Every so often a collection that is historically informed and futuristically informative rears its head; John Galliano’s couture show for Dior last month was just that
When designers crack the whip, the fashion pack pay attention. Every so often a collection that is historically informed and futuristically informative rears its head; John Galliano’s couture show for Dior last month was just that.
Equestriennes clad in scarlet riding habits, deep-pleated cravat blouses and bustle skirts sashayed through salons holding riding crops, in a parody of the socialites of yesteryear.
They recalled the likes of Lady Worsley and Elizabeth Hallett, eminent grande dames of the Eighteenth century, as painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough respectively. Waists and torsos cinched into acute angles, skirts blossoming from the narrowest points – not so different from the Fifties styles which inspired the latter phase of Galliano’s collection.
The horsewoman has been a leitmotif of style since Lady Godiva dismounted and put her clothes back on. The elegance and poise that comes from a poker-straight back and hat tipped just-so is hard to find in this modern world of bikes, taxis and micro-scooters. Her latter-day equivalent is closest to one of Michael Kors’ private-jet-perfect Upper East Siders.
From the crushed velvet and damask of the 1700s, via full-skirted riding habits, to jodhpurs and long-line trophy jackets, the look has changed very little: the darted scarlet jackets of the Hunt are as resonant in their current illegality as they ever were in the shades and follies of the English country house. The formal and starched silhouette recalls both Georgiana Cavendish and Katharine Hepburn alike, stoic women and emblems of strong femininity, constrained perhaps but haughty and self-possessed nonetheless.
Structuralist couturier Charles James’ work during the Forties and Fifties provided inspiration for Galliano; contemporary skirt suits by Hardy Amies and Worth continued the equestrienne tradition too. Their lissom yet rigid cuts endure in starchy tailoring from so diverse a herd as Jil Sander, Stefano Pilati, and even Yohji Yamamoto.
Galliano’s collection yearns for the elegance of yesterday, when men were men and women didn’t wear T-shirts. It just goes to show, you can lead the fashion pack to water, and they’ll drink it in by the gallon. By the Galliano, no less.
Harriet Walker is a fashion writer at The Independent
Zoë Taylor has appeared in Le Gun, Bare Bones, Ambit and Dazed & Confused. She is currently working on her third graphic novella and an exhibition
