Even the anticipation of Lady Gaga walking the runway at this season’s Thierry Mugler show couldn’t compete with the anticipation over the Fall 2011 Christian Dior show. After the shocking racist and anti-semetic remarks that former Christian Dior creative director John Galliano made, he was abruptly dismissed from his position. While the show for his namesake line was canceled (and the brand itself has an uncertain future), the Dior show went on.
LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault did not attend, but Dior president Sidney Toledano made a pre-show statement reiterating that Dior has fired Galliano and remarking “it has been deeply painful to see the Dior name associated with the disgraceful statements attributed to its designer, however brilliant he may be.” At the time of the Galliano scandal, the Dior collection was not finished, so it was fitting that the brand’s design team took to the stage for the show’s finale bow.
The show could not have held more possibility for awkwardness, but it seems that the House of Dior did all that they could to handle what could have easily been an insurmountable public relations disaster with grace and humility. Fittingly, the expected hair and makeup drama was toned down and the collection itself offered a lot in the way of wearable, more commercial than expected, daywear. A number of the looks, however, suffered from jumbled and overly layered styling which made it hard to appreciate what were clearly beautiful individual pieces.
As for the eveningwear, plenty of the lingerie-inspired looks we’ve seen from Galliano in the past made their way out with lots of sheer garments and ruffles, making for beautiful Victorian boudoir-esque gowns.
Photos: Vincenzo Grillo, IMAXtree.
