Underneath everything, there is a battle between creativity and commercialism in fashion this season. Does it have to be this binary? When John Galliano’s models stepped into the scene at Maison Margiela with their heads down, they wore a collection that couldn’t have been more imaginative, but was also littered with wearable gems.
The mixed show started with a passage of black tailored jackets and suits, dramatic volumes holding the models around them, deconstructed white shirt collars around their necks. It started with a breathtaking Galliano essay about unraveling and translating elements of 21st century haute couture: ball gowns and haute couture, hourglass silhouettes and wildly eccentric hats from the 1950s into the bargain.
The spell Galliano cast encapsulated all the genius he brings from a lifetime of experience in fashion: his fluency in techniques learned during years in a couture house, combined with all the rule-breaking energy of his student days at Central Saint Martins. It reveled in the archeology of vintage garments: bodices, linings and petticoats dismembered, turned inside out and pieced back together with a vibrant sense of colour. It involved garbage bags, laminated plastic and wonky-chic lampshade hats made of wire. The cast of young models projected it all with a perfectly rehearsed forward stance, hands on hips, a group of 1950s couture fashion models on the run.
The chaos of it – proof that such beauty can be created from waste, scraps, skill and imagination – was one of the highlights of the entire season. Galliano is a standard bearer of creativity; an inspiration to the young generations who adore him. But all said and done, he also released some of the most covetable jackets, tailored coats, trenches and duffle coats you can find anywhere.
