Christian Dior by John Galliano burgundy floral twisted mini slip dress, fw 2005
View Similar Items
Christian Dior by John Galliano burgundy floral twisted mini slip dress, fw 2005
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: FR 36 - UK 8 - US 4 (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU140214406722
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 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.
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 evening 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.
- Junya Watanabe floral cotton dress with harness straps and backpack, ss 2003By Junya WatanabeLocated in London, GB▪ Junya Watanabe cotton dress ▪ All-over floral pattern with pale blue background ▪ Puff sleeves ▪ Adjustable white harness straps ▪ Detachable backpack ▪ Double layered skirt ▪...Category
Early 2000s Japanese Day Dresses
- Alexander McQueen lilac wool button-up sweater dress, fw 1996By Alexander McQueenLocated in London, GB▪ Alexander McQueen lilac wool sweater dress ▪ Turtleneck ▪ Opening across bust line fastening with multiple buttons ▪ Pleated seam at centre-back ▪ Worn ...Category
1990s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- John Galliano purple ribbon crochet bias-cut maxi dress, fw 2001By John GallianoLocated in London, GB▪ John Galliano purple ribbon crochet maxi dress ▪ Scalloped detail around neckline and armholes ▪ Bias-cut skirt ▪ Button closures to the center-back ...Category
Early 2000s French Evening Dresses and Gowns
- John Galliano floral print silk chiffon drop-waist floor-length dress, fw 2008By John GallianoLocated in London, GB▪ John Galliano silk chiffon dress ▪ A sample made for Vogue ▪ Ivory and pink floral print with mauve base ▪ Cowl neckline ▪ Rolled shoulder straps ▪ Drop waist ▪ Multiple fabric ...Category
Early 2000s French Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Christian Dior by John Galliano lavender crochet lace maxi dress, ss 2000By John Galliano for Christian Dior, Christian DiorLocated in London, GB▪ Christian Dior maxi dress ▪ Designed by John Galliano ▪ Lavender viscose crochet lace ▪ Canary yellow zigzag stitch trimmings ▪ Figure hugging ▪ Rayon-knit underdress attached ...Category
Early 2000s French Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Christian Dior by John Galliano silver crochet sweater dress, fw 1998By John Galliano for Christian Dior, Christian DiorLocated in London, GB▪ Christian Dior silver crochet sweater dress ▪ Designed by John Galliano ▪ Sold by One of a Kind Archive ▪ Fall-Winter 1998 ▪ Long turtleneck doubles as a hood ▪ Wide cut ▪ Size S...Category
1990s French Evening Dresses and Gowns
- ALEXANDER MCQUEEN green silk PLATOS ATLANTIS PRAYING MANTIS GOWN Dress LBy Alexander McQueenLocated in Zürich, CHAlexander McQueen 'Praying Mantis' empire down in green silk (100%) with a round neck and is sleeveless. This collector piece is from the SS 2010 Platos Atlantis collection. Flares f...Category
2010s Unknown Cocktail Dresses
$11,000 Sale Price20% OffFree Shipping - Alberta Ferretti Gray Cotton Vintage Off Shoulder DressBy Alberta FerrettiLocated in Brindisi, BtAlberta Ferretti 90s vintage off shoulder dress. Short dress with sweetheart neckline, gray with white stitching. Zip closure along the chest, on th...Category
1990s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- Antik Batik Pink Silk Leather Kaftan Blouson DressLocated in Brindisi, BtAntik Batik women's vintage short dress. Powder pink color, 100% silk, applications sewn by hand 100% leather. V-neckline, elasticated waist belt, lined. 1...Category
1990s Indian Tunics and Wrap Dresses
- Arnold Scaasi Vintage Dress Off Shoulder Floral Organza over Green silkBy Arnold ScaasiLocated in Portland, ORThis is a vintage floral dress from designer Arnold Scaasi. The dress is in a beautiful floral printed organza over a rich green silk and has love...Category
20th Century Cocktail Dresses
- Carlye White Pique Vintage Dress 2pc Lace Mesh Peek a Boo Peplum Bodice XSBy CarlyeLocated in Portland, ORThis is an outstanding 2 piece vintage dress in white cotton pique with sleeveless peplum top and slim, straight skirt. This Carlye vintage 1960s outfit has a pretty back bow and in...Category
1960s American Day Dresses
- 1980s Christian Lacroix Vintage White Linen Damask Tunic or Dress w Original TagBy Christian LacroixLocated in Portland, ORThis is a fabulous summer dress or tunic from Christian Lacroix from the 1980's in white linen. Though labeled a French size 38, this dress is oversized and almost a one size fits al...Category
1980s French 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.
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.