Galliano rules Paris couture with royal Dior show
PARIS (AFP) - John Galliano reigned supreme at Christian Dior, securing his status as the king of haute couture with a magnificent collection of glittering embroidered gowns fit for a princess.
For autumn-winter 2004-2005, the British designer -- who recently traveled to Vienna and Istanbul -- transported the Paris fashion crowd back to the Hapsburg royal court of Empress Elizabeth, where elegance and coquetry were de rigueur.
He wrapped his models in yards of luxurious satin, velvet and silk brocade, using corsets to cinch waists to an impossibly tiny size and then sculpt curvaceous hips for a cross between princess and 1950s pin-up girl.
Galliano used the soundtrack -- classic 1950s rock hits like Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti" and Jerry Lee Lewis's "Great Balls of Fire" -- to emphasize the contrast of styles and eras.
The British designer chose a majestic color palette that included emerald, ruby red and bordeaux, embellishing dresses with intricate embroidered tapestry-like floral patterns or regal gold and silver emblems.
Tight-fitting bodices contrasted with full skirts that unfolded like the pages of a book. Galliano used mink or fox fur to trim his resplendent gowns. Sparkling tiaras, bejewelled crowns and elbow-length gloves completed the look.
The miles of fabric and invisible --but obviously towering -- high heels put the models a bit off balance, but they managed to stride down the runway with only a few bobbles.
For the first time since joining Dior, Galliano embraced a long-standing couture tradition and closed the show with a wedding gown -- a strapless number with a giant circular skirt bedecked with lavish silver embroidery.
Doomsayers keep predicting the death of couture but Galliano makes it relevant every season, building Dior's image by convincing a star-studded crowd to trek to the polo grounds in the outskirts of Paris to check out his show.
Actresses Juliette Binoche, Diane Kruger, Katie Holmes and Mariel Hemingway, along with US television talk show queen Oprah Winfrey, smiled approvingly from the front row at the fashion tour de force.
Galliano, who took his bow in jeans, black jacket and a crumpled velvet hat, knows how to wed creativity and marketing. Dior inaugurated a new boutique in central Paris after the show, encouraging guests to spend, spend, spend.
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