MAISON MARGIELA “ARTISANAL” 2015 COLLECTION BY JOHN GALLIANO

Almost four years after being dismissed from Dior for a rascist and anti-semitic tirade in a Paris bar, John Galliano made his fashion comeback with his first couture show ‘Artisanal’ for Margiela, a fashion house known for its avant-garde minimalism. The timing, so soon after the attacks in Paris, lent an extra poignancy to the designers return.

Maison Margiela said the choice of London reflected both his personal links and the city’s traditional tailoring history and heritage. The show was staged on the fourth floor of an office block in Victoria, the steel floor tiles shiny as new pins, the stark, clinical set was true to the avant-garde, deconstructed aesthetic of the house founded by Belgian designer Martin Margiela.
The catwalk was filled with Galliano’s signature extravagance —a spectacle of black, white and scarlet with a futurist / medieval drama. Platform shoes, velvet dresses and denim shorts flowed effortlessly with trousers, chiffon gowns and exquisite detailing. Like a modern couture army the collection itself was an elaborate fusion of fine drapery and war paint, of sci-fi shoes and the kind of front-line evening dresses that could be used to go into battle. His 24-piece couture collection was presented in the middle of London Men’s Fashion Week. The juxtaposition served the brand well, as the over-the-top presentation had the right amount of feminine and masculine attributes to garner international headlines.