Christian Dior by John Galliano pink crepe halter-neck lace up dress, fw 1999
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: FR 36 - UK 8 - US 4 (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU140211102242
John Galliano for Christian Dior
Known for introducing rich theatricality and memorable fashion spectacles to the runway, John Galliano has enjoyed a singular career. The audacious British designer has garnered universal acclaim for genre-breaking collections not only at his eponymous label but also for Christian Dior.
From his embroidered absinthe-green Oscars gown for actress Nicole Kidman to the iconic sleeveless newspaper-print dress that Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw made famous, Galliano’s intricate and multifaceted work is reliably newsworthy, drawing on history as often as it embodies a fresh and forward-looking sensibility, and over the years the designer has helped shape an ever-broadening new legion of enthusiasts for Parisian couture.
Born in Gibraltar but raised in South London by strict Roman Catholic working-class parents, Galliano attended the all-boys Church of England grammar school, where his flamboyance and interest in art attracted the attention of bullies. Eventually, Galliano ended up at the prestigious design and art school Central Saint Martins College (then called Saint Martin’s School of Art), where fellow British designers Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen also trained.
Galliano flourished at Central Saint Martins. While a student, he worked in the costume department at the National Theatre in London. His graduate collection in 1984, dubbed “Les Incroyables” and named for post–French Revolution fashion lovers, was modeled by close friends of his and earned a standing ovation. The line ended up in the storefront windows of London luxury boutique Brown’s on South Molton Street, and Galliano’s first official collection — after he graduated — debuted at Paris Fashion Week in 1989.
In the early 1990s, Galliano’s relationship with his financial backer, Plein Sud’s Faycal Amor, ended, and by 1994, he was broke and sleeping on the floor of a friend’s apartment. Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour and then-Vanity Fair editor André Leon Talley stepped in and introduced the budding designer to Portuguese socialite and fashion patron São Schlumberger and others. At Schlumberger’s Hôtel Particulier, Galliano’s shows became the stuff of fashion legend. His collection, a blend of Japanese modernist style as well as nostalgia for Art Deco and 1940s’ tailoring, earned raves in glossy magazines and garnered the attention of Princess Diana, Madonna and other fashion luminaries.
Once the Galliano name was well known among the world’s most stylish set, the chairperson of LVMH, Bernard Arnault, appointed Galliano head designer of French fashion house Givenchy. One year later, in 1996, LVMH moved him to the design team at Dior. In just eight weeks, Galliano produced 50 looks for Dior Haute Couture’s brilliant Spring/Summer 1997 Maasai collection and would ultimately design a mind-boggling eight collections a year for the storied French fashion house until 2011. Today, Galliano is the creative director of Maison Margiela.
Shop vintage and contemporary John Galliano for Christian Dior evening dresses and gowns, shoes, handbags and other clothing and accessories on 1stDibs.
Christian Dior
When Christian Dior launched his couture house, in 1946, he wanted nothing less than to make “an elegant woman more beautiful and a beautiful woman more elegant.” He succeeded, and in doing so the visionary designer altered the landscape of 20th century fashion.
Dior was born in Granville, on the Normandy coast, in 1905. His prosperous haute bourgeois parents wanted him to become a diplomat despite his interest in art and architecture. However, they agreed to bankroll an art gallery, which Dior opened in 1928 in Paris with a friend.
This was the start of Dior’s rise in the city’s creative milieu, where he befriended Pablo Picasso and Jean Cocteau. After seven years as an art dealer, Dior retrained as a fashion illustrator, eventually landing a job as a fashion designer for Robert Piguet, and in 1941, following a year of military service, he joined the house of Lucien Lelong. Just five years later, with the backing of industrialist Marcel Boussac, the ascendant Dior established his own fashion house, at 30 avenue Montaigne in Paris.
Just two years after the end of World War II, the fashion crowd and the moribund haute couture industry were yearning, comme tout Paris, for security and prosperity, desperate to discard the drab, sexless, utilitarian garb imposed by wartime deprivation. They needed to dream anew.
And Dior delivered: He designed a collection for a bright, optimistic future. “It’s quite a revolution, dear Christian!” exclaimed Carmel Snow, the prescient American editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar, famously proclaiming, “Your dresses have such a new look.” The press ran with the description, christening Dior’s debut Spring/Summer haute couture collection the New Look. “God help those who bought before they saw Dior,” said Snow. “This changes everything.”
Dior’s collection definitively declared that opulence, luxury and femininity were in. His skirts could have 40-meter-circumference hems, and outfits could weigh up to 60 pounds. They were cut and shaped like architecture, on strong foundations that molded women and “freed them from nature,” Dior said. Rather than rationing, his ladies wanted reams of fabric and 19-inch waists enforced by wire corsets, and the fashion world concurred. The debut got a standing ovation.
In the subsequent decade, Paris ruled as the undisputed fashion capital of the world, and Christian Dior reigned as its king. With the luxuriously full skirts of his New Look, suits and his drop-dead gorgeous evening dresses and ball gowns worthy of any princess, Dior gave women the gift of glamour they’d lost in the miserable years of war.
On 1stDibs, find an exquisite range of vintage Christian Dior clothing, jewelry, handbags and other items.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: London, United Kingdom
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Tom Ford for Gucci Spring-Summer 2000 beaded python print shift dressBy Tom FordLocated in London, GBTom Ford for Gucci Spring-Summer 2000 beaded python print shift dressCategory
1990s Italian Shift Cocktail Dresses
- Gucci by Tom Ford pink and gold printed lurex dress with head scarf, fw 2000By Gucci, Tom Ford for GucciLocated in London, GBGucci by Tom Ford pink and gold printed lurex shift dress with matching head scarf. Fall-Winter 2000Category
1990s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Azzedine Alaia leopard wool dress, cardigan, skirt and leggings set, fw 1991By Azzedine AlaïaLocated in London, GB▪ Azzedine Alaia leopard wool four-piece set ▪ Long sleeve fitted knee-length dress ▪ Oversized button-up cardigan ▪ High-waisted leggings ▪ High-waisted fitted knee-length pencil ...Category
1990s Italian Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
- Chanel by Karl Lagerfeld orange and brown knit and tweed jacket dress, fw 1995By Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld for ChanelLocated in London, GB▪ Chanel orange and brown rib knit wool dress ▪ Designed by Karl Lagerfeld ▪ Checked boucle jacket attached to front of dress ▪ CC logo buttons ▪ 4 front pockets ▪ Long knitted ...Category
1990s French Day Dresses
- Comme des Garçons lurex voile lace wrap dress and skirt set, fw 1999By Comme des GarçonsLocated in London, GB▪ Comme des Garçons dress and skirt set ▪ Lurex voile lace in brown, silver and cream ▪ Mid-length wrap dress ▪ Large turn-over collar ▪ Two large safety pin...Category
1990s Japanese Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
- Alexander McQueen pink python bias cut evening dress, ss 2008By Alexander McQueenLocated in London, GBAlexander McQueen pink python bias cut evening dress with padded shoulders, cap sleeves and silk lining Spring-Summer 2008Category
Early 2000s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- HAUTE COUTURE INTERNATIONAL Heavily Beaded Silk Champagne Opera Coat & DressBy HAUTE COUTURE INT'LLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis Haute Couture International ensemble is composed of a champagne tone embellished silk with a floral/Ivy motif. The coat features cente...Category
20th Century Hong Kong Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Saint Laurent Plunge Neck Gold Tunic Dress DressBy Yves Saint LaurentLocated in Krakow, PLEnsure you never stay out of focus with this glittering golden mini dress from Saint Laurent's SS17 selection. This silk mini dress is designed with a plunging neckline, long sleeve...Category
2010s Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Vintage White Cocktail Dress with Bead DetailLocated in London, GBA lovely white vintage cocktail dress from the 1950's. The dress has a round neckline and has a pleat at the front with bow detail . It is...Category
1950s Unknown Cocktail Dresses
- Metallic Pink Brocade 1960s Evening DressLocated in London, GBPink brocade evening dress featuring an all over rose motif deign in metallic threads lined in raw silk in a complimenting colour. Featuring a bow at the ...Category
20th Century Evening Dresses
- 1930 Art Deco Golden Silk Net & Sequin Hollywood Starlet GownLocated in Gresham, ORA divine 1930s Hollywood Starlet Gown: Spaghetti straps, gathered bust radiates down to the hem in golden sequined rays on gold silk tulle netti...Category
1930s American Evening Gowns
- 1960s Saks Fifth Avenue Cream Silk Chiffon Dress w/ Rhinestone Encrusted BodiceBy Saks Fifth AvenueLocated in Gresham, OR1960s Saks Fifth Avenue Cream Silk Chiffon Sheath Dress w/ Rhinestone Encrusted Bodice: Heavily boned and structured bodice is entirely encrusted with rhinestones supported by tiny s...Category
1960s American Evening Gowns
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
How John Galliano Caused Fashion Chaos around the Globe
The visionary designer epitomizes the pleasures and perils of irrepressible creative genius.
This Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen Ensemble Is Part Zsa Zsa Gabor, Part ‘Blade Runner’
As Burton steps away from the brand, it’s a fitting time to revisit one of her visionary designs.