Vintage John Galliano for Christian Dior Gold Dusted Red Silk Long Skirt Size 6
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 6 (US)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Montgomery, TX
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU653120266002
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Montgomery, TX
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- New Roberto Cavalli Butterfly Print Silk Maxi Skirt Italian size 40By Roberto CavalliLocated in Montgomery, TXNew Roberto Cavalli Silk Butterfly Print Maxi Skirt Italian size - 40 100% Silk, Butterfly and Snake Skin Print, Front High Slit, Black Silk Lining, Zip Closure. A-line Style. Measur...Category
2010s Italian Skirts
- S/S 2004 Vintage Tom Ford for Gucci Runway Black Pleated Silk Skirt Size 40 NWTBy Gucci, Tom Ford for GucciLocated in Montgomery, TXVintage Tom Ford for Gucci Pleated Silk Skirt, S/S 2004 Runway Collection Italian size - 40 Black 91% Silk, 9% Spandex Measurements: Length - 21" inches, Waist - 28", Hips - 34"-36...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Pencil Skirts
- F/W 2001 Versus Versace Black/White Vintage Graphic Tattoo Leather SkirtBy VersaceLocated in Montgomery, TXF/W 2001 Vintage Versus Versace Graphic Tattoo Leather Skirt As seen on Halle Berry during 2001 MTV Movie Awards IT Size 24/38 - US 4 waist 26", hips 34-...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Skirts
- S/S 2004 Vintage Tom Ford for Gucci Runway Crystal Embellished Skirt Size 40 NWTBy Gucci, Tom Ford for GucciLocated in Montgomery, TXVintage Tom Ford for Gucci Crystal Embellished Skirt, S/S 2004 S/S 2004 Runway Collection Italian size - 40 Nude color, Silk pleated fan design over the tulle, Finished with the cle...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Skirts
- Vintage 1996 Tom Ford for Gucci Black Suede Leather Long Wrap Skirt Fur Trim 42By Gucci, Tom Ford for GucciLocated in Montgomery, TXGucci Black Suede Leather Long Wrap Skirt w/ Fur Trim Vintage 1996 Tom Ford for Gucci Italian size 42 High Waisted with Hook and Eye Closure, Fully Li...Category
1990s Italian Wrap Skirts
- Vintage Valentino Floral Embellished Beaded Tulle SkirtBy ValentinoLocated in Montgomery, TXVintage Valentino Embellished Tulle Skirt Beige skirt with pleated tulle hem, sequin floral design throughout and side zip closure. Siz...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Skirts
- Giorgio Armani Black Rayon Crepe Skirt Size EU40 / US 6By Giorgio Armani Le CollezioniLocated in New York, NYGiorgio Armani Le Collezioni flirty little black skirt with draped open front that flows from fitted waistband. Fabric is a soft rayon ble...Category
1990s Italian Skirts
- Joseph Belted Sash Black Skirt Size UK LBy JosephLocated in New York, NYThis is a skirt full of delightful surprises. It moves with you. Hidden slits and flaps, wrapped belted waist gives a variety of options for styling. The long sash belt allows for...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Bulgarian Skirts
- VERSACE S/S 1995 Vintage Runway Pleated Silk Mini SkirtBy Gianni Versace, Gianni Versace CoutureLocated in Berlin, BEVERSACE Vintage S/S 1995 Runway Pleated Silk Mini Skirt Brand: Versace Designer: Gianni Versace Collection / Year: Spring Summer 1995 Fabric: Silk Satin Color: Black Size: IT4...Category
1990s Italian A-Line Skirts
- AZZEDINE ALAÏA 1990s Navy Semi-Sheer Mini Skirt LBy Azzedine AlaïaLocated in Berlin, BEAzzedine Alaïa Vintage 1990s Semi-sheer Navy Mini Skirt Brand: Alaïa Designer: Azzedine Alaïa Collection / Year: 1990s Color: Navy Size: L Gorgeous vintage mini skirt by Azzedi...Category
1990s French A-Line Skirts
- AZZEDINE ALAÏA Vintage 1990s Mini Skirt SBy Azzedine AlaïaLocated in Berlin, BEAzzedine Alaïa Vintage 1990s Mini Skirt Brand: Alaïa Designer: Azzedine Alaïa Collection / Year: 1990s Fabric: Viscose / Rayon Color: Black Size: S E...Category
1990s French A-Line Skirts
- JUNYA WATANABE COMME DES GARCONS Leather Pleated SkirtBy Junya Watanabe Comme des GarçonsLocated in Berlin, BEAmazing pleated black leather skirt by Japanese designer Junya Watanabe. The luxurious leather skirt is made form a soft leather - it is fitted at the waistband and pleated at the b...Category
2010s Japanese Pleated Skirts
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 Red-Sequined Stunner Proves That No One Bedazzles a Gown Like Bob Mackie
The designer, who has created looks for style icons like Cher and Barbie, knows how to make a statement dress.