More Dior Than Dior: Galliano Counters The Recession With Ruffles

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Jan 27th 2009 at 12:36AM

I thought Armani Prive's Paris show was extravagant but that was before I beheld the flounces, ruffles and crinolines of John Galliano's latest collection for Dior. The eccentric designer took his fashion cue from the paintings of Vermeer and other Dutch masters offering up a collection that included bib-like lace collars, puffy sleeves you could hide a small dog in and cinched-in waistlines set against belled out skirts.The spring-summer collection was meant to be "More Dior than Dior" taking Christian Dior's original neat suits from the 1940s and riffing on them as only Galliano can.

The collection flies so completely in the face of what the IHT's Suzy Menkes calls "austerity chic" that it's hard not to be charmed. As she puts it " in straitened circumstances, was it mad? Yes, but it was magic." While elaborate couture shows are becoming more of a rarity, this collection and the one from Armani show the type of flamboyant showmanship that may not be in step with the times but is still a wonder to behold.

Gallery: More Dior Than Dior