Filling a void - Dior's bird of paradise ousted

After John Galliano's rapid layoff at Dior on the eve of Paris Fashion Week following a line of unpardonable and allegations of racism and anti-Semitism, the fashion industry is holding its breath and standing as curious onlookers waiting to watch how a former golden child is falling from grace.
Luxury conglomerate LVMH rapidly executed its zero tolerance policy and suspended the couturier from his post as creative director at Dior on Friday, 25th of February 2011.

After cumulative accusations, which have peaked in the release of a rather shocking video on youtube, where the obviously intoxicated couturier is mumbling Nazi sympathatic remarks as well as anti-Semtitic abuses, he was finally let go of his position at Dior on February 28th.
Natalie Portman, newly crowned Academy Award winner, Dior ambassadress and new face for Miss Dior Cherie who in a strong official statement distanced herself instantly from John Galliano and declared that she "is proud to be Jewish" and "...shocked and disgusted..." by the designer's action and wishes to disassociate herself clearly from his persona.
How quickly the public distanced itself from designer extraordinaire was also reflected by how few celebrities sported the brand Dior on the red carpet of the Academy Awards this sunday - only Nicole Kidman and Sharon Stone adhered to their robes designed by John Galliano.

Finally today, Wednesday 2nd, John Galliano's much anticipated statement was released by law firm Harbottle & Lewis:

  
“I was subjected to verbal harassment and an unprovoked assault when an individual tried to hit me with a chair having taken violent exception to my look and my clothing. For these reasons I have commenced proceedings for defamation and the threats made against me,” Galliano said in the statement. “However, I fully accept that the accusations made against me have greatly shocked and upset people.”he also said that he''ll take full responsibility for the “circumstances in which I found myself and for allowing myself to be seen to be behaving in the worst possible light. I only have myself to blame and I know that I must face up to my own failures and that I must work hard to gain people's understanding and compassion." 
"I have fought my entire life against prejudice, intolerance and discrimination having been subjected to it myself,” he further stated. “In all my work my inspiration has been to unite people of every race, creed, religion and sexuality by celebrating their cultural and ethnic diversity through fashion. That remains my guiding light.”

Fellow couturier icon Karl Lagerfeld added fuel to the facts of the case stating the following to WWD: "I’m furious that it could happen, because the question is no longer even whether he really said it. The image has gone around the world. It’s a horrible image for fashion...". Also, Lagerfeld pointed out that fashion is "...a business world where, especially today, with the Internet, one has to be more careful than ever....". He ranted on to be furious with Galliano for being ungrateful and having seriously harmed CEO Bernard Arnault's pet label of conglomerate LVMH.

Irrespective of the negative short term ramifications this incident and subsequent media pandemonium will have on Dior, the long term impact of Galliano's departure on the legacy of couture house Dior remains to be seen.
Having been in charge of Dior since 1996, John Galliano unmistakably left his signature fingerprint and fused his creative genius and showmanship with the brand. The fashion world is already starting to speculate who might be capable of stepping into John Galliano's larger-than-life creative footprints at Dior who bestowed some of the most dramatic, memorable and remarkable couture moments on us during his 14 years of creative reign at Dior.


xoxo
Glamazone


Source: www.WWD.com, www.fashionologie.com, runway.blogs.nytimes.com,
Picture Source: spiegel.de, style.com, modeview.com

Haute Couture - an historical excursion

Haute Couture (French for: High dressmaking/tailoring)  

For centuries, French Haute Couture has been the stuff that dreams are made of.
Year by year, these few days in Paris might be amongst the most luxurious spectacles worldwide - and surely for most Haute Couture houses, they are the most prestigious days in their annual cycle - where custom-fit, exclusive clothing is presented to a demanding high profile clientele and the world press.

History:

Did you know that the origin of Haute Couture is generally awarded to Charles Frederic Worth, who in 1857/58 found the first big fashion house "Worth et Bobergh" in Rue de la Paix in Paris? The extremely precious designs, which he was the first to display on an actual mannequin (his wife) were presented to a selected exclusive clientele. C.F. Worth created wardrobe for crowned heads like Empress Eugénie, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth of Austria (commonly known as Sissi). And not enough with my historical sashay here, did you know that Paul Poiret - who later became an acknowledged dressmaker himself and who was said to be amongst the first to create a design fragrance himself -was one of his assistants?
And last but not least - did you know, that each designer/fashion house who wants to call themselves Haute Couture has to fulfill four criteria annually (yes, you read correctly, they are being checked each year meticulously by the „Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne“):

- Each design house/designer has to have its/his atelier in Paris

- Employ at least 20 people as full time staff

- The collections have to be presented twice a year

- Each collection has to comprise at least 50 pieces

Apologies for de-romanticizing this magical subject, but economically speaking, Haute Couture usually is a losing deal. It certainly is the big sister of Prêt-à-porter in terms of elaborate tailoring, sartorial skills and working hours of countless seamstresses who put all their handcraft to realise the head of design's lastest vision. In the end however, it is no big secret, that the pieces are rather vertu and pieces of art to be kept and shown in museums instead of generating turnover. The main mission of Haute Couture is to attract attention to the fashion house itself, the brand as such and the more accessible lines and accessories of the fashion house.

For all of you who think it is crude to vocalise "trivia" like the filthy lucre when it comes to couture wonderland - I do not intend to be the Grinch who stole couture - quite the opposite I have always been an advocate of "L'art pour l'art".


xoxo
Glamazone


Source: Rudolf Kinzel, 1996: Die Modemacher, Geschichte der Haute Couture; metmuseum.org
Picture Source: Britannica.com, metmuseum.org 

Vivienne W., Gypsies and Pirates...

...having a wild party with lots of booze and drugs - at least that is what comes to my mind taking a look at Vivienne Westwood's collection that was shown yesterday during LFW. From head to toe, starting with quashed gypsy-headgear, smudgy make-up, a blow-out stole, splashy colour prints on shirts and tights, colourful stripy socks and blue iridescent stockings, the collection had it all that you would expect of a party extravaganza, hosted by the Queen of Punk.

Looking at the pictures, mid-way, it struck me, that there was actually a massive resemblance of a few of the models with Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow cross-dressing into womens' couture- this might have been due to the fact of the make-up effects but also of some pirate-influenced accessory elements like the long gloves and stripy pants and socks. Other models at first glance actually evoked an immediate association of John Galliano with their Prince Valiant look-alike hair-do.

Apart from that, Vivienne Westwood proposed numerous beautifully draped plaids, torn, washed-out and multi-layered pieces with prints that ranged from "prince charming" to the (a bit too obvious) "stop climate change" and various splashed paint prints that were repeated in various items. The scruffy layer-look took turns with romantic tull and chiffon dresses and draped elegant evening pieces.
The careful, yet gypsiesque layering just gave and edge to the collection and showed that Vivienne Westwood is simply authentic, when playing with all the cliches of punk and noblesse and mixing her brith-chic heritage in a wild punk fête with gypsies, pirates and princesses in disguise.