Dior by John Galliano: In Royal Fashion
By Mari Davis
Photos by FW

PARIS, Jul 6, 2004/ FW/ --- With all the talk about royalty in Paris with the discovery and eventual internment of Louis XVII’s fossilized heart, John Galliano (photo at left) decided to give a majestic fashion treat to the couture world with a grandiose look at the 1900 turn-of-the-century European crowned heads.

Choosing red, the traditional color of the royals as the main color palette, Galliano sent his queens and princesses in curvaceous mermaid silhouettes adorned with diamonds, dripping diamantes, chandelier earrings, necklaces worth a king’s ransom, coronets and tiaras --- everything a young girl dreams of when she reads Cinderella.

The detailing in each gown was impeccable. The intricate embroidery, which is sometimes embossed, at times turning into lace made each and every item of the collection an instant museum piece.

And since this was a fall / winter collection, Galliano decided to add fur at the hem or as a train; it was also seen as wraps or part of the coat, even adorning the elaborate collars.

His coup de grace was the wedding dress that was as curvaceous and as grand as the rest, yet done with a certain restraint, as if to proclaim the bride’s innocence. Pleated at strategic places wherein small diamantes were embedded via embroidery; the veil turns into a train and becomes a delicate lace. And on a surprising turn of piousness, the model was holding a small prayer book and a rosary.

It was hard to miss the huge engagement ring as big as the famous Hope diamond and the teardrop necklace adorning her neck. Diamonds are truly a girl’s best friends!

This seasons which had been marked with a retirement and abandonment by important couture houses, the House of Dior gives hope that the jewel of French fashion will continue to exist. As long as collections like this are shown, as long as creative minds like John Galliano are nurtured in the elite spheres of fashion, there will always be haute couture, because if the fashion world ever lost it, we would have lost a very important of the artistry of mankind.

Dior by John Galliano

Dior by John Galliano

Dior by John Galliano

Dior by John Galliano