John Galliano

which contemporary designer researched his latest collection while floating half-a-mile high in a hot-air balloon? The answer, of course, is John Galliano, whose Dior couture show was inspired by an aerial tour of Egypt that included the Valley of the Kings, Cairo, Aswan, and Luxor.

Beginning with Erin O’Connor, resplendent in a gold outfit with massively overblown cuffs, painted face, and a huge empress headdress, Galliano worked what he called “the sphinx line: elongated, tight, attenuated, but crossed with the elegance of Avedon and Penn.

The collection included leopard-print fur stoles with collars, billowing gowns of shadow-dyed organza, with hems twisted and folded into lotus flower shapes, and pyramid-shaped gowns made of dozens of golden mirrors, and printed with hieroglyphics, or the glamorous mummies paraded in bandages of black silk tulle flashing with rainbow sequins. Many wore Nefertiti-like crowns, or long Egyptian "goatees". The models wore breast-plates of turquoise, coral, silver and gold, and earrings the size of "eagles' eggs". All models were outfitted in corsets. The models wore carved and polished wood masks, of Tutenkhamun, or gods like Horus, a falcon, Bast, a cat, or Anubis, a jackal. The masks were made by London milliner Stephen Jones.

The collection was one of Galliano's most celebrated collections for Dior.

 

 

when i look at john gallianos work from 2004 i feel inspired by how he has created such and eye carching collection with just one trip to egypt.