I am somewhat of a Hoover when it comes to fashion on the web. I devour my fill of news, photos, blogs and stories about fashion pretty much everyday. Every six months the haute couture collections roll around and I, of course, gobble up the reviews and pictures and marvel at the craftsmanship and excessiveness of the clothing. In the years since the www made it easy to pretend you’re attending the shows yourself, there have been two collections that have literally made my jaw drop they’ve been so beautiful, both of them by John Galliano for Christian Dior.
Galliano is a master of appropriation and exaggeration. Before he designs a collection, Galliano and his team take a research trip to somewhere fabulous, and immerse themselves in inspiration. The for the Spring 2007 collection, the destination was Japan. I was just amazed and thrilled by the way Galliano tour Dior on a tour of Japan by translating so many aspects of Japan and Japanese art into fashion – origami, porcelain, kimonos, embroidery, ikebana and lacquer ware.
Fifties Dior devotee discovers origami
Jackie O simplicity in an origami cocktail dress and pill box hat
Belle epoque dress covered in mother of pearl shells worn with trademark Dior Masai pearl necklace and Japanese fan hat
Buttoned up Jane Austen-era governess becomes an origami covered piece of Japanese porcelain
Origami kimono and gown with an obi-style origami bust
Regal kimono covered in bamboo embroidery and pleats
The famous origami crane gets married
Based on the famous wave painting by Katsushika Hokusai, Dior's New Look gets a new empire-line silhouette, bell sleeves and dramatic collar
The Dior New Look jacket becomes a kimono, paired with an ikebana hat
Like a cherry blossom
Inspired by lacquer ware
Geisha wears folds from a japanese fan
Chrysanthemum hat
Pink origami hat
Dior's off-the-shoulder sleeves pushed to the the max
More information:
John Galliano interview on SHOWstudio
Complete collection on style.com
Bella mode! I really enjoyed that overview of the dior show, Favourites were; wave print empire line and mother of pearl with fan hat. Keep up the good work Guliano and Eyesing.
Posted by: Julian Jones | October 13, 2007 at 12:35 AM
First EVER blog for me.
Posted by: Julian Jones | October 13, 2007 at 12:36 AM
that is cool
Posted by: YELDAAAA | January 09, 2010 at 03:50 AM