I recognized Lady Amelia Windsor only because I am a forelock-tugging Brit and we chatted at Burberry once—she was very pleasant. Plus, those bee-stung lips. But the rest of the influencers in the front row at John Galliano tonight? Heaven knows who the semi-fabulous blonde in the slitted olive dress was; she was sticking her excellent right leg through that slit to the photographers like she was an estate agent on commission and her leg was a condo. And the professionally made-up brunette with a ski-slope nose in a one-shoulder tiger jacquard midi and knee-highs was, frankly, a mystery. As we watched the pre-show cluster-flock of photographers shoot these influencers and more, a normal, lovely looking lady in spectacles and a light blue shirt and I involuntarily rolled our eyes at each other—what a hoo-ha.
And yet, this route might well be the best way to go for Galliano. Because, while the man himself deservedly reaps plaudits for his beautiful work at Maison Margiela, his in-limbo own label is still a reputational ghostship. No big editors came to this—no so-called serious fashion people of any significant editorial-fashion-system clout chose to be here. Galliano’s label remains the forgotten victim and innocent bystander of the catastrophe in La Perle.
The real scandal in this story is that it’s so good! Bill Gaytten—who gave a special hand squeeze to my fellow eye-roller before indulging in a cheery significant point-and-wave with a very jolly Sidney Toledano—is just brilliant. He seems to phone in the kind of clothes other designers labor over yet get slightly wrong. This was a fun tribute to Cry-Baby, in which the models had Johnny Depp hair and occasionally wore drape-draped teddy boy suits to counter the square-but-hot prom gowns and slip dresses that dominated the show. With the exception of the interaction between kitten heel and parquet that nearly sent some models flying—more glue on the heels next time!—there was nothing to do here but enjoy. Among the self-appointed cognoscenti, Galliano remains in eternal purgatory. So let those influencers unburdened by backstory have the chance to adopt it—this brand deserves an audience that can appreciate its merits while remaining ignorant of its history.
