Galliano Ascending
From Associated Newspapers/Rex/Rex USA.John Galliano
John Galliano officially debuted in 1984 upon his graduation from famed design school Central Saint Martins, in London. Inspired by the French Revolution and hinting at his future career of innovation, Galliano’s “Les Incroyables” was snapped up in its entirety by Browns department store.
John Galliano
Despite early critical acclaim, Galliano initially struggled to produce financially profitable collections without significant corporate backing. To showcase his creations before a discerning and influential audience, such newer supporters of his work, including Andre Leon Talley and Anna Wintour, introduced him to the Portuguese socialite Sao Schlumberger. The designer’s small, jet-black fall/winter 1995 collection was shown at her spectacular mansion and marked a turning point in the still-young designer’s career.
John Galliano
Galliano’s 1995 “Pin-Up” collection remains an all-time favorite of the supermodel Linda Evangelista. So enamored was she of the show’s closing look—a bright-yellow confection—that she persuaded the designer to gift it to her. Some years ago, she magnanimously donated the beloved gown to the Met Museum’s Costume Institute.
by Daniel SIMON/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images.John Galliano
For Galliano, the runway has always been a narrative medium. In his spring/summer 1994 collection, the designer told the story of an escaped Russian princess who embarks on a journey of self-discovery. Characterized by its crinolines, capes, and impossible flowing locks, Galliano’s “Princess Lucretia” show was hailed by the fashion elite.
From Reuters.Givenchy Couture
By the fall of 1995, Galliano had been handpicked by LVMH’s Bernard Arnault to helm Givenchy, thus becoming the first British designer for the resolutely French house. His celebrated spring/summer 1996 show for the storied label quieted any lingering doubts about his ability to do it justice.
by Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty Images.Dior
Less than two years later, Galliano replaced Gianfranco Ferré at Christian Dior. His first-ever creation for the house—a lingerie-inflected, sapphire blue gown—was worn by none other than Princess Diana to the Christian Dior exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
by Kevin Mazur/WireImage.John Galliano
Here, two of the designer’s fiercest fans flank him at the close of his eponymous label’s spring/summer 1997 show. To this day, Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss remain two of his most loyal friends.
by Kevin Mazur/WireImage.Dior
Nicole Kidman turned heads at the Academy Awards in 1997, when she arrived on the arm of then husband Tom Cruise outfitted in a slim-fitting chartreuse gown by John Galliano for Christian Dior.
By PIERRE VERDY/AFP/Getty Images.Dior
Longtime Galliano enthusiast Naomi Campbell stormed the runway in Christian Dior’s fall/winter 1997 couture show.
by Jim Smeal/WireImage.Dior
In 1999, Celine Dion secured her spot in fashion history when she test-ran Galliano’s daring take on men’s wear at the Academy Awards. The songstress sported a backward, oversize tuxedo and topped off the now-infamous look with a custom Stephen Jones chapeau.
By JEAN-PIERRE MULLER/AFP/Getty Images.Dior Couture
An aerial tour of Egypt reportedly inspired Galliano’s spring/summer 2004 couture collection for Christian Dior. The resultant—and resplendent—spectacle garnered the attention of celebrities, editors, and mere plebeians alike.
By Jim Celeste.Dior Couture
At the Costume Institute Gala in 2006, supermodel Gisele Bündchen showed off her enviable figure in a version of the bias-cut dress style that Galliano championed during his career at Dior.
by Chris Moore/Catwalking/Getty Images.Dior Couture
In 2007, Galliano rebounded from his most recent ready-to-wear collection’s less-than-warm reception with a romantic ode to “Pinkerton’s affair with Cio-Cio San, Madame Butterfly,” as he described it. Drawing heavily on traditional geisha attire, makeup, and comportment, Galliano staged an elaborate runway and re-invigorated his reputation along with it. Here, Galliano devotee Shalom Harlow preens in one of the designer’s technically exquisite creations.
by Tony Barson/WireImage.Dior Couture
Angela Lindvall—who had fronted the designer’s 2003 ad campaign—also marched in the renowned couture show. Here, she is appropriately radiant in full Kabuki makeup.
By FRANCOIS GUILLOT/AFP/Getty Images.Dior Couture
To mark the 10th anniversary of his tenure with Christian Dior and the house’s 60th birthday, Galliano staged the presentation of one of his most ambitious collections to date, in a “Bal des Artistes,” held in the Orangerie at Versailles. The debaucherous occasion brought together such icons as Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, and Gisele Bündchen. Galliano himself appeared at the show-meets-fête as a toreador.
by Craig Barritt/Getty Images.Dior
In 2010, Charlize Theron attended *Vanity Fair’*s annual Oscar party in a dusky, lavender-hued gown designed by Galliano for Christian Dior. The megawatt actress remains a spokesmodel for the brand and serves as the face of its best-selling fragrance, J’adore.
Dior
In 2010, then emerging supermodel Karlie Kloss smoldered as the face of Dior’s spring/summer ad campaign. Shot by Steven Meisel and directed by Galliano, the image cast Kloss as “a modern-day billboard siren.”
by Indigo/Getty Images.John Galliano
In the wake of scandal, Galliano’s close friend Kate Moss commissioned him to design the wedding dress for her upcoming marriage to the Kills’ Jamie Hince. The dreamy, gold-accented gown made its public and highly stylized debut in 2011’s September issue of Vogue, which Moss covered.
by Giovanni Giannoni.Oscar de la Renta
Moss wasn’t the only industry peer to reach out to Galliano. In January 2012, designer Oscar de la Renta extended an invitation for Galliano to take up a temporary, if unofficial, residency in his atelier—an offer Galliano immediately accepted. Although his role was never formalized, Galliano’s presence was certainly felt in de la Renta’s fall 2013 show, which highlighted intricate designs bearing hints of Galliano’s insuppressible influence.
