Telegraph: Galliano's new look at the New Look
The British designer John Galliano staged a tour de force of brilliant creativity with a "Japanese New Look" spring/summer 2007 collection for Dior at the Paris haute couture season yesterday...Galliano's 21st century vision was breathtaking in its broad cultural and historical sweep and astonishing in its exquisitely detailed workmanship.Galliano, drawing on a tour of Japan last year, amassed a museum of references, from feudal and samurai society, martial arts and the geisha culture through to Playstation and manga comics. Woven into these inspirations were ingenious pattern-cutting, tailoring and dressmaking techniques based upon centuries-old traditions such as ikebana ― the art of flower arrangement ― and origami...The world of the samurai was evoked in jackets moulded from ink-black crocodile skins...more...
IHT: At Dior, Galliano soars with 'Madama Butterfly'
With "Madama Butterfly" soaring on the soundtrack and exquisite gestures of Japanese elegance and embellishment, John Galliano sent out on Monday his most beautiful show yet for Dior. The cherry blossom delicacy, the blizzard of confetti butterflies and the gamut of glamour from geisha to Christian Dior's New Look gave lift off to the haute couture spring/summer season. And it was an emotional moment for all those who have been on Galliano's decade-long journey at the ultimate Parisian couture house...Colors and patterns used kimonos as the creative source, but on outfits that were often beguilingly slender and approachable. The headgear alone ― the pagoda hats, cherry blossom branches, chopstick twigs and pink miniature lanterns ― were an extraordinary contribution...more...
