“There’s a credit crunch, not a creative crunch. Of course, everyone is being more careful with their discretionary purchases. I am. But it’s our job to make people dream, and to provide the value in quality, cut, and imagination.” -John Galliano
Spring 2009 Couture launched in Paris this week. Dior and Chanel showed early and of course they were both major moments in their way. Galliano’s inspirations were Flemish painters and his collection was –after an admittedly unexciting Fall 2008 Couture– breathtakingly beautiful.
What struck me is how wearable so many of these looks are for big girls. Mr Galliano designs with women in mind. He plays with shapes and volume and movement, and you get the feeling after reviewing his collection that every shape fascinates him when it comes to women and clothes.
A lot of what makes Galliano a great fit for the house is that Dior always treated women’s bodies as women’s bodies. There were always hips and breasts and waists and legs, and one gets the feeling that looking at the designs of Mssrs Dior and Galliano that they are more concerned about the aesthetic beauty of the shape, not the social value.
The movement of these dresses just kill me. You know it’s structured and cantilevered within an inch of its life, but it looks weightless. I could cry.
This jacket. Good gravy.
Perfect. I bet Dolce & Gabbana –they of the Big! Poufy! Gown!– wet themselves when they saw this. I would get married in this gown.
Can’t decide whether I love this or if it’s Too Soon for a resurgance of pale salmon after the evil done on its behalf in the 1980’s. It reads painterly, but it also read Laura Ashley goes Couture, but is that necessarily a bad thing? Hmm.
goodness gracious me. those gowns are to die for. i am particularly in love with the second – kind of a baroque audrey-hepburn-in-funny-face-meets-vermeer.
i think the breathtaking construction of the salmon pink one saves it from being too laura ashley. also the tulips are made of awesome.
Comment by angela — January 28, 2009 @ 4:09 pm
I love that white one with the blue underneath. It would be a perfect wedding gown!
Comment by Linda — January 28, 2009 @ 4:14 pm
Remember the little hand painted tile ScarJo was given by her family when she left home in “Girl with a Pearl Earring”? The blue delft china influence is just perfect on that. And it’s even more shocking because the gown isn’t the bright white of the underskirt. Brilliance…
Comment by Mel — January 28, 2009 @ 8:09 pm
The blue underlayer remindes me of a tablecloth, I swear I saw something like it in Martha Stewart’s home line at Kmart, but still it’s a tablecloth I’d wear. Definitely wedding dress material, with perhaps blue satin shoes or a lovely fascinator with blue in it. *sigh*
Has any one read “Mrs Harris goes to Paris”? Her whole quest was to purchase a Dior gown.
Comment by Jassy — January 28, 2009 @ 11:08 pm
The hat!! LOOK at that hat!! Look at it! So so pretty. And those shoes! And that jacket!
Comment by Chaser — January 29, 2009 @ 12:57 am
stu-nning!!!!!!
Comment by megaera — January 29, 2009 @ 2:40 am
It’s never Too Soon for Salmon/Shrimp/Shell Pink as it looks fabulous with my complexion.
Comment by Carol — January 29, 2009 @ 8:16 am
I would stab your grandmother (and maybe my own) for the wedding dress-type one.
Comment by Sarah — January 29, 2009 @ 9:37 am
This reminds me of why I love fashion for fashion’s sake. Galliano has always been one of my favorite designers. He’s probably the least outlandish one on my list, though, considering how much I love Betsey Johnson, Vivienne Westwood, and Alexander McQueen.
Comment by ChloeMireille — January 29, 2009 @ 11:17 am
Wow, I loved each of these dresses! That’s rare for me to fall in love with something straight off the runway. I especially love the Delft dress, and the cream dress with the hat.
Jassy, I loved Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris! I didn’t know it was a book though; it was one of my grandmother’s favorite films. It starred Angela Lansbury and was just a really sweet, gorgeous movie.
Comment by Elaine — January 29, 2009 @ 11:47 am
Jassy and Elaine: I, too, adore Mrs ‘Arris Goes to Paris–the book. I haven’t seen the movie. There is a sequel book, as well: Mrs. ‘Arris goes to New York.
Who wouldn’t want the couture experience? To pick a dress out of a designer’s line and have it made to fit you, with everything needed to complete the outfit from foundations through stockings, shoes, gloves, bag, and hat…heaven!
Comment by Kai Jones — January 29, 2009 @ 1:53 pm
I would get married TO that second-to-last gown…
Comment by Gauss — January 29, 2009 @ 10:41 pm
I need to fan myself…those last 3 gowns….they make me want to swoon!
Comment by that redhead — January 30, 2009 @ 1:52 am
That second one…with the hat….I’m drooling. I got married in a teeny-tiny ceremony in Central Park last year, and as our cab broke down around 65th, we had to walk up to 72nd. I’m just imagining how incredibly awesome it would have been to strut up Park Avenue in that outfit, tasteful bouquet in hand and hot husband by my side.
Comment by La Petite Acadienne — January 30, 2009 @ 9:40 am
Link to see the rest of the collection:
http://www.style.com/fashionshows/complete/S2009CTR-CDIOR?viewall=true
Comment by La Petite Acadienne — January 30, 2009 @ 9:44 am
You know, looking at these again, those skirts will be very marketable if you just take the volume down A LOT. Keep the details: the cartridge pleating at the hip on the off-white suit narrowing down to a pencil silhouette by the knee, the beautiful single released pleat in center front on most of the others, these will work on lots of shapes.
Comment by Kai Jones — January 30, 2009 @ 1:35 pm
I am in love… and yes, they all could be worn by us “thick Souls Sistas” as sir mix a lot so elloquently stated!
As a slave to all things fashionable, you properly and fabulously have given this designer the love rightfully needed!
Thank you!
Comment by Marie Denee — January 30, 2009 @ 3:27 pm
Very interesting post! Added you to my feed reader. I’ll make sure I visit this site once a day.
Comment by Designer Jewelry — February 1, 2009 @ 11:04 pm