Ensemble

John Galliano|John Galliano

fall/winter 1986–87 · wool, silk, metal · Costume Institute

British designer John Galliano’s love for classical silhouettes, combining elements of different historical eras, expresses itself in this wool twill dress. It was shown in the fall/winter 1986–87 collection, ‘Forgotten Innocents’, an early Galliano collection inspired by Victorian crime stories. Viewed from the front, this seems like a typical 1950s- style day dress with an accentuated waist and flared skirt. Seen from the back, however, there is a modified bustle, which gives the dress a nineteenth-century flair and tilts the silhouette asymmetrically to the front. The conflation and accumulation of historical references is typical for Galliano’s signature, which deconstructs linear historical references. His innovation lies in creating a new female silhouette out of the debris of the past.

Artist

John Galliano|John Galliano

Date

fall/winter 1986–87

Medium

wool, silk, metal

Culture

British

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Purchase, Gould Family Foundation Gift, in memory of Jo Copeland, 2014