty 50s mannequins with their backtilted stances. Galliano wanted his clothes to suggest the excitement and hurried last-minute preparations in the Cabine, filled with half-dressed models: “As if the girls weren’t ready as though someone just said ‘Go!’” WWD, 7 July 2009

The show opened with a soundtrack of girls giggling as the models emerged in various states of undress with corsets, suspenders and girdles openly on display. This wasn’t because the “petites-mains” hadn’t finished their work on time or the credit crunch had taken its toll, but because Galliano wanted to emphasize the importance of the underpinnings and, in

particular, the corset. As Monsieur Dior himself said, “Without foundations there can be no fashion.” Galliano said, “In this economic climate, I want to focus on the established codes of Dior – the Bar jacket, the panther, the lily of the valley.” Ibid.

Some of the clothes referenced Galliano’s own signature looks – the disappearing lapel first seen in Blanche DuBois, a pyramid collar from Mata Hari and a tulle-covered jacket from Lolita. There was a scattering of completely finished cocktail dresses, mainly in brightly coloured Duchesse satin, worn with narrow patent belts. All the clothes were worn with the correct accessories – matching bag, gloves and, where appropriate, a hat.

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Even the final ball gowns combine underwear elements. Nude satin or black point d’esprit-covered corsets were exposed or worn with elaborately embroidered skirts. Any clients averse to the half-dressed look were reassured by Madame Catherine Rivière, the head

of Dior’s haute couture, that matching skirts, bodices and non-transparent linings would not be a problem. Galliano took his bows in sober black suit, fedora and long straggly blonde hair.

Look 28. A more “finished” look—a rose satin cocktail dress embroidered by Lesage.

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Look 33. Black lace-covered corset bodice, the rose faille skirt embroidered by Lanel.

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Film Noir 2 October 2009, 2.00 pm Espace Ephémère Tuileries, Paris 46 looks

“The shadowy world of Film Noir creates a new siren.” Dior Press Notes

The set tried to capture the air of suspense and mystery of a classic film noir – metal girders resembling a bombed-out building, a figure in a fedora silhouetted amid clouds of dry ice, with the sounds of gunshot followed by a blood-curdling scream. The models were all made up as Lauren Bacall lookalikes (who had been a loyal Christian Dior client), including first girl out – Karlie Kloss, looking every inch the glamorous spy in silver leather “Bogart”

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trench over python shorts, carrying the new briefcase-like handbag, in ankle socks worn with mockcroc wedge sandals. These short trench jackets were a key feature and came in lamé, leather, python, embroidered raffia and traditional khaki gabardine. The skirts were short and frilled and the tight jeans were metallic. The cocktail section with shimmering lames was inspired by Arletty in the 1938 film Hôtel du Nord.

Karlie Kloss in the opening look.

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Lingerie looks from the couture collection were redefined for the mass market with lace-trimmed cami-knickers, French knickers, corsetry in sparkling Lycra jersey and sultry negligée and slip dresses in purple, fuchsia and floral chiffon. Some of the “illusion slips” gave the impression of underwear and stocking tops.

on and you don’t even have to wear underwear. It evokes that state of undress . . . so it was an illusion like Film Noir.” Dior archive, post-show interview transcripts

At the end, amid the usual razzamatazz, Galliano peered over the up-turned collar of his khaki, Dick Tracy–style trench coat, wearing a fedora.

“There was no bra, gaine (girdle) or stockings, it was all cut into the lining of the dress, so you just put the dress

Embroidered fuchsia silk and lace dress with black illusion slip and stocking top lining.

Silver silk lurex dress.

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(Silver Screen) 7 October 2009 Halle Freyssinet, Paris 32 looks

“I went around the old houses of Hollywood and imagined how stars like Tallulah Bankhead, Lillian Gish, and Mary Pickford lived.” John Galliano interview with Sarah Mower, Vogue online report, 7 October 2009

The set was modern and exciting, with red laser light flooding the catwalk as large opaque bubbles fell from the ceiling before disappearing mid-air in a puff of powder. “All right, Mr De Mille, I’m ready for my close-up” blasted from the soundtrack.

The invitation to the show was a miniature studio clapperboard. Galliano took as his inspiration the fallen idols of the silent movies who had failed to make the transition into “talkies”. Pat McGrath did makeup inspired by actresses Pola Negri and Norma

A model teeters down the runway amid laser lights and exploding bubbles.

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Desmond with shaded eyelids and deep purple lips. The models wore candy floss wigs or had their real hair scraped back and concealed under skull caps, taped to the face – the kind used in the movies before a coiffed wig was applied. Pearls were a big feature of the styling – used as hair fringes, bracelets, chokers, anklets and even to form the spiked heels of the shoes. As in the Dior show earlier in the week, the girls wore ankle socks and some carried clear plastic purses printed with the “Galliano Gazette”. Stephen Jones provided battered picture hats, trimmed with marabou (as though they had seen better days) or headdresses of faded, dried blooms.

and lighter just like the bubbles you saw” (Style. com interview). Galliano loved to combine hard tailoring with the soft flou of the dresses, and there were some great jackets – one with large cutwork daisies, edged in giant celluloid flowers. Others had the hem inset with lace and banded in satin.

The clothes were layered, one atop another – point d’esprit, goffered chiffon, lace and printed polka dots. Galliano said the clothes were getting “lighter

The formal evening gowns were goddess style, of diaphanous bias-cut chiffon – a Galliano classic.

Tan wool jacket covered in brooches with price tags as if from a brocante—this retailed for $2000.

Panelled chiffon goddess gown with interwoven bands, redolent of 50s couturier Jean Dessès.

For evening, the inner-wear as outer-wear theme continued (as it had in the previous Dior HC and RTW shows), with negligee/bed jackets worn over short skimpy slip dresses in contrasting patterns and colours. Short trench coat skirts were worn with camisole tops or jackets tied with narrow rhinestone belts.

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The collection was vintage-inspired, pretty and commercial. The staging was avant-garde and clever, but clothes-wise there was nothing we hadn’t seen before. In the same week that Galliano looked backwards, McQueen looked into the future, presenting his groundbreaking Plato’s

Atlantis collection, which was live-streamed across the globe to universal acclaim. Galliano made a brief curtain call, with long blonde hair, dressed quite simply in black.

For the final look of draped and sequined ivory chiffon, the model wore trembling silver butterflies in her hair and a headdress of crumpled “Galliano Gazette” newsprint.

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Equestrienne/Charles James 25 January 2010, 2.30 pm Dior HQ, Avenue Montaigne, Paris 34 looks

“Haute to Trot” WWD cover, 26 January 2010

The couture collection was again shown in the intimate, elegant, grey and white surroundings of Dior’s Avenue Montaigne salon filled with the scent of 3000 full-blown pink and red roses. Galliano had been fascinated with Charles James since the 1980s (see Galliano S/S 1989). He had also recently examined a collection of Charles James couture donated to the Metropolitan of Art’s Costume Institute for “The American Woman” exhibition. Monsieur Dior, he believed, had said that his “New Look” had been heavily influenced by the great Anglo-American designer. “And then I was looking at a photo of Charles James doing a fitting—and on the wall behind him was a picture of women riding side saddle. And that was it!” Interview with Sarah Mower, Style.com “And suddenly I looked at Mr. Dior’s work—the cocotte, all the different lines and I thought well, there has been an influence—this is quite incredible—the sheaths and the jutting poufs and things—very inspired by side-saddle riding.” Dior archives, post-show interview transcription

Galliano’s ideal equestrienne was taken from Charles Dana Gibson’s sketches of S-line corseted beauties. The sound of neighing horses and pounding hooves heralded the start of the show, and Karlie Kloss appeared in a Gibson Girl–inspired riding habit

Look 1. Karlie Kloss, the “Gibson Girl” huntress, red satinised wool riding jacket with charcoal plaid skirt.

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The final phase brought in bi-colour Duchesse satin cocktail dresses and magnificent Charles James– inspired ball gowns with skirts and bodices often in contrasting colours “shaded in the palette of a Cecil Beaton portrait” (Dior press notes), such as olive with sea foam and petrol-blue with chocolate. Some were also adorned with exquisite embroidery by Lesage, Lemarié and Vermont, or more subtle diagonal button detailing (inspired by Dior’s A/W 1949–50 collection) – perfect for the impending red carpet season. Galliano described them in a post-show interview: “There’s fantastic kind of offbeat and colour-blocking accents—very American, much influenced by Millicent Rogers who, incidentally, was one of (Charles James’) most famous clients.”

Look 16. Lilac and tulle lace jacket, ivory bloomerlace edged cotton skirt with 1910s-style hat and ankle boots.

with top hat, hair caught in a giant snood, fitted red jacket with silver buttons and grey plaid skirt with side drapes. The models teetered precariously as they crept down the sweeping staircase, sometimes clinging to walls for extra support. Their towering black leather boots had side button details – commonly found on Edwardian ankle boots combined with buckles, biker-boot–style. The evening gown phase began with pastel-toned cocktail dresses and suits. The bodices encrusted with textured embroidery, beading, ribbons and three-dimensional silk flowers, with “New Look” cinched waists and softly draped or pleated skirts.

Look 25. Claret and rose “Jamesian” Mikado silk ball gown. Sarah Jessica Parker was photographed wearing it in American Vogue’s May 2010 issue.

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Look 34. Pale pink and pale grey silk ball gown embroidered and beaded with ninetythree petals by Nina Gill.

However, the spectacular finale look was redolent of “Junon” from Dior’s A/W 1949 Mid Century collection. Galliano took his bows in dressage outfit complete with tailcoat, jodhpurs, low topper and crop.

On 11 February 2010 the fashion world was rocked with the tragic news that the other British fashion genius, Alexander McQueen, had taken his own life.

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The Seduction of the Libertine 5 March 2010 Espace Ephémère Tuileries, Paris 46 looks

“Since ‘tis nature’s law to change, constancy alone is strange.” John Wilmot, second Earl of Rochester (English poet, 1647–1680), in Dior press notes

The equestrian theme from the couture show continued, but gone were the aristocratic ladylike side-saddle riding habits and in came the jodhpurs and tweeds. Orlando Pita (hairstylist) described the collection as a mixture of “French romanticism and stable boys”, with braided plait techniques copied from dressage horses (Style.com interview with Tim Blanks). The show’s backdrop resembled the large echoing hall of a country house, with marble columns and giant arched doorway. The theatrical opening sequence included thunder, lightning and the sound of horses galloping away.

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Galliano stated in the show notes that, “This season Dior takes up the heroic spirit of French Romanticism and Mr. Dior’s beloved English riding tweeds. I was inspired by the drape, line and cut as well as the characters of the era; I wanted to create a new luxury, and new lover, in the romance of the seductive libertine of Dior.”

Leather was a big feature of the collection – including eighteenth-century–inspired redingotes, often with punched broderie-anglaise effect edgings; halter-neck waistcoats; thigh-high boots with crisscross back lacing and the lavish use of ostrich, python, suede and crocodile. Kid leather was draped like jersey and used for short, frilled cocktail dresses.

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Karlie Kloss in the opening look—leather highwayman cape, boots and lace chemise dress.

Broadtail, fox and eyelash fronds of fur were used as trimmings. A new “Libertine” bag was introduced with a “whipcord” handle. Boldly checked mohair and fine windowpane checked wool in earth tones was used for bumfreezer jackets and skirts that would look equally stylish in the city (a mohair-blanket coat retailed for $4300, a short jacket with bow $3000 and a lace knit skirt $2900). Knitwear, which had been absent from the collections for some time, was reintroduced in the form of body-hugging silk raschel-lace dresses with flirty tiered skirts and a fabulous chunky-knit outsized cardigan coat and off-the-shoulder sweater dress both laced with satin ribbons.

“We had seen most of these clothes before.” New York Times, 6 March 2010

At the end of the show (amid more thunder and lightning) the lights were raised to reveal a Byronesque Galliano in profile, dramatically gripping a door post, in an eighteenth-century–style frilled shirt, suede breeches, and boots with long straggled hair. Charcoal mohair plaid coat and wool trousers.

The structured hunting jackets and coats were worn over short, floaty chiffon dresses with prints inspired by eighteenth-century floral patterns and lace-knit stockings. The finale looks were inspired by Delacroix paintings – dusky pastel coloured chiffon columns and pearl rope necklaces threaded with silk fibres. The quality was stunning – using the finest leather, fabrics and embroidery by Lesage – the collection was more akin to couture than ready-to-wear, but as Cathy Horyn of the New York Times pointed out,

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(Nomadic Tribal Princesses) 7 March 2010 Opéra Comique, Paris 33 looks Invitation: map printed onto hide

“Her compass is her heart” John Galliano show notes

Plundering ethnic motifs and shapes from around the world – Asia, Turkey, Egypt, Japan, Afghanistan, Mongolia and Britain – Galliano amalgamated them to form his own unique tribe, something journalist Tim Blanks summed up as “Multi-Culti”. His eponymous nomadic tribe collection contrasted with the sophistication and sleek elegance of the Dior show earlier in the week. Galliano imagined the “traveller searching for a new world, led by the magnetism of her heart, as strong and as fine as the needle in a compass” (interview for Style. com with Tim Blanks pre-show). For some time, it had been his habit to have his own private dressing room backstage, but for this show a large yurt in its entirety was squeezed in! The set was black with white strobe and laser lights. Amid a shower of silver glitter, his tribe of warrior-women strode forth in boiled and striped grey wool coats with low-slung pannier skirts. We were in familiar territory as a similar group of ethnic looks and frozen ice-princesses had been presented in Galliano’s A/W 2009–10 collection, also with laser show, with fake snow. The models with metallic, burnished tints to their faces wore outsized felt Afghan hats, stretched, elongated geisha wigs, and leather walking boots

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Karlie Kloss in striped grey wool pannier skirted caban coat with deep fur hem.

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with needle-thin heels. The palette was mainly shades of grey with just one bright tangerine jacquard weave example. The clothes were multi-layered to give the impression that as his nomad travelled, she acquired brocades, grey tweeds and astrakhan for the mountains and printed silk sarouel trousers and patterned leggings worn under dresses and mini skirt for warmer climes. For the finale, his “Nomadic Princesses” wore large rhinestone tiaras and bias-cut chiffon evening gowns, their seams inset with yak fur fringing or adorned with beading. Yak fur was also formed into necklaces, wrapped around bangles and hoop earrings and spiralled coat sleeves. Curls of chinchilla covered an evening coat. Nicole Phelps of Vogue bemoaned the repetitiveness of the collection, “If you felt like you’d seen it all before . . . it’s because you did.” 7 March 2010

Cathy Horyn was even more damning, stating that Galliano’s show was “mostly smoke and mirrors. It’s easy enough to spot the fab pieces – a taupe astrakhan blouson, printed tribal trousers and leggings, a sweet peasant blouse, but the ground is pretty familiar”. New York Times, 9 March 2010

A “Nomadic Princess” in grey silk dress inset with fur spirals.

For all that, the multitude of separates were beautifully made and extremely wearable in layers or individually, as were the bias-cut gowns – so long as you didn’t mind fur, which was everywhere. For his own appearance, again the lights dimmed and were raised and accompanied by a drum roll and fireworks. The reverse of the invitation was printed: “Galliano is where it all began, my first love, it is my name and will always be part of me. Galliano is my heart and Dior is my head?”

He was soon to lose both.

Galliano as “Brigand Chieftain” complete with scimitar.

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dior haute couture

Floral Line 5 July 2010, 2.30 pm Musée Rodin, Paris 30 looks

“I wanted to bring a bold new bloom into the salon and let the colour, texture and structure of flowers inspire a new beauty, and create the contemporary Ligne Florale.” Dior Show Notes

A giant Perspex tent was installed in the Museum gardens, and Michael Howells placed a giant orange and yellow parrot-head tulip sculpture, not merely as decoration but because the blooms served as the inspiration for this collection – Christian Dior’s S/S 1953 “Tulip Line”. It partly shrouded Rodin’s bronze, the most expensive prop ever to be included in a fashion show, Howells jested. The colour palette was derived from a bouquet of parrot tulips, orchids, pansies, poppies, crocuses, daffodils and sweet peas. Unusual fabric combinations were incorporated in a single outfit – for example, mohair, wool and felt, contrasted with organdie, organza and satin. The skirts themselves were bud shaped or smothered in fluffy filaments of muslin, goffered organdie petals, shredded tulle blossom, triple layers of organza and organdie satin, handpainted in degradé tones to resemble exotic blooms.

Look 25. Cellophane wrap headdress with printed triple organza bustier and turquoise tulle skirt.

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Look 19. Organza dress hand painted by Anne Gelbard to look like the inside of tulip petals.

The opening look—Karlie Kloss in violet mohair coat with shredded edges, embroidered by Ollier, with orange organza skirt, turquoise shoes and pink cellophane visor.

The models were transformed into beautiful blooms, too, with tinted cellophane (the kind commonly used to wrap flowers by florists) veils/headdresses by Stephen Jones, their faces painted with angular colour-blocked eyeshadow and purple lips, their hair upswept into bulbous beehive shapes, and their waists tied with twists of raffia just like a bouquet.

The cocktail suits with contrasting jackets and short cocktail gowns in floral prints were as wearable as they were beautiful. But the series of flamboyant, romantic ball gowns inspired by a rose, tulip or pansy were the real showstoppers. They featured corseted bodices and long, trailing skirts of hand-painted satin organza

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A gaunt Galliano appeared as a beekeeper in a summer suit and espadrilles.

Look 26. Organza ball gown painted with pansy petals by Atelier Dynale. It took 400 hours to complete.

that brushed the legs of those seated in the front row (including Azzedine Alaïa, Jessica Alba and Lily Cole) as they swept past. The beauty, romance and sheer brilliance of this collection had not been witnessed since Madame Butterfly, and the collection enjoyed universal acclaim.

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2011 Spring/Summer

dior ready-to-wear

South Pacific 1 October 2010 Les Invalides, Paris 47 looks

“Is it Dior? Is it new?” Cathy Horyn, New York Times, 2 October 2010

Dior’s press notes announced they had dropped anchor on a South Pacific naval base, and so Michael Howells built a towering set reminiscent of a dilapidated pier and waterfront.

Karlie Kloss, the current favourite, was first out and tipped a saucy salute to the audience, wearing a crisp white cotton parka and seaman’s cap, over a short cotton Hawaiian print dress.

All the models were made up to look like 1950s American pin-up Bettie Page, with bangs, long curled-under locks and bright red lipstick. The elevated espadrilles with criss-cross ribbon leg ties and winged sunglasses completed the look.

The tailoring took its inspiration from traditional nautical classics – pea coat, baggy buttoned matelot trousers (or low-slung pedal pushers), windcheaters and a rugged Donkey jacket with leather yoke and elbows (presumably a naval dock-hand theme) worn over a transparent chiffon evening gown.

Karlie Kloss in the opening look.

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The white, navy and grey leather and cotton tailoring contrasted with the soft, romantic Polynesian printed floral and outsized sharkskin patterned dresses and playsuits with sarong-style criss-cross halter-neck fastenings and brilliant technicolour bias-cut chiffons.

Macramé-like weaves in faux raffia and chiffon were used for cocktail dresses or as decorative inserts in the bodice or midriff. Galliano’s slight form was robed in a Marlon Brando–inspired sailor cap and a red and navy wool nineteenth-century naval uniform.

Macramé-like chiffon dress with carwash hem.

A short cocktail dress degradé painted black to cobalt blue was one of the few pieces reminiscent of the recent HC show.

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galliano ready-to-wear

Portrait of the Muse 3 October 2010 Opéra Comique, Paris 30 looks

Invitation: A small canvas picture printed with Modigliani portrait of Jeanne Hébuterne.

“Each outfit in this collection is as individual as each portrait” John Galliano interview with Sarah Mower, Vogue.com, 3 October 2010

Galliano’s initial inspiration for this collection came from Modigliani’s relationship with his muse, the enigmatic and beautiful Jeanne Hébuterne. Whilst working on research for the show, he came across another “muse”, the beautiful aspiring Polish actress and con-artist Maria Lani, who charmed fifty-nine of the leading artists of 1920s Paris into painting her portrait (including Henri Matisse, Jean Cocteau, Marc Chagall, Fernand Léger, Chaim Soutine, Giorgio de Chirico and Tsuguharu Foujita), telling each that she required a portrait of herself as part of the plot in a Hollywood movie she was about to shoot.

Galliano said “She stole all the canvases, fled to Hollywood and no one ever saw her again. When I read that story, I thought she’s a Galliano girl!” Interview with Tim Blanks, Style.com, 3 October 2010

Galliano selected some of his own muses to model from years gone by, ranging from Karlie Kloss to faces from the 1990s – Yasmin le Bon, Suzanne von Aichinger and Marie-Sophie Wilson. Galliano said of his models, “These are the women who made me the man I am today. It’s hours of working with these women – their creative contributions, inspirations. I dream of these girls.” Style.com interview with Tim Blanks

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The show took place (an hour late) against the gilded magnificence of the nineteenth-century Opera Comique accompanied by a string orchestra. Julien d’Ys sprinkled glitter into the painted hair and Pat McGrath produced dramatic, 20s-inspired looks with pencilled eyebrows and stained lips. Each look imagined a different portrait.

Leather belts were worn high to echo Modigliani’s portraits of Jeanne. Skin-tight beige leather jackets ($3510) were worn with outsized circle-cut Oxford bag trousers veiled in black tulle ($1770). The early looks were neutral toned, but became mixed with glorious oriental printed silks and brocades, fuchsia and turquoise chiffons as the show progressed.

Karlie Kloss was again chosen for the opening look, wearing a filmy, floral gauze trench coat (“cut like an X-ray to show the construction”, said the show notes) over a fitted white jacket and blue layered chiffon skirt. Delicate layering of fragile fabrics was a key feature of the collection, which Galliano described as a “ghostly layering of tulle, linens, washed silks, which give the effect of a ‘présence évaporé’.” Tim Blanks, ibid.

Butterfly-printed with asymmetric fringe of ostrich plumes under a black and scarlet kimono worn as a coat. Karlie Kloss in “X-ray” jacket.

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The final evening gowns, inspired by Brancusi sculptures, were mainly in pure white with lightweight silver beading and embroidery. MarieSophie wore a silver lamé gown trimmed with mink. The models wore white veiling wrapped around their faces and heads or trailed it from Stephen Jones’ large silk bonnets. The show was widely acclaimed for its ethereal beauty, the desirability and wearability of the individual garments. Model Marie-Sophie said,

In Vogue’s Jessica Kerwin Jenkin’s judgement, “These were the kinds of gowns that women dream about, once-in-a-lifetime dresses, no matter what the fashion of the times.” Vogue.com, 3 October 2010

Galliano, with curled black hair, took his bows under a shower of gold confetti, peering from behind the upturned lapels of a black jacket in an ensemble he described as “channelling Modigliani” under a shower of glitter. The show was vintage Galliano at its best and proved to critics that he was back on top of his game.

“He’s gone back to his roots, the way he loves to show his clothes with lots of poetry.” Interview with Tim Blanks, Style.com

Suzanne von Aichinger in Chantilly and chiffon “butterfly” gown.

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dior haute couture

René Gruau 24 January 2011 Musée Rodin, Paris 32 looks

“The elegant lines of Gruau capture the essence of Dior” Dior Show Notes

This collection was triggered by Galliano’s trip to an exhibition of fashion illustrator Gruau’s work at Somerset House in London. As a student at St Martins, Galliano had studied fashion illustration and had initially chosen this as his career path before his Incroyables collection in 1984 changed all that. Galliano perfectly understood and appreciated the draughtsmanship and skill of Gruau, whom Mr. Dior employed as artistic director for advertisements for the fledgling company in 1947. Gruau could evoke the essence of a fashion collection – the silhouette, the volume, the movement – using a limited palette and minimal lines with just a few well-placed brush strokes or lines of charcoal. A tent was erected in the gardens of the Musée Rodin with a large revolving geometric sculpture at one end of the catwalk flooded with red light, from which the models emerged. A tent was erected in the gardens of the Musee Rodin with a large revolving geometric sculpture at one end of the catwalk flooded with red light. From here, the models emerged, their faces and legs, painted white, with upswept eyeshadow and liner, curved red paper eyebrows and sophisticated classic 50s hairstyles. Galliano also wanted to reflect in the clothes the chiaroscuro (light to dark graduations) found in Irving Penn’s photographs of the illustrator’s wife, the mannequin – Renée. To achieve this effect, instead of dying or painting

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Galliano, looking emaciated, took a brief curtain call, wearing a black and red ensemble from the Galliano menswear collection, which had been inspired by Rudolf Nureyev.

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the fabrics, he used up to seven graduated layers of tulle, all meticulously hand-couched by the “petitesmains”. Three days before the collection was due to be shown, not even one of the garments had been finished and Maison Hurel were still completing some of the embroidered panels. The opening looks were classic 50s Dior shapes, the sculpted frock coats with pleated ballerina skirts, fitted jackets with basques worn with pencil skirts and cinched waists emphasised by wrap-around alligator belts. Mainly in a palette of red, black and off-white (also bound in tulle) they were redolent of

Look 26. Ivory and pastel degradé organza gown with ostrich fronds overall.

Gruau’s 1950 “The Red Coat”. It looked as though the artist’s sketches had come to life. The cocktail and ball gowns that followed were mainly in nude and pastel degradé shades adorned with sparkling embroidery, feather fronds or floral appliqués. Many were strapless with boned integral corsets and were worn with contrasting opera-length gloves. Dior’s late 1950s sack-backs with long billowing trains, balloon sleeves and bubble-hems were reprised. Voluminous layers of graduated tulle and Balenciaga-like, baby-doll, empire-line silhouettes abounded, some adorned with sequins or delicate feather fronds.

Look 31. Tulle and organza sack back gown embroidered by Vernoux.

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The result was a modern take on the classic Dior shapes – with an innovative approach to fabric techniques and a refined, discreet opulence supplied by the exceptional skill and dedication of the Dior atelier. Poignantly, in a post-show interview for what would be his last great Dior couture collection, he attested, “I just do what I believe in instinctively. Intuition . . . what I feel what is right for the house, what will inspire the house and all its facets and I do it with my heart.” Dior archive

It was one of the most beautiful, understated and accomplished couture collections of Galliano’s career – but it was also to be his last for Maison Dior. On 1 March 2011, Galliano was dismissed from both Dior and Galliano brands after making anti-Semitic remarks in a Paris bar whilst drunk. He was replaced at Dior by the director of the studio Bill Gaytten (then Bill Gaytten left Dior to go to Galliano when Raf Simons was named the new artistic director at Dior).

Look 5. Blurred, colour-wash effects were achieved by layering raw edges of tulle on collars. Pencil dashes and brushstrokes were evoked with sequins, beads and more embroidery.

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2011–12 Autumn/Winter

dior ready-to-wear

(English Romantic Poets) 4 March 2011 Musée Rodin, Paris 62 looks

“Galliano: Downfall of a Couturier” WWD, 2 March 2011

Outside the Dior show, there was increased police security, but there were no scenes, no demonstrations – just one fashionista holding a placard announcing “The King is Dead”. Copies of the International Herald Tribune were insensitively handed out to the fashion-goers, encased in an ill-timed Dior “Addict” lipstick glossy folder.

extraordinary, creative, and marvelous efforts of these loyal, hardworking people.” Toladano’s address

Michael Howells’ silvery, simulated glass set mimicked Dior’s Grand Salon, which in those sombre circumstances took on a ghostly, fragile ambience. Instead of the usual noisy kerfuffle at the beginning of the show – there was an eerie silence. Sidney Toledano, Dior’s President, took to the stage to deliver a long, dignified address in French. Not once did he mention the designer’s name; instead, he restated Monsieur Dior’s and the Maison’s ethos and principles and the fact that Dior’s own sister had been transported to Ravensbrück concentration camp. “It has been deeply painful to see the Dior name associated with the disgraceful statements attributed to its designer, however brilliant he may be . . . The values that Monsieur Dior taught us are unchanged today. Those values are carried on by the wonderful and diverse group of people within the House of Dior who devote all their talent and energy to achieving the ultimate in artisanship and femininity, respecting traditional skills and incorporating modern techniques . . . What you are going to see now is the result of the

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Mr Sidney Toledano addressing the audience before the show.

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As a swan-song for Galliano, the collection was not really representative as it was not couture and there was also uncertainty as to how much of it he had actually designed. WWD reported,

The dignified, white-coated seamstresses and artisans of the Ateliers shuffled onto the stage, smiling nervously, unused as they were to being in the limelight.

“The rumor is that Galliano had been A/WOL of late, so how much he actually designed versus what was left to the hands of his talented team is unknown.” WWD, 7 March 2011

There was a sense of pathos as the audience cheered and wept not only in tribute to the people who had worked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure the show would go on, but also in part for the shocking and abrupt end of Galliano’s dazzling career – for the terrible waste. His close design team were notable by their absence, presumably as a show of solidarity to him.

There were a vast number of looks, and it seemed there had been little editing. The collection had been inspired by the “Dandyism” of English Romantic poets, including Lord Byron. The daywear palette seemed to reflect the sombre mood; mainly burgundy, black, navy, grey and sage in rich fabrics, including brocade, velvet, soft leather, suede, tweed and tweed-effect knits. For evening, the palette changed to pastel and jewel tones and ranged from short, flirty layered cocktail dresses to full-length empire line columns, the latter ironically redolent of Galliano’s Fallen Angels collection of S/S 1986. There were around thirty-four evening looks, which came out in such fast and furious succession, that the photographers called out in protest. In the absence of Galliano’s usual theatrical finales, Julia Saner (the last model out) blew a simple kiss to the crowd.

Karlie Kloss opened the show in a swooshing ankle-length “highwayman” cape (again), this time in cashmere.

The atelier staff who had produced the collection, but without their Creative Director.

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(Untitled) 6 March 2011 34 Avenue Foch, Paris 20 looks

“Rather than a collection in its own right, this was a tantalizing glimpse of what could have been” Alexander Fury, SHOWstudio report, 6 March 2011

There had been uncertainty whether the Galliano RTW show would take place two days later. In the end it did, but the venue was changed from La Coupole on the Left Bank, to the smaller gilded Belle Epoch ballroom of 34, Avenue Foch. A mise-en-scene was created in the gilded rooms, with antique furniture, chandeliers and a central banquette including a seemingly discarded vintage teddy bear. This more intimate setting and small number of looks evoked memories of the good old days, of Galliano’s glorious A/W 1994 show at Sao Schlumberger’s Hotel Particulier. That occasion had catapulted the designer to international notice and acclaim, whereas this one served only to remind all how the mighty had fallen. Alexander Fury wrote, “You felt as if, perhaps, you were witnessing the lowest ebb of his career. Or possibly of his life.” SHOWstudio report, 6 March 2011

The clothes were beautiful, each piece accessorised by a Stephen Jones hat, and included great Galliano classics – bias-cut 30s-style evening gowns, cocoon opera coat and beautifully tailored jackets – which had formed part of his oeuvre since the 1980s. Chiffon, quilted satin, tweed and fur garments were combined with latex skirts and worn with strappy

Karlie Kloss in Galliano trademark: the bias-cut dress—with arrowhead motifs in chiffon.

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shoes adorned with chains for that subversive Galliano twist. The final piece – a white goddess gown seemingly held up by a band of pink ribbon bows – was graceful and sublime. Also attending was Vogue journalist, and friend who had followed his career since the 1980s, Lucinda Chambers. She described the show as: “quintessentially John, with everything he loves. A sort of glamorous Miss Marple all the way to an elaborate Isadora Duncan with the beautiful kimonos in between. The atmosphere overshadowed it though – it was very serious and sombre and I think people felt slightly in shock.” Vogue.com

Eau de nil wool and Chantilly kimono coat, with fox fur cuffs.

Galliano’s drunken tirade had ended his career, but the huge contribution he made not only to Dior (which he dragged screaming into the twenty-first century), but also to fashion as a whole, remains undiminished. Where Galliano led, others followed, not only in the fashions he created but in his new way of working, linking his vision and the studio, with its large close-knit team, with marketing, accessories, shop fronts, cosmetics and perfume. This has become a template for contemporary fashion labels the world over in an industry now worth billions. He spent longer at Dior than the founder himself. In Christian Dior’s magnificent seventieth anniversary retrospective exhibition in 2017, held at the Musée des Arts Decoratifs and in 2019 at the Victoria & Albert Museum, each Galliano piece was notable for its exceptional beauty, creative innovation and originality. The astonishingly large body of work Galliano produced under both labels over a period of twenty-seven years is a testament not only of his dedication and work ethic, but his brilliance and enduring genius.

Simple elegance—the final look of his final Galliano show, watched over by Sidney Toledano.

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Renaissance After his very public dismissal and censure, Galliano travelled to Arizona for rehabilitation, but still managed to design old friend Kate Moss’ wedding dress for August of that year. He avoided the public eye, spending most of his time in the tranquillity of his home in the French countryside.

Galliano and Maison Margiela

In 2013, at the instigation of supporter and friend Anna Wintour, he briefly joined Oscar de la Renta’s studio in New York as “designer in residence”

for three weeks in the lead-up to the 14 February A/W 2013 show. The paparazzi were lined up on the pavement outside, but he remained behind the scenes, watching the show on a monitor with Mr de la Renta, whom Galliano described as “protective, like a father almost. I felt safe” ( John Galliano interview with Bridget Foley, 9 March 2016). De la Renta had been suffering ill health for some time and it was thought that Galliano could become his successor. However, talks broke down because they did not wish to pay for Galliano’s experienced, but expensive, team, as reported in WWD in April 2014.

Margiela Artisanal collection 2015 Spring/Summer 12 January 2015 Victoria, London 24 looks

“John’s Back!” WWD 2015 January 13

Galliano had been in talks since 2012 with Renzo Rosso of OTB (Only The Brave) who had acquired the Margiela label in 2002. Galliano, still wrestling with his demons, was not ready, but in October 2014 they finally reached an agreement. “It was a new beginning for Galliano and a new beginning for Margiela,” he said. The founder, Martin Margiela, had retired in 2009, since when the label had been languishing. The company’s name was now shortened to “Maison Margiela”. For Galliano, joining Margiela was a much easier proposition than

starting a label from scratch. The fact that he could walk into an already established atelier (albeit one that might need augmenting) was hugely attractive. He took with him his loyal, experienced assistant, Vanessa Bellanger, who had worked closely with him since the 1990s. He also invited young students into his team (he called them his Instagram Babes) who introduced him to the digital age – previously he had been unable to even send an email for himself.

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Instead of working at a distance, he became involved intimately in the day-to-day work of the studio, scissors in hand, shaping fabric on the form. He also spent time in the Margiela archive, getting a better understanding of the DNA of the brand. He had tea with founder Martin Margiela, the deeply private Belgian originator of the label, who shuns publicity and has never been photographed, who told him, “Take what you will from the DNA of the house, protect yourself, and make it your own.” Vogue Forces of Fashion, 12 October 2017

His “Red Bride” finale piece was redolent of a “Day of the Dead” icon, the veiled crowned figure with a plastron of mirrors and trinkets. In his ivory tower at Dior, Galliano had become isolated from realities of daily life. A chauffeur-driven limousine drove him to the gym each day without him realizing it was round the corner from where he lived. Now, at Margiela, he had a chance to reconnect and move forward.

For the first show, Galliano chose to return “home” to London, where he had launched his career in 1984. It took place in an office block in Victoria with a sterile, simple, white interior, white painted ballroom chairs arranged on either side of an aluminium tiled catwalk floor. It was exclusive. With just 150 seats, only the most important press, retail buyers and close friends were invited. There were stalwart supporters, including Judy Blame (who made the jewellery for Forgotten Innocents A/W 86–87), designers Rifat Ozbek, Christopher Bailey and Alber Elbaz, Rabbi Barry Marcus from the London Central Synagogue (who had coached him on the tenets of Judaism as part of his recovery), photographer Nick Knight, shoemaker Manolo Blahnik and a giggling, apologetic Kate Moss, who arrived late. Once more a Galliano show was the hottest ticket in town. He took elements of the Margiela vocabulary – minimalism, deconstructivism, the reuse of discarded objects – and made them his own. The first look, a deconstructed Stockman mannequin jacket, referenced Margiela’s S/S 1997 original, adorned with toy cars painted black. Shells collected from beaches in Normandy, the South Pacific and from a friend’s mother’s moule marinière were painted and turned into Giuseppe Arcimboldo-like faces on the front of the clothes. “Reconnecting is living in the present. Living in the moment, seeing the beauty in those shells that maybe I overlooked before.” Galliano to Hamish Bowles, US Vogue, 1 March 2015

Look 5. Scarlet wool coat with transparent vinyl pockets and shell embellishments.

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For those looking for something more mainstream, there were beautifully cut gowns in black and red, reiterating Margiela’s minimalist creed.

At the end of the show, the models returned not wearing their original outfits but the toiles that had been used to make them – celebrating every stage of the design process, seeing beauty in the labour and the thought processes behind them.

Look 2. A deconstructed jacket worn with striped leggings, with a feather headdress, reminiscent of Kate Moss’ iconic “The Face” front cover in 1990, photographed by Corinne Day.

Unlike the grand-standing performances of past shows, Galliano made a modest “blink and you missed him” bow, wearing a white atelier coat. “I’ve tried my best. To be given this second chance, I’m so grateful for it. It’s been such a joy to be able to create.” Ibid.

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credits

All reasonable efforts have been made to trace, clear permission, and credit the copyright holders of the images reproduced in this book. However, if any credits have been inadvertently omitted, the publisher will endeavour to incorporate amendments in future editions. Unless otherwise credited, the images are from the author’s own collection. p. 8 Tom Mannion; p. 16 Neil McInerney, Photographer. © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.; p. 18 David Stevens/Associated Newspapers/REX/Shutterstock; p. 21 Getty Images UniversalImagesGroup/Contributor; p. 22 both Steven Philip Collection; p. 24 top Neil McInerney, Photographer. © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; p. 26 Steven Philip Collection; p. 28 William A. Casey Collection; p. 30 Steven Philip Collection; pp. 31, 32 Neil McInerney, Photographer. © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; p. 33 Steven Philip Collection; p. 36 Neil McInerney, Photographer. © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; pp. 41, 42 top, 43 Steven Philip Collection; pp. 42 bottom, 44 Neil McInerney, Photographer. © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; p. 47 both Neil McInerney, Photographer. © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; pp. 51 top, 52 Neil McInerney, Photographer. © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; p. 53 Steven Philip Collection; pp. 55 top, 57 Neil McInerney, Photographer. © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; p. 56 Hamish Bowles Collection; p. 59 Neil McInerney, Photographer. © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; p. 60 left Hamish Bowles Collection; pp. 61, 62, 63, 64 all, 66 right, 68, 69 top Neil McInerney, Photographer. © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; pp. 71, 72 Steven Philip Collection; p. 73 both Neil McInerney, Photographer. © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; p. 74 right Private Collection; pp. 75, 78, 79, 80, 81 right Neil McInerney, Photographer. © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; p. 81 left Steven Philip Collection; pp. 83, 84, 85 left, 89 top, 90, 93, 94 left, 95 both, 96 left Neil McInerney, Photographer. © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; p. 94 right Resurrection Vintage Archive; p. 96 bottom Photo by Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty Images; pp. 98, 99 Steven Philip Collection; pp. 100, 101, 102 Neil McInerney, Photographer. © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; p. 103 Steven Philip Collection; p. 105 top left and right Neil McInerney, Photographer. © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; pp. 106, 107, 108 Neil McInerney, Photographer. © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; p. 109 Iain R. Webb Collection; pp. 110, 111 left, 112-113 Neil McInerney, Photographer. © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; p. 111 right Slim Barrett Collection; p. 114 Steven Philip Collection; p. 116 left Resurrection Vintage Archive; pp. 116 right, 117 Neil McInerney, Photographer. © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; pp. 123, 125, 126 Neil McInerney, Photographer. © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; p. 124 Steven Philip Collection; pp. 128, 129 Neil McInerney, Photographer. © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; p. 130 The Sands Archive; pp. 131, 132 Neil McInerney, Photographer. © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; p. 135 Steven Philip Collection; pp. 136, 137 left Neil McInerney, Photographer. © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; p. 137 right Photo by Thierry Orban/Sygma via Gerry Images; p. 138 Photo PL Gould/ IMAGES/Getty Images; p. 140 Photo Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty Images; pp. 143, 145 both, 146 top Photo by Guy Marineau/Condé Nast via Getty Images; p. 144 Photo by Ke.Mazur/WireImage; p. 146 bottom Photo by Stephane Cardinale/ Sygma via Getty Images; pp. 148 all, 150, 151 left Neil McInerney, Photographer. © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; p. 149 both Steven Philip Collection; p. 151 right Action Press/REX/Shutterstock; p. 152 Steven Philip Collection; pp. 153, 154

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bottom Neil McInerney, Photographer. © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; p. 154 top Dior Heritage; p. 155 top Pierre Verdy/AFP/Getty Images; p. 155 bottom left Photo by Guy Marineau/ Condé Nast via Getty Images; p. 155 bottom right Giannoni Giovanni/Penske Media/REX/Shutterstock; p. 156 Mark Large/Daily Mail/REX/Shutterstock; p. 157 Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images; pp. 159 top left, 159 bottom Neil McInerney, Photographer. © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; p. 160 top Resurrection Vintage Archive; p. 160 bottom Photo by Stephane Cardinale/Sygma via Getty Images; pp. 162 both, 164 left Courtesy of Lars Nilsson; p. 163 Giannoni Giovanni/Penske Media/ REX/Shutterstock; p. 165 bottom Photo by Stephane Cardinale/Sygma via Getty Images; p. 168 Photo by Stephane Cardinale/Sygma via Getty Images; p. 169 Iain R. Webb Collection; p. 170 Resurrection Vintage Archive; p. 171 left Michel Euler/AP/REX/Shutterstock; p. 171 right Photo by Stephane Cardinale/Sygma via Getty Images; p. 172 Photo by Thierry Orban/Sygma via Getty Images; p. 173 top Sipa Press/REX/Shutterstock; p. 173 bottom Ken Towner/Evening Standard/ REX/Shutterstock; p. 174 top Photo by Thierry Orban/Sygma via Getty Images; p. 174 bottom Stephane Cardinale/Sygma via Getty Images; p. 175 Courtesy of Doyle Auctioneers & Appraisers; p. 176 Resurrection Vintage Archive; p. 177 both Courtesy Lars Nilsson; p. 179 left Ken Towner/ Evening Standard/REX/Shutterstock; p. 179 right Neil McInerney, Photographer. © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; p. 180 Evan Agostini/ImageDirect; p. 181 left Eric Feferberg/AFP/Getty Images; p. 181 right Photo by Guy Marineau/ Condé Nast via Getty Images; p. 182 Photo by Pierre Vauthey/ Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images; p. 184 © Gregory Chester; p. 185 right Mark Large/Daily Mail/ REX/Shutterstock; pp. 186, 187, 188 Neil McInerney, Photographer. © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; p. 189 Photo by Daniel Simon/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images; p. 190 Photo by Thierry Orban/Sygma via Getty Images; p. 191 left Pierre Verdy/AFP/Getty Images; p. 191 right Photo by Daniel Simon/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images; pp. 192, 193, 194 Neil McInerney, Photographer. © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; p. 195 Steven Philip Collection; p. 196 both Cavan Pawson/ Evening Standard/REX/Shutterstock; p. 197 Sothebys (bag invite); pp. 198, 199, 200, 201 Neil McInerney, Photographer. © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; p. 202 Pierre Verdy/AFP/Getty Images; p. 203 Resurrection Vintage Archive; p. 204 right Photo by Pierre Vauthey/Sygma/Sygma via Getty; p. 205 Photo by Stephane Cardinale/Sygma via Getty Images; p. 206 Steve Wood/REX/ Shutterstock; p. 207 Jean-Pierre Muller/AFP/Getty Images; pp. 208, 209 right, 210 Photo by Guy Marineau/ Condé Nast via Getty Images; p. 209 left Photo by Pierre Vauthey/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images; p. 211 Jean-Pierre Muller/AFP/Getty Images; p. 212 Photo by Gilles Bassignac/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images; p. 213 left Tennants Auctioneers; p. 213 right Pierre Verdy/AFP/ Getty Images; p. 214 Mark Large/Daily Mail/REX/Shutterstock; p. 215 bottom right Jean-Pierre Muller/AFP/Getty Images; p. 216 Photo by Laurent van der Stockt/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images; pp. 217, 218 left, 219 Photo by Daniel Simon/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images; p. 218 right Photo by Alexis Duclos/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images; pp. 220, 221 right, 222 both Pierre Verdy/AFP/Getty Images; p. 221 left Resurrection Vintage Archive; p. 223 Resurrection Vintage Archive; p. 224 Photo by Thierry Orban/Sygma via Getty Images; pp. 225, 226 right, 227 Photo by Daniel Simon/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images; p. 226 left Photo by Pierre Vauthey/ Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images; pp. 228, 230 top Photo by Alexis Duclos/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images; p. 229 both Resurrection Vintage Archive; pp. 230 bottom, 231, 232 top Pierre Verdy/AFP/ Getty Images; p. 232 bottom REX/Shutterstock; p. 233 Photo by Thierry Orban/Sygma via Getty Images; p. 234 left Pierre Verdy/AFP/Getty Images; p. 234 right Photo by Stephane Cardinale/Sygma via Getty Images; p. 234 bottom left Pierre Verdy/AFP/Getty Images; p. 235 Museu de la Moda; pp. 236, 237 bottom Photo by Charly Hel/Prestige/Getty Images; p. 237 top both Jean-Pierre Muller/ AFP/Getty Images; p. 238 Roger Vale and Bryan Purdy; p. 239 left Pierre Verdy/AFP/Getty Images; p. 239 right Resurrection Vintage Archive; p. 240 Photo by Alexis Duclos/Gammo-Rapho via

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Getty Images; p. 241 both Mehdi Fedouach/AFP/Getty Images; p. 242 Photo by Alexis Duclos/ Gammo-Rapho via Getty Images; pp. 244 left, 245 Photo by Pool Bassignac/Benainous/Gammo-Rapho via Getty Images; p. 244 right Remy de la Mauviniere/AP/REX/Shutterstock; p. 246 top Jean-Pierre Muller/AFP/Getty Images; pp. 246 bottom, 247 both Photo by Pool Bassignac/ Benainous/Gammo-Rapho via Getty Images; pp. 248, 249 Pierre Verdy/AFP/Getty Images; p. 250 both Sipa Press/REX/Shutterstock; p. 252 Photo by Stephane Cardinale/Corbis via Getty Images; p. 253 Photo by Charly Hel/Prestige/Getty Images; pp. 255 both, 256 Alex Lentati/Evening Standard/REX/Shutterstock; p. 257 Cavan Pawson/Evening Standard/REX/Shutterstock; p. 258 JeanPierre Muller/AFP/Getty Images; p. 259 top Resurrection Vintage Archive; pp. 259 bottom, 260, 261 Photo by Stephane Cardinale/Corbis via Getty Images; pp. 262, 263 right Pierre Verdy/AFP/ Getty Images; p. 263 left Photo by Pool Bassignac/Benainous/Gammo-Rapho via Getty Images; p. 264 Miquel Benitez/REX/Shutterstock p. 265 Mark Large/Daily Mail/REX/Shutterstock; p. 266 left Paul Cooper/REX/Shutterstock; p. 266 right Mark Large/Daily Mail/REX/Shutterstock; p. 267 Marilyn Glass Collection; p. 268 Photo by Pool Bassignac/Benainous/Gammo-Rapho via Getty Images; p. 269 top Resurrection Vintage Archive; p. 269 bottom Photo by Michel Dufour/WireImage; p. 270 Photo by Stephane Cardinale/Corbis via Getty Images; p. 271 left Francois Guillot/ AFP/Getty Images; pp. 271 right, 272, 273, 274 top Photo by Pool Bassignac/Benainous/Gammo-Rapho via Getty Images; p. 274 bottom Photo by Michel Dufour/WireImage; p. 275 Photo by Jean Baptiste Lacroix/WireImage; p. 276 top Photo by Pool Bassignac/Benainous/Gammo-Rapho via Getty Images; p. 276 bottom Oliver Hoslet/EPA/REX/Shutterstock; pp. 277, 278 bottom Photo by Stephane Cardinale/Corbis via Getty Images; p. 278 top Photo by Pool Bassignac/Benainous/Gammo-Rapho via Getty Images; p. 279 Photo by Pool Bassignac/Benainous/Gammo-Rapho via Getty Images; p. 280 left Jean-Pierre Muller/AFP/Getty Images; p. 280 right Mark Large/Daily Mail/REX/Shutterstock; pp. 281, 282, 283 right Photo by Pool Bassignac/Benainous/Gammo-Rapho via Getty Images; p. 283 left Sipa Press/REX/Shutterstock; pp. 284, 285 left REX/ Shutterstock; p. 285 right Francois Guillot/AFP/Getty Images; pp. 286, 287 top, 288 bottom Photo by Pool Bassignac/Benainous/Gammo-Rapho via Getty Images; pp. 287 bottom, 288 top Francois Guilllot/AFP/Getty Images; p. 289 both Giovanni Giannoni/Penske Media/REX/Shutterstock; p. 290 CRIS; p. 291 Sam Yeh/AFP/Getty Images; p. 292 Francois Guillot/AFP/Getty Images; p. 293 both Photo by Lebon/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images; p. 294 all three Photo by Michel Dufour/WireImage; pp. 295, 296 left Giovanni Giannoni/Penske Media/REX/Shutterstock; p. 296 right Photo by Pool Bassignac/Benainous/Gammo-Rapho via Getty Images; p. 297 top Photo by Michel Dufour/WireImage; p. 297 bottom Victor Virgile/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images; p. 298 Photo by Pool Bassignac/Benainous/Gammo-Rapho via Getty Images; p. 299 left Francois Guillot/ AFP/Getty Images; p. 299 right Cheryl Vick; p. 300 Sipa Press/REX/Shutterstock; p. 301 left Photo by Michel Dufour/WireImage; p. 301 right Francois Guillot/AFP/Getty Images; p. 302, 303 both Photo by Pool Bassignac/Benainous/Gammo-Rapho via Getty Images; p. 304 both, 305 Francois Guillot/AFP/Getty Images; p. 306 both Photo by Pool Bassignac/Benainous/Gammo-Rapho via Getty Images; p. 307 Oliver Weiken/EPA/REX/Shutterstock; p. 308 left Sipa Press/REX/Shutterstock; p. 308 right Photo by Antoine Antoniol/Bloomberg via Getty Images; pp. 309, 310 left Photo by Alain Benainous/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images; pp. 310 right, 311, 312, 313, 314 bottom, 315, 316, 318 left Francois Guillot/AFP/Getty Images; p. 314 top Marilyn Glass; p. 317 Archives Patrimoine John Galliano; p. 318 right Photo by Judith White/Bloomberg via Getty Images; pp. 321 right, 322 both Photo by Tony Barson/WireImage; pp. 321 left, 323 Francois Guillot/AFP/Getty Images; p. 324 Photo by Pool Bassignac/Benainous/Gammo-Rapho via Getty Images; p. 325 left Photo by Tony Barson/WireImage; p. 325 right Photo by Victor Virgile/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images; pp. 326, 327 top Photo by Lorenzo Santini/WireImage; p. 327

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bottom Photo by Michelle Leung/WireImage; p. 328, 329 left Francois Guillot/AFP/Getty Images; p. 329 right Photo by Tony Barson/WireImage; p. 330 Str/EPA/REX/Shutterstock; p. 331 left Photo by Pierre Hounsfield/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images; pp. 331 right, 332, 335 left Francois Guillot/AFP/Getty Images; p. 333 both Photo by Michel Dufour/WireImage; p. 334 Photo by Tony Barson/WireImage; p. 336 top Photo by Tony Barson Archive/WireImage; pp. 336 bottom, 337, 338 right, 340 both Francois Guillot/AFP/Getty Images; p. 338 left Resurrection Vintage Archive; p. 339 Photo by Michel Dufour/WireImage; p. 341 Photo by Antonio de Moraes Barros Filho/WireImage; pp. 342, 343 left Photo by Pierre Hounsfield/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images; p. 343 right © Christian Dior; p. 344 top Francois Guillot/AFP/Getty Images; p. 344 bottom Photo by Tony Barson/WireImage; pp. 345, 346 right Francois Guillot/AFP/Getty Images; p. 346 left Photo by Chris Moore/Catwalking/Getty Images; p. 347 Photo by Alain Benainous/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images; p. 348 left Francois Guillot/AFP/Getty Images; p. 348 right Photo by Dominique Charriau/WireImage; pp. 349, 351, 354 right Photo by Alain Benainous/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images; pp. 350, 352 Photo Tony Barson/WireImage; pp. 353, 354 left, 356 left, 357 Francois Guillot/AFP/Getty Images; p. 355 Giovanni Giannoni/Penske Media/REX/Shutterstock; p. 356 right Photo by Antonio de Moraes Barros Filho/WireImage; pp. 358, 360 Photo by Tony Barson/WireImage; p. 359 both Photo by Pool Bassignac/Benainous/Gammo-Rapho via Getty Images; pp. 361, 362 both Tony Barson/WireImage; p. 363 Giovanni Giannoni/Penske Media/REX/Shutterstock; p. 364 both Photo by Antonio de Moraes Barros Filho/WireImage; pp. 365, 366 right, 367 both Photo by Tony Barson/WireImage; pp. 366 left, 368, 369 right Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images; p. 369 left Maya Vidon/EPA/REX/Shutterstock ; p. 370 Steven Philip Collection; pp. 371 left, 372 Photo by Antonio de Moraes Barros Filho/WireImage; p. 371 right REX/Shutterstock; p. 373 Photo by Michel Dufour/WireImage; pp. 374 both, 375 Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images; pp. 376, 377 right Photo by Dominique Charriau/ WireImage; p. 377 left Photo by Antonio de Moraes Barros Filho/WireImage; p. 378 Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images; p. 379 top Photo by Victor Virgile/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images; p. 379 bottom Michel Dufour/WireImage; pp. 381, 382 right Pixelformula/SIPA/REX/ Shutterstock; p. 382 left Giovanni Giannoni/Penske Media/REX/Shutterstock.

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index

A Abellan, Miguel, 320 Accessories, 15–16, 22, 32, 57–58, 86, 101, 120, 134, 148, 152, 160, 174, 184, 224, 243, 259, 268–69, 271, 275–77, 314, 330, 330–31, 333, 350, 379. See also Bag(s); Corset(s) Afghan hats, 21, 22, 363 barrel coats, 41–42, 48, 63 bee-keeper hats, 51 belts, 22, 27, 51, 54, 86, 99, 104, 128, 164, 167, 192, 203, 213, 215, 217, 221, 228, 230, 232, 237, 243, 263, 280, 298, 314, 331, 334, 337, 345, 348, 350, 356, 371, 374 bowler hats, 20, 80, 276 felt hats, 27, 57, 285, 343 fur hats, 96, 234 hats, 10, 15, 26, 74, 76, 84, 88, 91, 101, 115, 126, 159, 166, 174, 186, 190, 196, 206, 237, 246, 250, 277–78, 288, 303, 307, 310, 327, 333, 339 knitted beanie hats, 221, 222 matador hats, 112, 128 riding hats, 150, 194 straw hats, 69, 86, 163, 270, 331 top hats, 12, 60, 61, 89, 195, 200, 211, 325, 359 Adams, Bryan, 170, 298 Addict perfume, 237 Adrian, Gilbert, 314 Affleck, Ben, 177 Afghanistan Repudiates Western Ideals collection, 20–21, 41, 43, 199, 241 (Africa), Galliano ready-to-wear, 231–32 Afro-Caribbean, 258 Aguecheek Ltd., 40–41, 43–45, 48, 54, 56, 62–63, 67, 71, 76, 83–86, 106 Aguilera, Christina, 305 Alaïa, Azzedine, 87, 104, 121, 133, 367 Alan Bilzerian, 102 Alba, Jessica, 367 Alderson, Chris, 20, 30, 40, 45 Alexander, Hilary, 183, 186, 201, 208, 216, 220 Alexandre, M., 154, 164, 200, 201 Allington, Ray, 32, 48 Alma-Tadema, 323 Amor, Faycal, 86, 91, 97 Amphetamine suits, 89 Anastasia (MacMillan), 118 Andrews, Deborah (née Bulleid), 15, 20, 25, 40, 55 Andrews Sisters, 254 Anne Sophie, 210 Antoinette, Marie, 201, 210, 296 Arbus, Diane, 199 Archer, Robin, 251 Ardouin, Jean-Luc, 104, 110, 121, 150 Arlette, Irene, 56 Armani, Giorgio, 20, 40, 67 Armstrong, Lisa, 99, 102, 180, 188, 216 Arnault, Bernard, 107, 108, 120, 123, 128, 133, 134, 139, 140, 141, 143, 146, 148, 168, 182, 201, 230, 257, 306, 316 Arquette, Rosanna, 243 Arteau, Satya, 200 Ashton, Frederick, 118 Astaire, Fred, 244 Atelier Dynale, 264, 265, 367

Atkinson, Julie, 57 Auermann, Nadja, 99, 100, 101, 106 Avedon, Richard, 264 Avril, Jane, 154 Ayoub, Mouna, 146, 201

B Baby, Dave, 31 Baby Maker, Galliano ready-to-wear, 124–26 Back to Basics, Dior ready-to-wear, 305–6 Baez, Joan, 300 Bag(s). See also Accessories Boom Box overnight bag, 220 clutch bags, 128, 148, 224, 293, 335 detective, 279, 283 duffle, 76 football, 206 gaucho bag, 291, 298, 299 handbags, 10, 159, 192, 200, 206, 213, 221, 243, 252, 256, 261, 269, 278, 283, 306, 314, 315, 331, 353 leather, 252, 324 purses, 99, 169, 204, 263, 356 saddle bags, 197, 204, 213, 237, 252 Bagutta, Marc, 90, 102 Bailey, Christopher, 381 Baker, Josephine, 166 Baker, Lindsey, 77 Bakst, Leon, 115, 161, 164, 174 Balenciaga, Cristobal, 10, 110, 112, 118, 119, 240, 264, 328, 349, 374 The Ballad of Cable Hogue (film), 125 Ballet, 9, 75, 115, 117, 118, 161, 164, 178, 233, 257, 258, 288 Ballets Russes, Galliano ready-to-wear, 178–79 Ballroom, 108, 143, 258, 378 Bankhead, Tallulah, 355 Bara, Theda, 150 Barnett, Sheridan, 12 Barneys, 96, 126 Barrett, Slim, 94, 110, 111, 112, 113, 115, 136 Barrymore, Drew, 304 Basile, Andrew, 75 Bass, Anne, 97, 139 Bassman, Lillian, 286, 287 Baufumé, Francois, 133–34, 141, 148, 152 Beach Boys, 277 Beale, Edie Bouvier, 326 Beamon, Erickson, 94, 156 Beaton, Cecil, 286, 288, 359 Beekeeper look, 52, 367 Belford, Patricia, 59 Bellafante, Ginia, 232, 234 Bellanger, Vanessa, 118, 134, 380 Belle Époque, 155–57, 166, 177, 262, 302, 317, 378 Bellucci, Monica, 280 Benatar, Pat, 298 Benito, Eduardo, 267, 334 Bérard, Christian, 95, 286, 288 Berardi, Antonio, 77, 86 Berenson, Marisa, 121, 209 Bergdorf Goodman, 22, 75, 96, 102, 126, 152, 159, 160 Bergé, Pierre, 122, 181, 201 Bergman, Ingrid, 139

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Berkeley, Busby, 241 Bernhardt, Sarah, 153, 154 Bertelsen, Peder, 40–41, 43, 45, 48–50, 67, 70–73, 76–77, 80, 83–86, 256 Betak, Alexandre, 347, 348 Bibby, Ian, 40, 45, 49, 70, 75 Bick, Susie, 121 Billen, Andrew, 90 Binoche, Juliette, 274 Black collection, 9, 98–102, 102 Black Narcissus, 130, 132 Blahnik, Manolo, 88, 91, 94, 99, 101, 125, 132, 137, 144, 156, 163, 166, 174, 178, 186, 381 Blair, Alistair, 40, 43, 44, 45, 49, 67 Blake, William, 29, 30 Blame, Judy, 35, 38, 381 Blanche DuBois collection, 50, 57, 60, 106, 260, 311, 350 Blanks, Tim, 86, 91, 123, 164, 198, 201, 345, 361, 363, 370–72 Blige, Mary J., 202 Bloomingdales, 22, 43, 53 Blow, Isabella, 70, 83 Blue Peter (television), 206 Blue Rondo a la Turk, 69 BodyMap, 28, 39 Bohan, Marc, 133, 139 Boitano, Joseph, 152 Boivin, Fred, 101 Boivin, René, 99, 101 Boleyn, Anne, 174 Bollywood, Galliano ready-to-wear, 245–47 Borgo, Marianne Chicero, 292 Bottjer, Sue, 45, 46, 51, 59, 62, 63 Bowery, Leigh, 12, 39, 208, 245 Bowie, David, 102 Bowles, Hamish, 15, 22, 56, 60, 70, 381 Bowles, Sally, 170 (Boxers, Boho & Rave), Dior ready-to-wear, 220–22 Boy George, 12 Brampton, Sally, 14, 91, 96, 108, 118 Brancusi, 115, 339, 348, 372 Brando, Marlon, 103, 104, 325, 369 Branovan, Carrie, 45, 46 Brassaï, 56, 101, 317 Brian Purdy and Roger Vale Collection, 238 Bricard, Mizza, 143, 325 Bright, Dean, 28 British, Galliano ready-to-wear, 339–41 British Fashion Council, 41, 44, 45, 49, 53, 54, 58, 63, 68 Brown, Foxy, 202 Brown, Willie, 12 Browning, Marion, 57 Browns, 16–18, 27, 40, 44, 96, 99, 102 Brun, Johann, 18–20, 22, 24, 34–35, 38–39, 86 Bruni, Carla, 99, 110, 115, 131, 334 Bucol, 164, 174 Bugs Bunny jacket, 72–73, 75 Bult, John, 97, 102, 107, 108, 133 Bündchen, Gisele, 196, 206, 236, 243, 267, 275, 321, 322 Burrows, Saffron, 83 Burstein, Joan, 17, 27 Bustle dress, 46, 47, 52

C Cabaret, Galliano ready-to-wear, 169–71 Cabine Fever, Dior haute couture, 349–52 Cabourn, Nigel, 40, 67

Campbell, Naomi, 43, 44, 48, 65, 69, 88, 93, 99, 102, 115, 121, 123, 125, 128, 131, 136, 155, 158–60, 171, 178, 232, 288 Campion, Jane, 92 Can-can, 258 Cannes Film festival, 151, 203 Capshaw, Kate, 209 Caravaggio, 323 Carel, 302 Carné, Marcel, 302 Carter, Angela, 24 Carter, Helena Bonham, 35, 42 Carter, Howard, 264 Cartier, 101, 144 Cartner-Morley, Jess, 216 Carven, Madame, 108 Casati, Marchesa, 9, 115, 144, 153, 161–65, 191 Casey, William, 22, 26, 32, 33 Central School for Art and Design, 26 Chagall, Marc, 370 Chairman Mao, 176 Chambers, Lucinda, 379 Chancellor, Cecilia, 121 Chanel, 143 Chanel, Coco, 75, 103 Chanel, Gabrielle, 10 Chaplin, Charlie, 199, 200, 201, 276 (Charles James) collection, 58 Charleston dance, 258 Cher, 304 China, makeup by, 16 Chinese dragons, 209, 285 Chirac, Bernadette, 140, 143 Christensen, Helena, 69, 71, 83, 102, 112, 116, 121, 125, 132, 137–38, 150–51, 323 Christian Dior, 10, 143 Galliano at, 141 haute couture, 142–46, 153–55, 161–64, 172–75, 180–82, 189–91, 198–201, 208–11, 217–19, 225–27, 233–35, 240–42, 248–50, 257–59, 264–66, 272–74, 279–81, 286–89, 295–97, 302–4, 309–13, 320–23, 328–29, 334–36, 342–44, 349–52, 358–60, 365–67, 373–75 ready-to-wear, 147–48, 156–57, 166–68, 176–77, 183–85, 192–94, 202–4, 212–13, 220–22, 228–30, 236–37, 243–44, 251–53, 260–61, 267–69, 275–76, 282–83, 290–91, 298–99, 305–6, 314–16, 324–25, 330–31, 337–38, 345–46, 353–54, 361–62, 368–69, 376–77 Christian Dior Spirit Fiftieth Anniversary exhibition, 139–40 Circus collection, 135–37, 138, 148 “Clam” dress, 52, 53, 106, 154, 311 Cleopatra (film), 150 Clergue, Lucien, 296 Cocteau, Jean, 103, 180, 181, 182, 288, 320, 322, 370 Cole, Lily, 281, 289, 292, 318, 323, 367 Colin, Paul, 166 Collins, Joan, 121 Collins, Michael, 19, 22 Comic Strip Warriors, Dior haute couture, 217–19 Comme des Garcons, 40, 60 Communist China, 176 (Communist/Constructivist), Dior ready-to-wear, 176–77 Conran, Jasper, 39, 44–45, 53, 57, 59, 76 Contemporary Couture, Dior haute couture, 334–36 Coppola, Sofia, 280

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Corset(s), 74, 83, 88, 122, 140, 143–44, 154, 155, 160, 173, 206, 208, 258, 263, 271, 287–88, 290, 295, 335, 350, 351, 374 Corseted bodice, 94, 137, 197, 209, 344, 366 Corsetry, 38, 116, 177, 190, 193, 200, 208, 255, 258, 261, 263, 265, 287, 296, 354 Cotte, Genevieve, 145, 248, 321 Courtelle Collection, 28 Courtelle Award, 28 Courtelle Design Award, 57 Cox, Patrick, 10, 32–36, 38, 40, 43, 43–44, 48–49, 57 Craik, Laura, 245 Crawford, Joan, 254, 314 Creating a New Dance, Dior haute couture, 257–59 Crichton, Karen, 45, 47, 52, 55, 60, 65–66 Crisp, Quentin, 325 Crolla, 28 Cruz, Penelope, 243

D Dagworthy, Wendy, 28, 44 Dahl, Sophie, 210 Daily Mail (newspaper), 74, 84 Daily Telegraph (newspaper), 183, 186, 208, 216, 220, 243, 319 Dali, Salvador, 302, 303 Dandridge, Dorothy, 158, 159 Danes, Claire, 243 Day, Corinne, 382 Death in Venice, 89 de Chirico, Giorgio, 370 Deconstructivism, 88, 92, 198, 381 de l’Abrie Richey, Roubaix “Robo,” 166 Delacroix, 362 de la Fresange, Inès, 121 de la Renta, Oscar, 108, 380 Delaunay, Sonia, 170 Dell’Orefice, Carmen, 209 del Rio, Dolores, 109 del Rio, Jaime Martinez, 109, 110 de Noailles, Charles, 296 de Noailles, Marie-Laure, 296 de Ribes, Jaqueline, 139 de Saint Phalle, Sibylle, 24, 25, 27, 28, 32, 33, 38, 39, 40, 44, 118, 134, 204 Desmond, Norma, 355–56 Dessès, Jean, 356 Detective bags, 279, 283 Devoré, 59–60, 64, 77, 83, 90, 194, 299, 318 de Vries, Barbara, 28 de Vries, Bouke, 26, 27, 32 Deyn, Agyness, 307 Diaghilev, Serge, 103, 115 Diana (Princess), 40, 139–40 Dietering, Debbie, 94, 106 Dietrich, Marlene, 52, 260, 261, 324, 325 Dion, Celine, 180, 181 Dior, 9. See also Christian Dior Diorient Express, 9, 172–73, 176, 183 Dior’s Little Sweetheart Pin-Ups, Dior ready-to-wear, 147–48 Dixon, Sean, 44, 57 Dolores collection, 109–13, 122 Donovan, Carrie, 33 Dotty Duchess, 94, 95 Doukas, Sarah, 69 Dowd, Maureen, 199 Downey, Gail, 19, 25, 31, 36, 39, 43, 45

Downey, Shaun, 31 Draper, Betty, 128 Draper’s Record (magazine), 76 The Dream (Ashton), 118 DuBois, Blanche, 103 du Cann, Charlotte, 61 Duchess of York, 40, 143 Duclos, Jacqui, 97 Duffy, Martha, 123 Dufy, Raoul, 163, 164 Duncan, Isadora, 153–54, 155, 179, 379 Dunst, Kirsten, 275 Dyer, Tim, 57 Dylan, Bob, 279, 280 D’Ys, Julien, 10, 74–75, 77, 88, 93, 99, 101, 318, 371

E Earhart, Amelia, 282 Edie Sedgwick Meets Empress Josephine, Dior haute couture, 279–81 Edwardian Raj Princesses chez Dior or Mata Hari, Dior haute couture, 153–55 Egyptian, Dior haute couture, 264–66 Elbaz, Alber, 381 El Greco, 323 Elisabeth of Austria, 272 Elle (magazine), 59, 83, 87, 88 Elliot, Missy, 202 Elson, Karen, 214, 220 Empress Josephine, Givenchy haute couture, 83, 130–33, 138 Empress Sissi/Zsa Zsa Gabor, Dior haute couture, 272–74 (English Romantic Poets), Dior ready-to-wear, 376–77 Epsom School of Art, 50 Equestrienne/Charles James, Dior haute couture, 358–60 Esquimeau, Galliano ready-to-wear, 238–39 Evangelista, Linda, 100, 101, 106, 107, 139, 148, 150, 157, 167, 288, 323 Evening Standard (magazine), 50, 78, 84, 86, 130, 135, 178, 189, 192, 206, 245, 254 Everybody’s Beautiful, Galliano ready-to-wear, 292–94

F The Face (magazine), 26, 30, 49, 54, 61 Factory Girl (film), 279 Faithfull, Marianne, 279, 280 de la Falaise, LouLou, 56, 97 Fallen Angels collection, 29, 30, 51, 105, 110, 115, 181, 190, 199, 377 The Family That Eats Together, Stays Together, Galliano readyto-wear, 317–18 Fans, 18, 153, 248, 310, 336 Fantayzee, Haysi, 43 The Fashion File (film), 123, 201 Fath, Jacques, 152 Fellini, Federico, 135 (Fencing) collection, 72–75 Ferier, Bianchini, 41 Ferre, Gianfranco, 115, 121, 133, 139 Ferrell, Robert, 91 Filibustiers collection, 41, 87–91, 96, 97 Film Noir, Dior ready-to-wear, 353–54 “First holy communion” dress, 81, 116 Flamenco, 11, 21, 110, 112, 113, 126, 128, 129, 238, 257, 258, 261, 275, 292, 297, 321, 327 Flemish Old Masters, Dior haute couture, 342–44 Flett, John, 12, 15, 19, 31, 39, 44

Index  389

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Floral Line, Dior haute couture, 365–67 Fly Girl, Dior ready-to-wear, 202–4 Fonssagrives, Lisa, 334, 335 Fonteyn, Margot, 288 Forgotten Innocents collection, 35, 38–39, 48, 55, 110, 206, 270, 381 Foujita, Tsuguharu, 370 Fraboulet, Leroux, 164, 242 Frankel, Susannah, 11, 17, 133, 147, 151 Frecker, Paul, 16, 23, 26, 31, 34, 39 French Revolution, 296 Freud/Fetish, Dior haute couture, 208–11 From Mongolia to Russia, Dior haute couture, 233–35 Fundación Museo de la Moda Collection, 235 Funky Folklore, Dior ready-to-wear, 236–37 Fury, Alexander, 18, 378

G Gabor, Zsa Zsa, 272 Gallagher, Noel, 240 Galliano, John Charles, 9–10 Amanda Grieve and Madame Butterfly, 17–18 arrival at Dior, 141 awarded CBE by Her Majesty the Queen, 232 Creative Director of Christian Dior, 133 Creative Director of Givenchy, 108, 113, 118 Dior negotiations, 133–34 in Dior suit, 306 early days of, 11–12, 15–17 fashion sketches, 10, 13 financial backing for, 18–39 first ever label, 14 in fur, 175 as matador taking his bows, 234 move to Givenchy, 118–19 in Napoleon-style bicorne, 280 new label for, 41 photo as beekeeper, 367 photo as Brigand Chieftain, 364 photo at end of show, 102, 146, 188, 297 photo dressed as Lieutenant Pinkerton, 313 photograph with Princess Diana and Liz Tilberis, 140 photo in astronaut suit, 304 photo in unusual outfit, 325 photos of taking his bows, 90, 168, 247, 294 photo with models, 160, 323 portrait (1985), 8 posing in wind machine, 285 as prizefighter taking his bows, 222 ready-to-wear, 149–52, 158–60, 169–71, 178–79, 186–88, 195–97, 205–7, 214–16, 223–24, 231–32, 238–39, 245–47, 254–56, 262–63, 270–71, 277–78, 284–85, 292–94, 300–301, 307–8, 317–18, 326–27, 332–33, 339–41, 347–48, 355–57, 363–64, 370–72, 378–80 Galliano, John Joseph, 11 Galliano, Maria Immacula, 11 Galliano, Rose Marie, 11 “Galliano Gazette” print, 215, 263, 271, 278, 280, 289, 293, 356, 357 Galliano Jeans, 76, 85 Galliano’s Girl, 76, 85, 86, 97, 224, 370 Gangster Girls, Dior ready-to-wear, 324–25 Garbo, Greta, 55, 255, 282, 324 Gaultier, Jean-Paul, 76, 96, 133

Gautreau, Amelie, 328 Gaytten, Bill, 20, 30, 83, 86, 91, 97, 104, 118, 134, 375 Gelbard, Anne, 311, 366 Georgiades, Peter, 175 Getty, Talullah, 330 Gibson, Charles Dana, 358 Gigli, Romeo, 62 Gilbert, Odile, 115, 117, 121, 147 Gill, Nina, 344, 360 Gillray, James, 339 Gish, Lillian, 355 Givenchy, 108, 110, 112, 118–19 haute couture, 108, 119, 120, 120–23, 130–34, 300 Karen Mulder in, dress, 113 ready-to-wear, 124, 127, 138 Givenchy, Hubert de, 107, 108, 118, 121 Glass, Philip, 280 Gods & Kings (book), 133 Goldie, C.F., 186 Goosens, 143, 163 Gothic Americana, Galliano ready-to-wear, 300–301 Gothic Chic, Dior ready-to-wear, 298–99 Gotsii, Nataliya, 289 Graham, Martha, 257 Grant, Hugh, 112 Grazziani, Bettina, 121 “Greek Key” design, 33, 60, 178 (Greek widows, African football, 50s cocktail) collection, 68–71 Greer, Matthew, 84, 86, 87, 88 Grieve, Amanda. See Harlech, Amanda (Grieve) Gross, Michael, 38, 40, 44 Gruau, René, 286, 287, 322, 373–75 Grunge look, 88, 92 Guardian (newspaper), 34, 77, 91, 96, 108, 118, 123, 142, 143, 147, 151, 153, 205, 214, 216, 217, 225, 234, 260 Guillen Ruida, Ana (Anita), 11

H Haigneré, Claudie, 304 (Hairclips) collection, 54, 60, 284 Hamish Bowles Collection, 56, 60 Hamnett, Katherine, 40, 44, 49, 67, 68, 70, 76 Handbags, 10, 159, 192, 200, 206, 213, 221, 243, 252, 256, 261, 269, 278, 283, 306, 314, 315, 331, 353 Harbour, Bal, 126 Hardcore (Fetish and Japan), Dior ready-to-wear, 251–53 Hardcore Romance, Dior haute couture, 248–50 Hare, James, 41, 47 Harlech, Amanda (Grieve), 10, 17–18, 21, 23, 24, 26, 32–33, 35, 46, 48, 53, 60, 69, 74, 86, 88, 91–93, 95, 97–98, 101, 104, 110, 115, 118, 124, 126, 134, 309 Harlow, Jean, 56 Harlow, Shalom, 88, 99, 104, 117, 123, 132, 155–56, 159, 178, 288, 312, 321, 323 Harpers & Queen (magazine), 17, 22, 23, 88 Harper’s Bazaar (magazine), 47, 104, 112, 115, 326 Harrods, 44, 99, 126, 170, 178 Hartung, Hans, 75 Haskins, Sam, 68 Haute Bohemia, Galliano ready-to-wear, 158–60 Hayworth, Rita, 137 Head, Edith, 332 Healy, Jeremy, 27, 43, 73, 92, 99, 130, 176, 200, 206, 212, 225, 240, 245, 254, 277, 300, 321

390  Index

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Hébuterne, Jeanne, 183, 370 Heidsieck, Charles, 72 Henri, Cecile, 173, 199, 208, 209, 218, 264, 265, 297 Hepburn, Audrey, 108, 112, 127 Hermann, Valérie, 133, 152 Herzigová, Eva, 288 Heseltine, Michael, 117 Hex, Shirley, 57, 60, 61, 69 Hill, Lauryn, 192 Hill, Trevor, 16 Hillson, Bobby, 12, 15, 17 Hind, John, 35 Hindu Holi Festival of Colours, 246 Hokusai’s wave, 310, 311 Holmes, Katie, 274 Holzer, Baby Jane, 330 Homage to Marlene, Dior ready-to-wear, 260–61 Homeless, 202, 208, 215 Honcho Woman collection, 77–81, 290 Horyn, Cathy, 194, 198, 200, 204, 207, 212, 262, 322, 362, 364, 368 Hôtel du Nord (film), 353 Houston, Whitney, 121 Howells, Michael, 10, 153, 161–62, 166, 172, 309, 314, 317, 320, 326, 330, 332, 342, 345, 365, 368, 376 How to Steal a Million (film), 112 Hugo, Victor, 114 Hume, Marion, 35, 114 Hurel, 118, 154, 173, 181, 210, 297, 329, 374 Hurley, Liz, 112 Hutton, Barbara, 277, 278

I ID (magazine), 20, 21, 45, 65 I Magnin, 102 Iman, 102 In a Boudoir Mood, Dior ready-to-wear, 156–57 Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (film), 332 Independent (magazine), 11, 17, 58–59, 61, 72, 74–76, 80, 82–83, 86, 114, 133, 180, 248 Indian, 88, 125, 153–55, 219, 222, 236, 242, 245, 258 Industrial Revolution, 30, 33 International Herald Tribune (newspaper), 90, 101, 122, 138, 175, 198, 249, 297, 376 In the Mood, Galliano ready-to-wear, 254–56 Irish Times (newspaper), 201, 305, 314, 324 Italian Whites, 70 It’s All in the Stars/Grey Gardens, Galliano ready-to-wear, 326–27

J Jackson, Betty, 44, 57, 70 Jackson, Jennifer, 99 Jackson, Michael, 83 Jacobs, Marc, 133, 201 Jahan, Catherine, 289 James, Charles, 58–59, 273, 342, 358–59 James, Richard, 40, 45, 67 (Jane Austen goes to Marrakech), Givenchy ready-to-wear, 138 Jaroljmek, Danda, 73 Jenkin, Jessica Kerwin, 372 Jesus Christ, 150, 215 Joan of Arc, 32, 164, 302, 306 Joffe of London, 41 John Wayne trousers, 284

Jones, Stephen, 10, 25–27, 57, 91, 94–95, 99–101, 112, 115, 118, 122, 126, 131–32, 136, 144, 145, 148, 158, 166, 174, 190, 194, 200, 227, 234, 238–39, 250, 265, 270, 277–78, 300, 302, 307–8, 310, 322, 329, 333, 337, 340, 356, 366, 372, 378 Joseph, 96, 102, 126, 136 Josephine Bonaparte Meets Lolita collection, 82–85 Jovovich, Milla, 151

K Kamen, Barry, 16 Kaner, Joan, 75, 123 Karan, Donna, 76, 139 Kass, Carmen, 191 Kazan, Elia, 104 Kempner, Nan, 121 Kenzo, 108, 121 Keough, Riley, 275 Kidman, Nicole, 144, 232 Kiki de Montparnasse, 99, 318 “Killer Kilts”, 92, 94 Klimt, Gustav, 154, 155, 328, 329 Kloss, Karlie, 353, 358, 362, 363, 366, 368, 370, 371, 377, 378 Knauss, Melania, 273, 274 Knight, Nick, 10, 148, 213, 220, 315, 381 Koons, Jeff, 307 Krivoshkey, 164 Krizia, 40 Kurkova, Karolina, 273

L Lacroix, Christian, 108, 139, 362 La Ferla, Ruth, 87, 88, 90 Lagerfeld, Karl, 76, 102, 134 Lanel, 154, 164, 173, 199, 218, 226, 264, 265, 296, 309, 352 Lange, Dorothea, 33 Lani, Maria, 370 Lartigue, Jean-Henri, 56, 58, 59, 284 Lasnier, Carole, 195, 206 La Strada (film), 135 The Latest Blonde, Dior ready-to-wear, 275–76 Lautrec, Toulouse, 103 L’École de Danse collection, 114–17 Le Bal des Artistes, Dior haute couture, 320–23 le Bon, Yasmin, 370 le Bourhis, Katell, 133, 139, 141, 172, 184 Le Brun, Elisabeth Vigée, 296 Le Figaro, 201 Léger, Fernand, 370 Leger, Herve, 57 Leighton, Fred, 115, 121 Lemos, Maria, 76, 84, 86, 106, 107, 113, 117, 126, 137, 152 Lennon, John, 276 Lennox, Annie, 73 Leroyd, Jan, 56 Lesage, 118, 135, 146, 155, 164, 170, 218, 248, 249, 265, 272, 273, 279, 280, 289, 336, 348, 351, 359, 362 Les Clochards or Homeless, Dior haute couture, 198–201 Les Incroyables BA Honours Degree show, 14, 15 Les Visiteurs du Soir (film), 302 Lewis, John, 86 Liberation (newspaper), 123 Lichtenstein, Roy, 307 L’il Kim, 202 Lindbergh, Peter, 324

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Linen topper, 70 Liu, Lucy, 291 Logomania, Dior ready-to-wear, 192–94, 202 Loie Fuller opera coat, 155 Ludic Game collection, 8, 18, 23, 24, 27–28, 48, 89, 250, 270 LVMH, 107, 108, 113, 123, 128, 133, 134, 137, 143, 152, 173, 184, 201, 228

M Maar, Dora, 214 Maasai, Dior haute couture, 142–45, 191, 305–6, 309 McBean, Angus, 180 McDowell, Colin, 20, 31, 122, 211 McGrath, Pat, 10, 233, 238, 239, 241, 243, 245, 246, 248, 251, 300, 333, 355, 371 Maciet, Colette, 118 McLaren, Malcolm, 18, 34, 121, 242, 309 McLaughlin, John, 45 McQueen, Alexander, 133–34, 138, 142, 146, 160, 301, 333, 357, 360 Madame Butterfly, Dior haute couture, 18, 309–13, 367 Madame Butterfly, album cover, 17, 32 Madame Butterfly (Puccini opera), 17–18, 309 Madame X & Klimt, Dior haute couture, 328–29 Madonna, 38, 104, 130, 144, 199, 276 The Magic Roundabout (television), 206 Malroux, Mady, 293 Malroux, Monette, 293 Mannion, Tom, 8, 19, 24, 25, 34 (Maori), Galliano ready-to-wear, 186–88 Mapping the World, Galliano ready-to-wear, 270–71 Marais, Stéphane, 77, 97, 101, 113, 136, 147, 317 Marchesa Casati, 9, 115, 144, 153, 161–65, 191 Marcus, Barry (Rabbi), 381 Margaret (Princess), 288 Margiela, Martin, 380–82 Margiela Artisanal collection, 380–82 Marie Antoinette (film), 280 Marilyn Glass Archive, 267 Marino, Peter, 176 Markham, Beryl, 115 Marks, Stephen, 12 Marley, Bob, 258 Marron, Catie, 97 Mason, Debbi, 59 Mata Hari, 153–55, 191, 350 Matisse, Henri, 370 The Matrix (film), 190 Mattock, Mark, 23, 24, 29, 33, 35 Maysles, Albert, 326 Maysles, David, 326 Meisel, Steven, 91 Melville, Tony, 54 Menkes, Suzy, 90, 95, 101, 109, 122, 138, 175, 230, 249, 297, 348 Mersh, Neil, 19, 28, 38, 43 Metropolis (film), 242 Michaels, Nick, 38, 39 Michelangelo, 323 Mickey Mouse, 270 Middleton, W., 126 Miller, Sienna, 277, 278, 279 Minimalism, 92, 381 Minnelli, Liza, 126, 170

Minogue, Kylie, 115, 137 Mirabaud, Chantal, 163 The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (album), 192 Misia Diva (Pin Up) collection, 103–7 Miyake, Issey, 108 Modigliani, 183, 370, 371, 372 Modotti, Tina, 166 Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton SE, 107. See also LVMH Mohanlall, Bobson Sukhdeo, 231 Monroe, Marilyn, 240, 241, 332 Monsieur Dior’s 100th Birthday Anniversary, Dior haute couture, 286–89 Montesquiou, Robert de, 161 Montex, 173, 174, 182, 199 Montparnasse, Kiki de, 99, 318 Moran, Liz, 31 Morocco (film), 325 Morris, Bernadine, 34, 70 Morton, Camilla, 292, 300, 309 Moss, Kate, 9, 69, 83, 88–89, 93, 100–101, 106, 112, 117, 121, 126, 136–37, 147, 156, 240, 242, 275–76, 301, 380, 381, 382 Motherwell, Robert, 75 Mower, Sarah, 34, 104, 106, 115, 248, 262, 269, 298, 330, 347, 355, 358, 370 “Mrs. Robinson”, Simon and Garfunkel, 330 Mucha, Alphonse, 154, 155 Mulder, Karen, 113, 323 Muller, 173, 174, 182, 264, 265, 321, 322, 344 Murray, Lynelle, 57 Music Icons, Galliano ready-to-wear, 195–97 My Fair Lady (film), 84, 127

N Nancy Cunard collection, 63, 65 Napoleon I (Emperor), 296 Nefertiti (Queen), 150, 265 Negri, Pola, 355 Neiman Marcus, 22, 75, 102, 123, 126 New Generation or Matrix, Dior haute couture, 187, 189–91, 192–93, 219, 320 New Glamour, Dior haute couture, 240–42 Newman, Vanessa, 38, 55 New York Times (newspaper), 20, 34, 38, 40, 44, 49, 58, 61, 70, 109, 113, 178, 194, 198–201, 204, 207, 212, 232, 234, 257, 262, 270, 277, 286, 287, 316, 322, 337, 362, 364, 368 Nicholas II (Russian Tsar), 92 Nickerson, Camilla, 16 Nights at the Circus (Carter), 24 Nijinsky, Vaslav, 115, 178 Nilsson, Lars, 174 Nirvana, 277 (Nomadic Tribal Princesses), Galliano ready-to-wear, 363–64 Nude, Dior ready-to-wear, 290–91 Nureyev, Rudolf, 373 Nutter, Tommy, 12, 31

O Observer (magazine), 14, 85, 90, 118, 122, 211, 251, 258–59 Observer Life (magazine), 113, 119 O’Connor, Erin, 176, 178, 247, 265, 273–74, 286–87 O’Connor, Limpet, 40, 43, 44 O’Driscoll, Thomas, 35

392  Index

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Off Duty Icons, Dior ready-to-wear, 282–83 O’Hara, Scarlet, 270 Ollier, J.P., 310, 342, 366 Onassis, Jackie Kennedy, 326 Orientalist, Dior ready-to-wear, 345–46 Origami corsage, 51, 52 Ormsby-Gore, Francis, 17 Oscars, 42, 144, 151, 203 Ozbek, Rifat, 61, 381

P Page, Bettie, 368 Pagowski, Dovanna, 18, 25, 32 Paine Webber, 97, 133 “Palm Sunday” headdress, 81 Palomino, Elisa, 199 Paltrow, Gwyneth, 177 pannier pleats, 41 Paris by Night (Brassai), 56 Paris Match (magazine), 133, 143 Parker, Sarah Jessica, 359 Parton, Dolly, 245 The Passion, Dior haute couture, 295–97 Penn, Irving, 106, 264, 322, 323, 334, 373 Perle, Renée, 56, 59, 61, 284 Phelps, Nicole, 364 Piaf, Edith, 282 Piaggi, Anna, 26, 104, 277 The Piano (film), 92 Picasso, Galliano ready-to-wear, 214–16 Picasso, Pablo, 214, 242, 296, 320 Picasso, Paloma, 115, 121 Pickford, Mary, 355 Pierre Cardin, 66, 68 Piggott, Lorraine, 16, 40, 44, 45, 48, 57, 62, 67 Pinkerton, Lieutenant, 309, 313 “Pin Up” suit, 105 Pita, Orlando, 300, 306, 361 Planet Botticelli, Dior haute couture, 302–4 Pleasure Dome, Galliano ready-to-wear, 332–33 Pocahontas collection, 124, 172, 173, 219 A Poetic Tribute to the Marchesa Casati, Dior haute couture, 9, 161–65 Poiret, Denise, 346 Poiret, Paul, 10, 75, 100, 154, 164, 167, 177, 190, 267, 310, 333, 345–46 Polan, Brenda, 98 Pollack, Sydney, 257 Poor Little Rich Girl (film), 279 Portrait of the Muse, Galliano ready-to-wear, 370–72 Potworwska, Mimi, 27, 28 Power-suit, 41 Presley, Elvis, 26, 90, 136, 230 Pretty Baby, Galliano ready-to-wear, 262–63 Pretty Baby (film), 262 Princess and the Pea, Givenchy haute couture, 120–23 Princess Lucretia collection, 91, 92–95, 99, 102 Punch (magazine), 20 Punkature collection, 34, 186 Pure Glamour, Dior ready-to-wear, 330–31

Q Queen, Her Majesty the, 232 Queen Mother, 140, 250, 339, 340

R Rabanne, Paco, 108, 329 Radziwill, Lee, 97, 326 Rasta, 258, 259 Ray, Man, 180 Rebel Chic, Dior haute couture, 225–27 Renée, Galliano ready-to-wear, 284–85 René Gruau, Dior haute couture, 373–75 Renoir, Auguste, 103 Resurrection Vintage Archive, 94, 116, 160, 170, 176, 203, 221, 223, 229, 239, 269, 338 (Return to Luxury), Dior ready-to-wear, 314–16 Ribeiro, Clements, 137 Rice, Mark, 97, 102, 107, 133 Richardson, Dawn, 66 Rivas-Sanchez, Luiven, 25, 47, 51, 55–56, 59 Rivero, Ines, 121 Rivière, Catherine, 329, 351 Roberts, Julia, 102 Robertson, Amy, 91, 118 “Robespierre” ponytails, 74 Robinson, Helen, 28 Robinson, Steven, 10, 50, 54, 67, 77, 84, 86, 90, 97, 118, 121, 134, 141, 216, 240, 319–21 Rocha, John, 28 Rocker sari ensemble, 88, 89, 90 Rodchenko, Alexander, 176 Roenn, Leif, 62 Rogers, Ginger, 158, 241 Rogers, Millicent, 359 Ronson, Mark, 12 Roque, Jacqueline, 214 (The Rose) collection, 45, 46 Rosekrans, Dodie, 91, 97 Ross, Diana, 17 Rosso, Renzo, 380 Rothschild, Beatrice de, 97 Rubenstein, Ida, 164 Russian Gypsy Named O’Flanneghan (Circus), Galliano readyto-wear, 135–37

S Safrane, 296, 297, 311 Saint Laurent, Yves, 75, 97, 108, 122, 181, 201, 233–34, 279, 329, 349 Saltzman, Ellin, 96 Samet, Janie, 201 Sarandon, Susan, 102 Sarge, Vicki, 70 Sargent, John Singer, 328 Sarkozy, Carla Bruni, 99, 110, 115, 131, 334, 335 Savile Row, 12, 56, 190 Schiaparelli, Elsa, 10, 95, 112, 182, 209, 333 Schiele, Egon, 199, 200, 201 Schiffer, Claudia, 147 Schlumberger, Sao, 9, 90, 91, 97, 98, 107, 115, 121, 378 Schulman, Alexandra, 11, 17 Sedgwick, Edie, 224, 279, 282–83, 326 The Seduction of the Libertine, Dior ready-to-wear, 361–62 Selassie, Haile, 110 Seven-Year Itch (film), 241 Sex Pistols, 123, 244 Sexy Ballerina dress, 203, 204 Shanghai Beijing acrobat troupe, 249, 250

Index  393

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Shanghai Lil, 90 Shaw, Debra, 145, 311 Shaw, Sandy, 45 Shelly’s, 82 Shields, Brooke, 262 Sherwood, James, 83 (Silver Screen), Galliano ready-to-wear, 355–57 Simon and Garfunkel, 330 Simonin, Richard, 108, 123, 128 Simons, Raf, 375 Simpson, Wallis, 124, 125, 126 Siouxsie Sioux, 150 Sitbon, Sophie, 57 Slimane, Hedi, 219, 256 Smalley, Claire, 58 Snatch (film), 220 Soho Manhattan boutique, 90, 102 South Pacific, Dior ready-to-wear, 368–69 Soutine, Chaim, 370 Specter, Michael, 11, 12 Spencer, Mimi, 130, 189 Spielberg, Steven, 209 Spindler, Amy, 113 Spitzer, Georges, 132 Sportswear, Dior ready-to-wear, 183–85 Sportswear on Heels, Dior ready-to-wear, 166–68 Stefani, Gwen, 243 Steven Philip Collection, 22, 26, 30, 42, 43, 53, 70, 72, 98–99, 152 Stevens, Ray, 292 Sting, 325 St Martins School of Art, 11–13, 17, 20, 22, 24–25, 40, 44, 55, 86, 94, 251, 373 Stone, Sharon, 139, 291 Stravinsky, Igor, 115 A Streetcar Named Desire (Williams), 51, 103 Street Chic, Dior ready-to-wear, 228–30 Streisand, Barbara, 102 Stuart-Smith, Elizabeth, 57, 61 Styler, Trudie, 325 Sunday Times (newspaper), 97, 99, 211 Sunglasses, 96, 192, 194, 203, 213, 256, 278, 298, 368 Superheroes, 217, 218 Suri, Gapu, 90 Surrealism, Dior haute couture, 180–82 Suzy Sphinx, Galliano ready-to-wear, 149–52 Swanson, Gloria, 201 Sweetpea Governess, 89 Swordswomen, 74, 88, 89

T Tabard, Mark, 30, 33, 34, 45 Taboo Club, 12, 39, 208, 245 Talley, André Leon, 91, 97, 99, 108, 232 Tango, 161, 163–64, 167, 171, 258 Tangye, Howard, 11 Tarner, Quindon, 294 Tatsuno, Koji, 45 Tattoo, 104, 138, 150, 152, 155, 186, 228, 260 Taylor, Kerry (interviews with author), 11–12, 15–16, 19, 22, 25–27, 32–33, 40, 43–44, 46–49, 51–52, 55, 57, 59, 62–63, 65, 67, 70–71, 73, 75–76, 80, 84, 86–87, 91, 95, 107, 113, 117, 126, 133, 137, 139, 141, 152, 162, 172, 184, 326 Tear, Lizzie, 27

Techno-Romance, Galliano ready-to-wear, 223–24 (Teddy Boys & Poiret), Dior ready-to-wear, 267–69 The Telegraph (newspaper), 123, 201 Tennant, Stella, 106, 132, 136, 150, 154, 190, 195, 248, 287, 304, 323 They Shoot Horses Don’t They? (film), 257 Thomas, Dana, 133 Thomas, Kirstin Scott, 150 Thompson, Nadira, 76, 87 Thurman, Uma, 136 Tiaras, 94, 115, 212, 272, 364 Tilberis, Liz, 140 Tiller-girls, 117, 258 The Times (newspaper), 132, 161, 166, 168, 169, 172, 176, 188, 195, 198, 202, 216 Times of India (newspaper), 212, 228 Tin Tribe, 126 Tissot, James, 47, 137 Toledano, Sidney, 175, 182, 184, 189, 213, 242, 305, 376, 379 Tolera, Christos, 69 Too Rich Too Walk, Galliano ready-to-wear, 277–78 Toreador, Givenchy ready-to-wear, 127–29 Tough Chic, Dior ready-to-wear, 243–44 Toulouse Lautrec, 103, 154, 263 Trailer-Park Chic, Dior ready-to-wear, 212–13, 219 Treacy, Philip, 57, 60, 61, 65, 74, 80, 84–85, 88 Tredre, Roger, 75, 80, 86 Tribal Chic, Dior ready-to-wear, 337–38 Trump, Donald, 273 Trump, Ivana, 274, 325 Trump, Melania (Knauss), 273, 274 Tula Ltd, 76 Turlington, Christy, 68–69, 95–96, 100, 139 Turner, Lowri, 77, 78 Turner, Tina, 121, 139 Tyler, Liz, 304

U (Ukrainian Brides), Galliano ready-to-wear, 347–48 Ungaro, 40, 67 (Untitled), Galliano ready-to-wear, 378–79 Untitled (Panniers) collection, 41

V Valentino, 40, 67, 108, 164 Valentino, Rudolph, 109, 164 Valetta, Amber, 106, 139, 323 Van Cleef & Arpels, 101, 102 Vanderbilt, Gloria, 329 Verhoeven, Julie, 55, 59, 70, 75–79 Vermont, 164, 173, 182, 266, 274, 288, 303, 304, 321, 359 Vernoux, 302, 329, 336, 374 Versace, Gianni, 108, 121, 123, 337 Victoria & Albert Museum, 12, 15, 27, 39, 59 Vilmotte, Jean Michelle, 256 Vionnet, Madeleine, 10, 55, 124, 159, 178, 264, 308 Vogue (magazine), 43, 72, 97, 99, 106, 142, 267, 269, 273, 334, 364 British, 43, 65, 70, 96, 103, 118, 122, 134, 175, 179, 189, 232 US, 53, 89, 90, 91, 92, 96, 102, 112, 121, 133, 136, 140, 143, 146, 150, 217, 225, 234, 240, 245, 247, 274, 311, 359, 381 Vogue.com, 217, 227, 248, 254, 262, 370, 372, 379 Vogue online report(s), 292, 298, 300, 309, 330, 347, 355

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Von Aichinger, Suzanne, 122, 137, 171, 370, 372 von Furstenberg, Diane, 97 von Teese, Dita, 285 von Vallhonrat, Xavier, 56 Voodoo, 88, 90, 115, 117 Voyage on the Diorient Express or Princess Pocahontas, Dior haute couture, 172–75 Vreeland, Diana, 139, 329

W Wagner, Roberta, 22 Walsh, Chrissie, 12 Ward, Gemma, 293, 294 Warhol, Andy, 217, 279, 285, 326 Warner, Kara, 181 Washington, George, 150 Webb, Veronica, 32, 47, 48, 51, 121 Weisz, Rachel, 291 Wek, Alek, 226, 244, 252, 273, 289 Welcome to Our Playground, Galliano ready-to-wear, 205–7, 271 Weston, Edward, 166 Westwood, Vivienne, 12, 16, 19, 31–32, 34, 39, 40, 44, 70, 80, 133, 186, 196, 270, 285 Westwood/McLaren, 31, 34, 242 Williams, Tennessee, 51, 103 Wilmot, John, 361 Wilson, Francis, 48, 70

Wilson, Marie-Sophie, 48, 84, 86, 99, 121, 370, 372 Wilson’s Grammar School for Boys, 11 Winfrey, Oprah, 274 Winston, Harry, 101, 106, 107 Winter Ascot, 131, 132 Wintour, Anna, 91, 96, 97, 155, 247, 380 Wonder Woman, 217, 218 Woodhouse, Hannah, 67, 71, 72, 73, 80 Woolley, Michael, 33, 204 Work of Fabergé, As Seen Through the Eyes of Jeff Koons and Roy Lichtenstein, Galliano ready-to-wear, 307–8 Worth, Charles Frederick, 10, 121 Wright, Joanna (Jo), 56–57, 63, 65 WWD (magazine), 22, 27, 34, 39, 41, 43–44, 49, 53–54, 61, 63, 66–68, 70, 84, 86, 91–92, 103, 107–8, 115, 122–24, 127–28, 131–34, 136–37, 142–44, 147–48, 150, 152–54, 158–60, 167, 174–76, 179, 182, 184, 189, 193, 196, 201–3, 206, 211, 219, 223, 231, 233, 235–36, 238, 240, 267, 272, 275–76, 290, 301–2, 308, 316–18, 321, 328, 332–33, 339, 342–43, 350, 358, 376–77, 380

Y Yevonde, Madame, 180

Z Zamasport Spa, 62 Zimmerman, Raquel, 348

Index  395

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