Christian Dior by John Galliano red sweater dress with pink lace, fw 1998
View Similar Items
Christian Dior by John Galliano red sweater dress with pink lace, fw 1998
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: Small - Medium (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU14028649581
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.
- Gianni Versace brown leather and viscose jersey evening dress, fw 2001By Gianni VersaceLocated in London, GB▪ Gianni Versace brown leather and viscose jersey evening dress ▪ Leather panels at shoulders and hips ▪ 3 buckle fastenings at hips ▪ C...Category
Early 2000s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Chanel by Karl Lagerfeld gold lurex t-shirt dress, fw 1996By Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld for ChanelLocated in London, GBChanel by Karl Lagerfeld gold lurex knitted t-shirt maxi dress with v-neck and six 'cc' button closures at back vent. Fall-Winter 1996Category
1990s French Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Tom Ford for Gucci Spring-Summer 2000 beaded python print shift dressBy Tom FordLocated in London, GBTom Ford for Gucci Spring-Summer 2000 beaded python print shift dressCategory
1990s Italian Shift Cocktail Dresses
- Gucci by Tom Ford pink and gold printed lurex dress with head scarf, fw 2000By Gucci, Tom Ford for GucciLocated in London, GBGucci by Tom Ford pink and gold printed lurex shift dress with matching head scarf. Fall-Winter 2000Category
1990s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Dolce & Gabbana gold lace and python shirt dress, ss 2005By Dolce & GabbanaLocated in London, GB▪ Dolce & Gabbana gold lace and python shirt dress ▪ Python trim ▪ 4 front python flap pockets ▪ Matching python belt ▪ Rolled-up sleeves ▪ Tortoise butt...Category
Early 2000s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Worlds End by Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren toga dress, ss 1982By Vivienne WestwoodLocated in London, GB▪ A rare Worlds End toga dress ▪ Designed by Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren ▪ Cotton-jersey bodice ▪ Open sides with ties to the waist ▪ Asymmetric sleeves ▪ Cream and ora...Category
1980s English Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Alberto Fabiani by Puritan Brown Lace Vintage Evening Sheath DressLocated in Brindisi, BtAlberto Fabiani by Puritan vintage brown lace dress. Great Italian designer of the 50s and 70s. The dress is linear, short-sleeved, fully lined, long ...Category
1970s Italian Sheath Dresses
- Blumarine Brown Wool Animalier Sheath DressBy BlumarineLocated in Brindisi, BtBlumarine 2000s women's dress. Sheath dress with animalier pattern, brown and beige. Zipper closure along the back and side. Fabric 88% wool, 12% polyam...Category
Early 2000s Italian Evening Dresses
- DRIES VAN NOTEN 2012 gold oriental crane embroidery shift dress FR36 SBy Dries van NotenLocated in Hong Kong, NTDRIES VAN NOTEN 2012 gold oriental crane embroidery shift dress FR36 S Reference: TGAS/B02199 Brand: Dries Van Noten Collection: 2012 Material...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Cocktail Dresses
- Chloe S04 strapless plisse green silk chiffon layered bustier midi length dressBy ChloéLocated in Paris, FRChloe Spring Summer 2004 strapless plisse green silk dress Boning to the upper portion Cinched in waist Long rope ties with beaded ends wrap around the ne...Category
Early 2000s French Cocktail Dresses
- Vintage cottagecore prairie cotton white red floral print halter backless dressLocated in Paris, FRA beautiful vintage dress most likely from the 1970's Cottagecore style maxi length dress in white with red, yellow and green floral print Halt...Category
1970s Maxi Dresses
- Christian Dior Resort 2018 brown cream floral print corset bustier midi dressBy Christian DiorLocated in Paris, FRChristian Dior Resort 2018 Cream midi length dress with brown floral print Boned corset upper with underwire cups Button up front which is f...Category
2010s French Evening 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.