Christian Dior by John Galliano floral cotton and leather pant suit, fw 2002
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: FR 38 - UK 10 - US 6 (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU140212476902
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: London, United Kingdom
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Alexander McQueen grey denim shirt and flared pants, fw 2000By Alexander McQueenLocated in London, GB▪ Alexander McQueen grey denim suit ▪ Fitted shirt with multiple bias-cut panels ▪ High-rise flared jeans ▪ Metal donut buttons ▪ IT 42 - FR 38 - UK 10...Category
1990s Italian Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
- Dolce & Gabbana metallic gold and copper lace beaded fringe pants, ss 2000By Dolce & GabbanaLocated in London, GB▪ Dolce & Gabbana evening pants ▪ Fine antique gold lace ▪ Copper bugle beaded fringe ▪ Brown lining ▪ Straight leg ▪ IT 42 - FR 38 ▪ Spring-Summer 2000 ▪ 42% Polyester, 30% Vis...Category
Early 2000s Italian Pants
- Gucci by Tom Ford black silk chiffon ruffled evening pants, fw 1999By Gucci, Tom Ford for GucciLocated in London, GB▪ Gucci black chiffon flared evening pants ▪ Designed by Tom Ford ▪ Ruffled bell bottoms ▪ Zip fastening ▪ IT 40 - FR 36 - UK 8 - US 4 ▪ Fall-Winter 1999Category
1990s Italian Pants
- Vivienne Westwood unisex multicoloured striped wool bondage pants, fw 1995By Vivienne WestwoodLocated in London, GB▪ Vivienne Westwood unisex multicoloured striped wool bondage pants ▪ 100% Wool ▪ Straps at knees joining both legs ▪ Large metal zipper centre front to centre back ▪ Metal buckles a...Category
1990s British Pants
- Gucci by Tom Ford purple embroidered lace flared evening pants, fw 1999By Tom Ford for Gucci, GucciLocated in London, GBGucci by Tom Ford purple embroidered lace and silk flared evening pants with leather ribbon bows on knees Fall-Winter 1999Category
1990s Italian Pants
- Jean Paul Gaultier Autumn-Winter 1990 black and brown leather biker pantsBy Jean Paul GaultierLocated in London, GBJean Paul Gaultier Autumn-Winter 1990 black and brown leather biker pants with padding and bondage straps.Category
1990s French Pants
- 1970s Lillie Rubin Rhinestone Encrusted Black Knit Wide Palazzo Leg 70s JumpsuitBy Lillie RubinLocated in San Diego, CAAmazing 1970s LILLIE RUBIN black knit rhinestone encrusted wide palazzo leg long sleeve jumpsuit ! Features lines of rhinestones up the front and back. Sleek tailored bodice with wid...Category
1970s American Jumpsuits
- Yves St Laurent Jumpsuit A/W 2010By Yves Saint Laurent, Stefano PilatiLocated in Water Mill, NYA fabulous black wool jumpsuit from the Yves St Laurent YSL A/W 2010 collection. It is sleeveless with a plunging neckline and a stand up collar. The jumpsuit is semi fitted with wid...Category
2010s French Jumpsuits
- Valentino Silk Halter JumpsuitBy ValentinoLocated in Water Mill, NYA fabulous black silk halter jumpsuit from Valentino. The wrap bodice has a small notched lapel collar and the straight leg pants portion have hip si...Category
Early 2000s Italian Jumpsuits
- Vintage Adolfo Size 16 Army Green Military Inspired One Piece JumpsuitBy AdolfoLocated in San Diego, CAStellar vintage ADOLFO army green military inspired jumpsuit in hard to find Size 16 ! Double breasted style with buttons at left waist, and interior ri...Category
Late 20th Century American Jumpsuits
- 1990s Moschino Cheap & Chic Size 8 / 10 Popeye Olive Oyl Black White JumpsuitBy Moschino Cheap and ChicLocated in San Diego, CAAwesome vintage 90s MOSCHINO Cheap & Chic black and white polka dot novelty print Popeye Olive Oyl one piece jumpsuit ! Features a super soft rayon. Tailored bodice with full legs. P...Category
1990s Italian Jumpsuits
- Rare Jiki (Monte Carlo) Deep Violet Taffata & Crushed Velvet Strapless JumpsuitLocated in New York, NYThis wonderful and wicked yet elegant show-stopping rare Jiki of Monte Carlo combination of silk taffata with crushed velveteen body-hugging strapless evening jumpsuit makes for...Category
1980s Monacan Jumpsuits
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.
This Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen Ensemble Is Part Zsa Zsa Gabor, Part ‘Blade Runner’
As Burton steps away from the brand, it’s a fitting time to revisit one of her visionary designs.