John Galliano Christian Dior Size 10 Leopard Cheetah 1940s Style Silk Dress
View Similar Items
John Galliano Christian Dior Size 10 Leopard Cheetah 1940s Style Silk Dress
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 10 (US)Shoulder to Hem: 39 in (99.06 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:San Diego, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU6621666523
John Galliano
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 Givenchy and 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, where he produced scores of celebrated looks for Dior Haute Couture. Today, Galliano is the creative director of Maison Margiela.
Shop vintage John Galliano evening dresses and gowns, handbags, jackets 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.
- Vintage Hanae Mori Polka Dot / Pin Dot Silk Wrap DressBy Hanae MoriLocated in San Diego, CAStunning vintage Hanae Mori dress!!! 100% lined silk. Inside hook-and-eye closures. Great for the office, or a cocktail party! Fully lined. In great condition. Approximately Size Med...Category
1990s Japanese Cocktail Dresses
- Vintage Gianfranco Ferre 1990s Brown + White Zebra Jeweled BodyCon Jersey DressBy Gianfranco FerréLocated in San Diego, CAAmazing vintage GIANFRANCO FERRE (early 90s) brown and white abstract zebra printed rayon jersey BodyCon dress! Features incredible Amber and green crystal jewels below bust. Intrica...Category
1990s Italian Cocktail Dresses
$933 Sale Price25% Off - Chic 1920s Ivory ' Candy Stripe ' Silk Drop Waist Vintage 20s Day DressLocated in San Diego, CAIncredibly chic 1920s 20s silk vintage dress! Classic drop waist style with a side bow at the waist. Tie at neck. Ivory silk with pastel blue, pink, yellow and green vertical stripes throughout. Fantastic "Great Gatsby" style. The perfect alternative to the traditional 20s flapper dress...Category
1920s Cocktail Dresses
$1,036 Sale Price20% Off - Amazing 1970s Gold + Silver Silk Brocade Beaded Vintage 70s Caftan Maxi DressLocated in San Diego, CAAmazing vintage 1970s gold and silver silk brocade beaded Moroccan kaftan / maxi dress! Features an iridescent gold and silver with bronze beads around the collar and each sleeve cuf...Category
1970s Evening Dresses
- 1970s Victorian Inspired Pale Yellow Cotton Voile + Lace Peasant 70s Maxi DressLocated in San Diego, CABeautiful 70s Victorian inspired pale yellow cotton voile and lace maxi dress! Features laces up the front. Semi sheer lace sleeves with fitted cotton cuffs that have zippers on each...Category
1970s American Maxi Dress
$1,160 Sale Price20% Off - New Rick Owens ' Queen ' F/W '04 Strapless Light Green Asymmetrical DressBy Rick OwensLocated in San Diego, CANew with tags RICK OWENS Fall/Winter 2004 "Queen" strapless asymmetrical handkerchief hem dress! Features a light green color, ribbed bust, with pockets right under. Asymmetrical hem...Category
Early 2000s Italian Cocktail Dresses
$956 Sale Price25% Off
- Chanel champagne sequins dress F/W 2001 FR 40By ChanelLocated in Rubiera, RECHANEL dress F/W 2001 collection A-line dress in beige melange tweed and champagne sequins; on the front martingale belt with logo buttons; short sleeve; zip on the back. Size Fr 40...Category
Early 2000s French Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Prada by Miuccia Prada orange silk chiffon slip dress, fw 1996By Miuccia PradaLocated in London, GB▪ Rare Prada evening slip dress ▪ Designed by Miuccia Prada ▪ Fine silk chiffon with geometric print in orange, brown and cream ▪ Sold with a matching Prada nude silk slip dress t...Category
1990s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Prada by Miuccia Prada brown silk chiffon slip dress, fw 1996By Miuccia Prada, PradaLocated in London, GB▪ Rare Prada evening slip dress ▪ Designed by Miuccia Prada ▪ Fine silk chiffon with geometric print in brown and cream ▪ Sold with a matching Prada nude silk slip dress to wear u...Category
1990s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Chloe S/S10 ivory white beige chiffon silk layered sleeveless wedding dress gownBy ChloéLocated in Paris, FRLOVE LALI Vintage Look 29 from the Chloe Spring Summer 2010 runway collection Floor length silk gown in what one would call off white/ecru, or a very pal...Category
2010s Unknown Wedding Dresses
- Jean Paul Gaultier watercolour print sleeveless off the shoulder midi dress MBy Jean Paul GaultierLocated in Paris, FRJean Paul Gaultier Maille vintage off the shoulder stretch viscose dress Graffiti print in an array of colours that include in varying shades ...Category
Early 2000s Italian Informal Dresses
- Celine Phoebe Philo cream ribbed stretch body con knitted sweater midi dressBy CelineLocated in Paris, FRCeline Phoebe Philo Resort 2017 A beautifully stretch fitted knit ribbed dress in cream as seen on Kim Kardashian Turned up hem Small slits to each cuff Midi length Wear in the day w...Category
2010s Italian Informal 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.
The Best Ways to Dress for Your Astrological Sign
Makeup and astrology expert Linda Mason dispenses fashion advice for every zodiac sign. Does your wardrobe match your horoscope?