CHRISTIAN DIOR Galliano Era Vintage Ivory Snakeskin Boots
View Similar Items
CHRISTIAN DIOR Galliano Era Vintage Ivory Snakeskin Boots
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Height: 16.74 in (42.5 cm)Marked Size: 37.5 (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Berlin, DE
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2643216712702
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.
- PRADA F/W 2021 Runway Platform Boots Miuccia Prada Raf SimmonsBy PradaLocated in Berlin, BEIncredible platform boots from the third collection co-designed by Miuccia Prada and Raf Simmons. This Prada Fall Winter 2021 collection was inspired by the idea of change and transf...Category
2010s Italian Block Heel
- SAINT LAURENT Farrah Star Platform SandalsBy Saint LaurentLocated in Berlin, BEThe most incredible 1970s inspired platform sandals by Saint Laurent with star embellishment. The model is Farrah. These rare platform sandals are the perfect statement shoe! These...Category
2010s French Sandals
- CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN Patent Red Vintage Style HeelsBy Christian LouboutinLocated in Berlin, BEBeautiful Christian Louboutin Vintage Style Patent Red High Heels. Made from a glossy deep red patent leather - these vintage inspired Louboutins feature an ankle strap, a rounded t...Category
2010s French Heels
- CHANEL BY KARL LAGERFELD Pre Fall 2011 Byzantine Inspired Runway SandalsBy Karl Lagerfeld for ChanelLocated in Berlin, BEBeautiful Chanel by Karl Lagerfeld runway sandals from Pre-fall 2011 For his pre-fall 2011 collection for Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld explored the theme "Paris-Byzance". This artisanal collection was inspired by Empress Theodora...Category
2010s French Sandals
- ALAÏA Metalic Bronze Panelled Deco HeelsBy Azzedine AlaïaLocated in Berlin, BEGorgeous Alaïa Metallic Bronze Heels with the most beautiful shine. Made with incredible attention to detail these unique shoes feature intricat...Category
2010s Italian High Heels
- Emilio Pucci Blue Velvet HeelsBy Emilio PucciLocated in Berlin, BEGorgoeus Emilio Pucci blue velvet heels with ankle straps. These beautiful slip-on heels effortlessly draw attention with their beautifully sculpted ...Category
2010s Italian High Heels
- SAINT LAURENT off-white patent leather MILES Ankle Boots Shoes 40By Saint LaurentLocated in Zürich, CH100% authentic Saint Laurent Miles square-toe ankle boots crafted in cream smooth patent leather that are distressed by hand to create a subtle crinkled effect and decorated with a s...Category
2010s Shoes
- GIANVITO ROSSI white leather PORTOFINO 85 Sandals Shoes 41By Gianvito RossiLocated in Zürich, CH100% authentic Gianvito Rossi Portofino 85 Sandals in white leather which feature circular buckle at the ankles. Brand new. Measurements Imp...Category
2010s Shoes
- MISSONI metallic gold leather Ankle Strap Pumps Shoes 37By MissoniLocated in Zürich, CH100% authentic Missoni round-toe ankle-strap pumps in metallic light gold and vanilla calfskin. Have been worn and are in excellent condition. Imprinted Size 37 Shoe Size 37 Inside ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Shoes
- CHANEL ivory leather 2022 22S LACE UP BLOCK HEEL DERBIES Flats Shoes 37By ChanelLocated in Zürich, CH100% authentic Chanel 2022 lace-up block-heel derbies in ivory smooth leather featuring classic black cap-toe. Have been worn once and show some soft dark lines on the heel and on th...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Shoes
- SAINT LAURENT Low-Top red balck canvas Sneaker Shoes 37By Saint LaurentLocated in Zürich, CH100% authentic Saint Laurent Skate low-top sneakers in red and black zebra printed canvas and white leather lining. Featuring an off-white rubber s...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Shoes
- OFF-WHITE ivory & pink SPRAY PAINT ARROW Sneakers Shoes 37By Off-WhiteLocated in Zürich, CH100% authentic OFF-WHITE Arrow low top sneakers in ivory distressed suede with white leather arrow and pink spray paint on the rubber sole. Have been ...Category
2010s Shoes
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.
Too Soon for the Return of ’90s Fashion? As If
There's a renewed appreciation for the era's aesthetic, perhaps most notably among millennials seeking authentic, easy style.