Imagine one’s self outfitted in couture, cruising down the Nile alongside King Tut – Egypt’s the most famous pharaoh – who ruled the 18th dynasty thousands of years ago during a period of Egyptian history known as the ‘New Kingdom’. This opulent, seemingly preposterous visual becomes all the more conceivable when expressed through the ethereal mind of John Galliano.
The designer’s spring/summer 2004 couture collection for the house of Christian Dior sought inspiration from ancient Egypt, modernizing age-old cultural references into a dazzling spectacle of excess. What began for Galliano with an aerial tour of Cairo and Luxor, evolved into a collection rich with cross-cultural inspiration; from the exaggerated poses of ancient Egyptian figurines, to 1950’s fashion photographs by Richard Avedon and Irving Penn.
Supermodel Erin O’ Connor opened the show outfitted as Cleopatra, complete with a Nefertiti hat and sphinx eye makeup, while Reptile-like scaled leather looks in hues of gold and bright blue were paired with egg-sized scarab earrings. Hieroglyphs and tomb paintings were called upon as decorative elements on the collection’s extreme eveningwear, while models mimicked mummies in black and white, gem-encrusted silk gowns, accessorized with complimentary head wraps. The season’s bedazzling visual contrasts extended beyond the collection’s coupling of ancient and modern references, as Galliano paired geometric shapes cut from golden mirrors, with airy tulle gowns, and corseted, structured breastplates with billowing tiers of organza. In collaboration with London-based milliner Stephen Jones, King Tut-inspired metallic masks and elaborately feathered headdresses further enhanced each look, as Galliano’s Queens of the Nile strutted down the runway to a soundtrack that fittingly featured the Bangle’s 1980s hit, “Walk Like an Egyptian.”
The beauty of both Galliano the ‘showman’ and Galliano the ‘designer’ is defined by his ability to references the means of Christian Dior’s legacy while creating his own definition of couture, one that is theatrical and dramatic, blurring the lines between costume design and high fashion. Whether the collection is practical or wearable is up for debate, but one thing is without question – John Galliano knows how to put on a show.
