F/W 1999 Christian Dior by John Galliano Runway Laser-Cut Suede Turtleneck Gown
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Length: 62 in (157.48 cm)Marked Size: FR40 / US8 (EU)Bust: 33 in (83.82 cm)Waist: 30 in (76.2 cm)Hip: 40 in (101.6 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Light wear from age and use throughout.
- Seller Location:West Hollywood, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2388217095692
John Galliano for Christian Dior
Known for introducing rich theatricality and memorable fashion spectacles to the runway, John Galliano has enjoyed a singular career. The audacious British designer has garnered universal acclaim for genre-breaking collections not only at his eponymous label but also for Christian Dior.
From his embroidered absinthe-green Oscars gown for actress Nicole Kidman to the iconic sleeveless newspaper-print dress that Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw made famous, Galliano’s intricate and multifaceted work is reliably collectible and newsworthy, drawing on history as often as it embodies a fresh and forward-looking sensibility, and over the years the designer has helped shape an ever-broadening new legion of enthusiasts for Parisian couture.
Born in Gibraltar but raised in South London by strict Roman Catholic working-class parents, Galliano attended the all-boys Church of England grammar school, where his flamboyance and interest in art attracted the attention of bullies. Eventually, Galliano ended up at the prestigious design and art school Central Saint Martins College (then called Saint Martin’s School of Art), where fellow British designers Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen also trained.
Galliano flourished at Central Saint Martins. While a student, he worked in the costume department at the National Theatre in London. His graduate collection in 1984, dubbed “Les Incroyables” and named for post–French Revolution fashion lovers, was modeled by close friends of his and earned a standing ovation. The line ended up in the storefront windows of London luxury boutique Brown’s on South Molton Street, and Galliano’s first official collection — after he graduated — debuted at Paris Fashion Week in 1989.
In the early 1990s, Galliano’s relationship with his financial backer, Plein Sud’s Faycal Amor, ended, and by 1994, he was broke and sleeping on the floor of a friend’s apartment. Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour and then-Vanity Fair editor André Leon Talley stepped in and introduced the budding designer to Portuguese socialite and fashion patron São Schlumberger and others.
At Schlumberger’s Hôtel Particulier, Galliano’s shows became the stuff of fashion legend. His collection, a blend of Japanese modernist style as well as nostalgia for Art Deco and 1940s’ tailoring, earned raves in glossy magazines and garnered the attention of Princess Diana, Madonna and other fashion luminaries.
Once the Galliano name was well known among the world’s most stylish set, the chairperson of LVMH, Bernard Arnault, appointed Galliano head designer of French fashion house Givenchy. One year later, in 1996, LVMH moved him to the design team at Dior. In just eight weeks, Galliano produced 50 looks for Dior Haute Couture’s brilliant Spring/Summer 1997 Maasai collection and would ultimately design a mind-boggling eight collections a year for the storied French fashion house until 2011. Today, Galliano is the creative director of Maison Margiela.
Shop vintage and contemporary John Galliano for Christian Dior evening dresses and gowns, shoes, handbags and other clothing and accessories on 1stDibs.
Christian Dior
When Christian Dior launched his couture house, in 1946, he wanted nothing less than to make “an elegant woman more beautiful and a beautiful woman more elegant.” He succeeded, and in doing so the visionary designer altered the landscape of 20th century fashion. Vintage Dior bags, shoes, evening dresses, shirts and other garments and accessories are known today for their feminine and sophisticated sensibility.
Dior was born in Granville, on the Normandy coast, in 1905. His prosperous haute bourgeois parents wanted him to become a diplomat despite his interest in art and architecture. However, they agreed to bankroll an art gallery, which Dior opened in 1928 in Paris with a friend.
This was the start of Dior’s rise in the city’s creative milieu, where he befriended Pablo Picasso and Jean Cocteau. After seven years as an art dealer, Dior retrained as a fashion illustrator, eventually landing a job as a fashion designer for Robert Piguet, and in 1941, following a year of military service, he joined the house of Lucien Lelong. Just five years later, with the backing of industrialist Marcel Boussac, the ascendant Dior established his own fashion house, at 30 avenue Montaigne in Paris.
Just two years after the end of World War II, the fashion crowd and the moribund haute couture industry were yearning, comme tout Paris, for security and prosperity, desperate to discard the drab, sexless, utilitarian garb imposed by wartime deprivation. They needed to dream anew.
And Dior delivered: He designed a collection for a bright, optimistic future. “It’s quite a revolution, dear Christian!” exclaimed Carmel Snow, the prescient American editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar, famously proclaiming, “Your dresses have such a new look.” The press ran with the description, christening Dior’s debut Spring/Summer haute couture collection the New Look. “God help those who bought before they saw Dior,” said Snow. “This changes everything.”
Dior’s collection definitively declared that opulence, luxury and femininity were in. His skirts could have 40-meter-circumference hems, and outfits could weigh up to 60 pounds. They were cut and shaped like architecture, on strong foundations that molded women and “freed them from nature,” Dior said. Rather than rationing, his ladies wanted reams of fabric and 19-inch waists enforced by wire corsets, and the fashion world concurred. The debut got a standing ovation.
In the subsequent decade, Paris ruled as the undisputed fashion capital of the world, and Christian Dior reigned as its king. With the luxuriously full skirts of his New Look, suits and his drop-dead gorgeous couture dresses and ball gowns worthy of any princess, Dior gave women the gift of glamour they’d lost in the miserable years of war.
On 1stDibs, find an exquisite range of vintage Christian Dior clothing, jewelry, handbags and other items.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: West Hollywood, CA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 1 day of delivery.
- F/W 2002 Gianni Versace by Donatella Sheer Black Lace Backless Camel Mini DressBy Donatella Versace for Gianni Versace, Gianni Versace CoutureLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a flirty backless halter top dress designed by Donatella for Gianni Versace Couture. The black cut-out lace pattern debuted on similar dresses in the men's Fall/Winter 200...Category
Early 2000s Italian Mini Dress
- F/W 2002 Gianni Versace by Donatella Psychedelic Print Sheer Strapless DressBy Gianni Versace Couture, Donatella VersaceLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a psychedelic print quilted strapless Gianni Versace Couture dress, designed by Donatella Versace. This gorgeous dress debuted on the Fall/Winter 2002 runway as look numbe...Category
Early 2000s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- S/S 2002 Gianni Versace by Donatella Sheer Pop Art Print Strapless DressBy Donatella Versace, Gianni Versace CoutureLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a pop art-inspired Gianni Versace dress designed by Donatella Versace. This strapless dress features a ruched bust with a tiered sheer mesh skirt...Category
Early 2000s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- S/S 1990 Norma Kamali Runway Green Ruched Stretch Flare Mini DressBy Norma KamaliLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a figure-hugging ruched flare dress designed by Norma Kamali for her Spring/Summer 1990 "Moon Motel" collection. This dress debuted in the season's runway presentation, wh...Category
1990s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- F/W 2000 Gucci by Tom Ford Runway Gold Pink Lurex Metallic Sheer Dress Y2KBy Tom Ford for Gucci, GucciLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a glittery disco-chic geometric gold lurex shift dress designed by Tom Ford for Gucci's Fall/Winter 2000 collection. Debuting as look 30 on Talytha Pugliesi, this piece is...Category
Early 2000s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- S/S 2004 Gucci by Tom Ford Ruched Pink Satin Rhinestone Brooch DressBy Tom Ford for Gucci, GucciLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a beautiful metallic pink silk ruched Gucci dress, designed by Tom Ford. From the Spring/Summer 2004 collection, this form-fitting dress features a v-neckline, stand-up collar, long bell-style sleeves, and an exposed back. Ruched fabric adds additional detail at the sides of the waist, back, and down the sleeves while giving the dress some stretch. This stunning pink satin dress...Category
Early 2000s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- 1960s Malcolm Starr Green Pink Metallic Floral Print DressBy Malcolm StarrLocated in Beverly Hills, CA1960s Malcolm Starr Gown in Green, Pink, gold and blue print sleeveless gown. Perfect for wedding or cocktail event . Waist is encrusted with multi color jeweled. Bust: 34” / waist ...Category
1960s American Evening Gowns
- Norma Walters Tartan Plaid Silk & Sequin Two Piece Dress, 1980'sBy Norma WaltersLocated in Atlanta, GAWe are mad for plaid! And it is especially fun when applied to a 1980's Norma Walter's strong shouldered silhouette and black sequins are added for a l...Category
1980s Hong Kong Cocktail Dresses
- Maxi Thailand Floral Sun Dress With Quilted Jacket, C.1970Located in Atlanta, GAC.1970 cotton sun dress with a coordinating quilted bolero jacket and tie belt by Thai Lines of Bangkok. Both pieces are in a tropical hand screened floral print in vibrant shades of magenta, purple, yellow and green. The dress zips and hooks at the back with pockets and lingerie style straps that cross at the back. The jacket hooks...Category
1970s Thai Maxi Dress
- 1970s Strawberry and Daisy Novelty Print Khaki Vintage 70s Cotton Sun DressLocated in San Diego, CAChic 1970s strawberry and daisy novelty print cotton sun dress ! Features a tailored bodice with a flared skirt, which could also accommodate a crinol...Category
1970s American Cocktail Dresses
- 1970s Rhonda Roy Abstract Print Mock Neck Long Sleeve Vintage 70s Maxi DressLocated in San Diego, CAAmazing early 1970s RHONA ROY of England abstract print maxi dress ! Warm colors of purple, tan and brown throughout. In great condition Approximately Size ...Category
1970s Maxi Dress
- Chamois suede dress by Emanuel Ungaro Parallèle - France Circa 1982By Emanuel UngaroLocated in Toulon, FRCirca 1982 France Amazing short safari-style dress in buff-coloured suede by Emanuel Ungaro Parallèle dating from the early 1980s. Straight cut with puffed sleeves and stitched inserts. Beige stretch knit with turtleneck effect collar and cuffs. Two slit pockets on the side and a thin integrated belt to tie for a blouson effect. Cream nylon lining and Ungaro Parallèle Paris logo label, size 10 Made in Italy. Dry-cleaned suede with no soiling apart from a slight structural patina of the suede skin. No defects to report. Good overall structural condition. Dimensions: Equivalent size M France...Category
1980s French Aesthetic Day Dresses
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
How John Galliano Caused Fashion Chaos around the Globe
The visionary designer epitomizes the pleasures and perils of irrepressible creative genius.
Barbra Streisand Channeled Klimt’s ‘Woman in Gold’ in This Shimmering Dress
Costumer to the stars Ray Aghayan brought the famed painting to life with his spectacular design.