Living for "Le Haute Monde" I can assure you, there was not one person in the Sphere of Fashion whom was not Holding their Breath with Great Anxiety, Joy and a certain bit of Trepidation at the prospect of John Galliano's return to the Pantheon of Haute Couture. Deposed as he was (However you view it, on John's side or against, Dior did the only correct thing they could to protect their Billions!) just shy of 4 years ago, He had presented his Last Dior Couture effort almost to the exact moment of 4 Years, missed by just 13 days. So, it has been a LONG time to be without Galliano's Magic on the Couture Circuit.
With all this Anticipation palpably Thrumming in the air... What would Galliano do at the Famed Maison of the Deconstructor of all things Sartorial, Margiela? Would he still have the Wizardry in those Big Knuckled, yet surprisingly Elegant Paws of his...??? There was Much baited breath on what that answer would be... And when the first model, Nastya Sten, strode forth in a "Jacket" (using that term Loosely!) with Black Painted Matchbox cars as trim and looking like it had been cut from a Hobo's Cardboard Box Home... Yeah! He Still Had It! The fit, Perfect. The Styling, Perfect. Everything was just as one would have imagined Margiela in Galliano's hands would be. Deconstructionist and Perverse, but Innately Elegant. Recycling, Reusing, Recalibrating, Galliano did all that plus added a Savior-Faire of Unrestrained and Unbound Luxuriousness that Margiela could never truly get himself to Indulge in!
Whereas Martin (or as it was mostly in the last decade or so, his Design team) strove to subvert all signs of Conspicuous Luxe, Taking even Lavish embroidery and embellishment and making it look Repurposed into something not recognizable as Rich, Galliano has embraced the Hedonism of Luxury and twisting and contorting it through the House Margiela codes, he Redefines it in a wholly new configuration. Take for example the Duality of Exit No. 5. A Blood Red Coat that was executed in the Scalpel Fine Cut and Tailoring well known to Galliano devotees... Here it was Thrown Hella Askew by Lacquered Shells Conglomerated together forming an African Face Mask, of a sort, right on the front of the Garment. There was something Frightening and Intricately Beautiful about this Extraordinary piece, It was Bordering on the Repulsive, but you were unable to look away and found yourself inextricably drawn to it!
Addressing the Unspoken Elephant in the room... from his Own Days... Strict Diva, Princess Lucretia, The Muscle Car Collection... or his Dior Extravaganzas... The Matrix Meets Versailles, The Homeless Collection, The DIORIENT EXPRESS... Galliano's Penchant for Theatricality is nearly unmatched... So, we were not at all incorrect to assume there would be some Streak of Outlandishness to be witnessed, Right? Well... No, Actually. In his process of Maturing and being keenly aware that the Fashion game has changed, Galliano contravened all our expectations and let the clothes be their own Theater! They certainly were Brazen enough to not need an Ounce of extra help!
The greatest surprise of all though was, as Flamboyantly Extrovert many of the pieces were, the best foil for all that Zeal was that Galliano presented some just Drop-to-One-Knee and Pray To The Almighty Pieces that had no extraneous associations other than to show off The Ateliers Skills.. As well as Galliano's Supremely Adroit Mains! The Black Pantsuit on Issa Lish which was just Purely Penitent but given a Frill of Feathers (also in Black) Transcended Simplicity to become Ecclesiastically Sublime. Or the Cardinal Red Great coat... or even more so, Galliano showed us how devastating his Evening wear always is with the most Tear Inducing Scarlet Column to be had in a Show in AGES!
As the show game to a Close with another Scarlet Masterpiece, Galliano's Dios De La Muerte/Virgin Of the Macarena Mariee, he once again showed his Incalculable Talent for Pastiche and Collage and Created a Vision of the Wedding that has never been imagined before and could not have been imagined by anyone else! He even Co-Opted the Margiela Trope of Face masks in a Diabolically Elaborate version that was as Horrific as it was Blissful!
And just when you thought it was done... Wait, Don't get too Comfortable, Galliano Seemed to say! After a few minutes pause, the Finale procession of all 24 pieces strutted forth... though not in the way one expected. The Showman was ready to Strike yet again... Galliano, with all the Cheeky, Perverse, Brilliance that he is so easily capable of conveying, did it here with the simplest yet most Ingenious Masterstroke... He sent out all the Outfits that had come before, on the model that wore it... IN TOILE FORM! He Actually, Goddamn His Incredible Ass, SENT OUT THE MUSLIN TOILES of EACH EXIT! It was... Unspeakable! It was INSANE! He gave you the Alpha and the Omega... Only in Reverse... or was it? Sometimes the Toile is more informative than the actual Garment. It was the most Unequivocally Awing thing that I have seen in Many Moons! It was Diabolical. It was Earth-shattering. It was Virtuoso!
Simply Put.... It Was Galliano!
That's All.
Bye4Now!
Whereas Martin (or as it was mostly in the last decade or so, his Design team) strove to subvert all signs of Conspicuous Luxe, Taking even Lavish embroidery and embellishment and making it look Repurposed into something not recognizable as Rich, Galliano has embraced the Hedonism of Luxury and twisting and contorting it through the House Margiela codes, he Redefines it in a wholly new configuration. Take for example the Duality of Exit No. 5. A Blood Red Coat that was executed in the Scalpel Fine Cut and Tailoring well known to Galliano devotees... Here it was Thrown Hella Askew by Lacquered Shells Conglomerated together forming an African Face Mask, of a sort, right on the front of the Garment. There was something Frightening and Intricately Beautiful about this Extraordinary piece, It was Bordering on the Repulsive, but you were unable to look away and found yourself inextricably drawn to it!
Addressing the Unspoken Elephant in the room... from his Own Days... Strict Diva, Princess Lucretia, The Muscle Car Collection... or his Dior Extravaganzas... The Matrix Meets Versailles, The Homeless Collection, The DIORIENT EXPRESS... Galliano's Penchant for Theatricality is nearly unmatched... So, we were not at all incorrect to assume there would be some Streak of Outlandishness to be witnessed, Right? Well... No, Actually. In his process of Maturing and being keenly aware that the Fashion game has changed, Galliano contravened all our expectations and let the clothes be their own Theater! They certainly were Brazen enough to not need an Ounce of extra help!
The greatest surprise of all though was, as Flamboyantly Extrovert many of the pieces were, the best foil for all that Zeal was that Galliano presented some just Drop-to-One-Knee and Pray To The Almighty Pieces that had no extraneous associations other than to show off The Ateliers Skills.. As well as Galliano's Supremely Adroit Mains! The Black Pantsuit on Issa Lish which was just Purely Penitent but given a Frill of Feathers (also in Black) Transcended Simplicity to become Ecclesiastically Sublime. Or the Cardinal Red Great coat... or even more so, Galliano showed us how devastating his Evening wear always is with the most Tear Inducing Scarlet Column to be had in a Show in AGES!
As the show game to a Close with another Scarlet Masterpiece, Galliano's Dios De La Muerte/Virgin Of the Macarena Mariee, he once again showed his Incalculable Talent for Pastiche and Collage and Created a Vision of the Wedding that has never been imagined before and could not have been imagined by anyone else! He even Co-Opted the Margiela Trope of Face masks in a Diabolically Elaborate version that was as Horrific as it was Blissful!
And just when you thought it was done... Wait, Don't get too Comfortable, Galliano Seemed to say! After a few minutes pause, the Finale procession of all 24 pieces strutted forth... though not in the way one expected. The Showman was ready to Strike yet again... Galliano, with all the Cheeky, Perverse, Brilliance that he is so easily capable of conveying, did it here with the simplest yet most Ingenious Masterstroke... He sent out all the Outfits that had come before, on the model that wore it... IN TOILE FORM! He Actually, Goddamn His Incredible Ass, SENT OUT THE MUSLIN TOILES of EACH EXIT! It was... Unspeakable! It was INSANE! He gave you the Alpha and the Omega... Only in Reverse... or was it? Sometimes the Toile is more informative than the actual Garment. It was the most Unequivocally Awing thing that I have seen in Many Moons! It was Diabolical. It was Earth-shattering. It was Virtuoso!
Simply Put.... It Was Galliano!
That's All.
Bye4Now!
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