The Theme
John Galliano’s 2005 – 2006 Fall- Autumn Haute Couture Show fell at 100th birthday of legendary Christian Dior. John Galliano has made a very touching tribute to Mr. Dior by featuring his mother – Madame Dior holding her little boy by hand at the start of the show. Little Christian Dior was dressed in a beautiful sailor suit. Madame Dior has played a big role in the history of the fashion house. She has been a very important person for Christian Dior and a major inspiration source for many of his collections.
The show had theatrical and mesmerizing effect at the time. The first look of the show was picturing Madame Dior arriving in black horse carriage through the gates of the Edwardian Gardens with junior Christian Dior by her side. The opening of the show created the ambience of a haunted garden. The first looks in layers of grey costumes and hats resembled ghosts. The garden where the show was going on seemed abandoned, with broken statues, fallen chandeliers and clumps of ruined flowers. The pitch dark background and thunderstorms only added to the spooky effect.
The Collection
The transparency that was present in almost every look was supporting the idea of the ghost town. Every look was either sheer, or had details that were transparent, or designed in a way that looked transparent. Classic shades of Dior, like Dior Grey and Dior Pink looked practically translucent between layers of tulles. Even the tweed suits have been transformed by see-through organza fabrics in them.
The translucent character of the collection brought a sense of lightness to overall very rich and decorated collection.
This collection is considered one of the most romantic and rich by John Galliano, celebrating the best couture traditions of the fashion house. As so many of the shows and collections created by John Galliano, this one was a pure fashion entertainment and a valuable work of art.
Photos by: Marcio Madeira
There was a feeling at times that the models were mannequins, that came alive and escaped the workshop, to show the behind the scenes of the magic craftsmanship that was happening in Dior.
Haute Couture 2015 VS 2021
It was fascinating to watch the show now, especially after just have viewed the latest Haute Couture Collections of 2021. The difference between the presentation and the character of the collections is incredible. While watching the show, you can’t help but admire the beauty and richness of the collection, but at the same time the amount of richly decorated gowns felt almost wasteful. With tendency for recycling, it is obvious that the presented looks would have been worn once in the best case, or kept as a piece of art in art collectors treasure rooms… Despite still having incredibly rich craftsman work in haute couture collections until recent days, the style of the clothes is a total scaled down compared to 15 years ago. Haute Couture collections of 2021 seem so much more relatable, compared to absolute beauty and luxe of the 2015. Many daily wear items have become an integral part of the shows. It is so hard to imagine a collection without daily wears, little black dresses, or simplistic nude and grey Dior gowns.
It was certainly a wonderful time travel journey to the world of John Galliano Fashion of 2000s.
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