John Galliano: RTW Spring 2011
Posted on October 7, 2010
For his spring 2011 ready to wear show, John Galliano was inspired by legendary, 1920s con artist Maria Lani who tricked over fifty leading artists of the time -- including Henri Matisse, Jean Cocteau, Georges Russell, Fernand Leger and Marc Chagall -- to paint her portrait. Maria said she was an actress and that the paintings were to be used in a horror movie (there was no movie, but she apparently was a heck of an actress as well as being multilingual and beautiful.)
The paintings were exhibited and she absconded with those that didn't sell. She escaped to America where she worked at the famous Stage Door Canteen in New York where celebrities entertained Allied troops from World War II. She died in Paris in 1954. She was a chameleon who always changed her look to hook a new mark.
Galliano recalled many of his favorite muses, such as Jasmine LeBon, Jacquetta Wheeler and Marie Sophie, to walk in the show. Each model was outfitted in one of Maria's imagined ensembles. Be sure to catch Coco Rocha wearing pigtails and doing her best Lolita impersonation. One model carries a gold gilt frame to represent the stolen paintings: each model's look is a different face of Maria's personality.
The show was quite dramatic, and the Opera Comique made for a lovely setting. The clothes were colorful and light, with trench coats, shorts, cardigans, wide-leg pants and embellished jackets. There was a lot of color, with lovely silk prints and sheer tulle accents. The evening gowns were simply gorgeous, in gold, white and navy blue, with jeweled hand embroidery, sheer overlays and feathers. Some were dropped waisted, some had corsets. The styling was exotic, with silent film star makeup, gold fairy dust in the hair and stupendously dramatic hats. We loved it. Take a look: