John Galliano Show in Paris
The disgraced designer is now in rehab in Arizona, but his signature John Galliano collection was presented this morning in Paris. Robin Givhan reports.
The disgraced designer is now in rehab in Arizona, but his signature John Galliano collection was presented Sunday morning in Paris. Robin Givhan reports.
The small-scale presentation on the second floor of an elegant Paris townhouse on the chic Avenue Foch didn't have the theatrics of the usual John Galliano show. But it had the disgraced designer's signature romance and whimsy.
Gallery: John Galliano Show in Paris
The designer was not on hand to witness the parade of models with their hair in finger-waves and their lips stained the color of merlot. He'd left Paris for rehab after an alleged drunken and anti-Semitic rant cost him his reputation as well as his job as creative director of Christian Dior, which also owns 92 percent of his signature brand.
The show went on with Dior Chief Executive Sidney Toledano greeting guests. "I'm here to support the John Galliano team," he said with a slight smile. "And they've done a wonderful job."
The nearly two dozen day and evening looks -- shapely tweed jackets, cocoon coats trimmed in fur, feather-trimmed party dresses -- served as reminders of the creativity that allowed Galliano to reach the heights of the fashion world.
The glaring absence of anyone to take a bow was testament to how far Galliano had fallen. And the restrained applause from editors and retailers indicated how far this brand has to go to repair its image.
Robin Givhan is a special correspondent for style and culture for Newsweek and The Daily Beast. In 1995 she became the fashion editor of The Washington Post where she covered the news, trends and business of the international fashion industry. She contributed to Runway Madness, No Sweat: Fashion, Free Trade and the Rights of Garment Workers , and Thirty Ways of Looking at Hillary: Reflections by Women Writers . She is the author, along with The Washington Post photo staff, of Michelle: Her First Year as First Lady . In 2006, she won the Pulitzer Prize in criticism for her fashion coverage. She lives and works in Washington, DC.
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