To say that John Galliano's magical touch was pandora bracelet charms conspicuous by its absence at last week's haute couture collections would be an understatement.
The powers that be at Christian Dior stated that the autumn collection – the house's first without this designer at its helm for almost 15 years – was a team effort, designed by the studio. And that showed. Galliano himself always argued that the haute couture, where budget is no object, functioned as the "parfum" of a label, its essence, if you will, and as a laboratory of ideas. The need for a creator par excellence is greater here than anywhere else in fashion, then. Galliano is just that, although his conduct away from the atelier has not been that of a leader.
When he arrived at Dior in 1996, only the fashion insider really understood his potential power, as a designer, of course, but also as an image-maker who was second to none. Until that point, his shows had been among the most anticipated of the Paris season but Galliano operated under the radar, relatively speaking at least. His first show for this, a household name, was to change all that for ever. Because if John Galliano's self-titled collection was aimed at the discerning fashion follower, Dior was global, its advertising imagery stamped everywhere from billboards at airports to the more rarefied pages cheap pandora bracelets of glossy magazines. The designer's detractors – and there were a few, not least because he was brought up and educated in Britain, not France – were soon persuaded that here was an international force to be reckoned with. Under his creative directorship, the house of Christian Dior became the jewel in the LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) crown.
In particular, his haute couture collections wowed. The choice of venue was more ambitious and costly than anything that had been seen before – Galliano showed variously at the Paris Opera, on the platform of a disused train station and even at Versailles. He had the world's most famous and lovely models queuing up to walk his catwalk in show-stopping make-up courtesy of longtime collaborator Pat McGrath, and some of the most extraordinary millinery courtesy of Stephen Jones. As for the clothes... Anyone privileged enough to have witnessed these at first hand will know that, at best, they were the biggest, bravest and most beautiful imaginable.
It remains to be seen who will step into his shoes – the creative directorship of Christian Dior womenswear is among the most heavyweight positions in the industry. Bill Gaytten, who came out to take bows following the most recent show, has been named as Galliano's successor for his own line but the powers that be at Dior pandora bracelets said afterwards that no decision had yet been made about the far more far-reaching opening there. Galliano stood trial, accused of racism and anti-Semitism, in June. The high court is set to announce its ruling on 8 September. However things turn out for him, and despite the fact that his behaviour – as he himself has admitted – has been deplorable, John Galliano will retain his place as among the great couturiers of the age.
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