The common thread – for lack of a better pun – linking John Galliano’s wonderfully diversified ready-to-wear and Artisanal collections for the house of Margiela, resides in the British designer’s knack for challenging convention.
For spring/summer 2017 – Galliano’s eighth presentation since becoming creative director of the hugely influential, avant-garde fashion house – the designer took creative license to imbue his dystopian design rhetoric to trick and tease the eye. From ‘could be’ scuba suits that morphed into tubular knit skirts, chunky sweaters wrapped around shoulders and styled as tops, and traditional trench coats utilized as ornamental details on the façades of flowy dresses, experimentation appears to be the creative impetus behind the designer’s innovative visual language. On this season's runway, Galliano developed a space age, sea-dwelling voyager, through the collection’s utilitarian styling and references to the sea, from chunky trimmings wrapped on collars and suspended from hems like clinging coral, to fluorescent appliqué covering skirts like bejeweled sea anemones, and new-age tabi boots that looked like offspring of Margiela’s trademark shoe and a scuba boot, the illustrations were innumerable. A standout offering of unique garments styled in Galliano’s distinctly genius and slightly unconventional fashion.
References
- 1
- 2
Alexander McQueen
'The Birds', Spring/Summer 1995
Unidentified Artist
Still Life, Flowers and Fruit in White and Pink Bowl, 1840-60
Antti Lovag
Palais Bulles, 1975-1989, France
Ikka Suppanen
'Airbag' Chair, 1997
Alex Israel
Booties, 2015
Andy Warhol
Alexander the Great, 1982
Andy Warhol
Birth of Venus, 1984
Junichi Arai
Crinkled Sheer Fabric
Erich Mendelsohn
Einstein Tower, 1920-21, Potsdam
Evan Lewis
Copper Bombe Cabinet, 1990
Junichi Arai
Fabric
Gisele Bündchen Beach Editorial
Vogue Paris, 2012
Gunnar Aagaard Andersen
Bogstavtæppe (Letter carpet) for Unika Vaev, 1960s
Mark Flood
Emerald Matrix, 2014
Miele Italiano Miele
Tullio D'Albisola, 1930
Elsa Schiaparelli
Vest, 1937-38
Alex Israel
Self Portrait (Wetsuit), 2015
Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown
Sheraton Chair, 1980s
Sheila Hicks
The Silk Rainforest, 1975
Marc Newson
Voronoi Shelf, 2007
Yoshiki Hishinuma
Dress made of sheer polyester/polyurethane, 1999
References
Alexander McQueen
'The Birds', Spring/Summer 1995
1 of 22
Unidentified Artist
Still Life, Flowers and Fruit in White and Pink Bowl, 1840-60
2 of 22
Antti Lovag
Palais Bulles, 1975-1989, France
3 of 22
Ikka Suppanen
'Airbag' Chair, 1997
4 of 22
Alex Israel
Booties, 2015
5 of 22
Andy Warhol
Alexander the Great, 1982
6 of 22
Andy Warhol
Birth of Venus, 1984
7 of 22
Junichi Arai
Crinkled Sheer Fabric
9 of 22
Erich Mendelsohn
Einstein Tower, 1920-21, Potsdam
10 of 22
Evan Lewis
Copper Bombe Cabinet, 1990
11 of 22
Junichi Arai
Fabric
12 of 22
Gisele Bündchen Beach Editorial
Vogue Paris, 2012
13 of 22
Gunnar Aagaard Andersen
Bogstavtæppe (Letter carpet) for Unika Vaev, 1960s
14 of 22
Mark Flood
Emerald Matrix, 2014
15 of 22
Miele Italiano Miele
Tullio D'Albisola, 1930
16 of 22
Elsa Schiaparelli
Vest, 1937-38
17 of 22
Alex Israel
Self Portrait (Wetsuit), 2015
18 of 22
Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown
Sheraton Chair, 1980s
19 of 22
Sheila Hicks
The Silk Rainforest, 1975
20 of 22
Marc Newson
Voronoi Shelf, 2007
21 of 22
