Spring 2008 Couture Highlight: Christian Dior

John Galliano, inspired by a portrait of Madame X from John Singer Sargent, opened the Spring 2008 Haute Couture season will his Collection for Christian Dior. Vibrant lime greens, magentas, purples, reds and yellows add-on to the already extravagant yet elegant blown volumes, swirls and Klimt-inspired geometrics. It is hard to believe that Galliano designs a dozen collections a year including ready to wear, accessories and eyewear for Dior as well as directing his own eponymous label. We never cease to delve into explorations of Galliano’s manic fantasy world and this collection is no exception. Words alone will not do justice to his genius; neither will these pictures but they will with no doubt make you hold your breath

Spring 2008 Paris Highlight: John Galliano

In the latest episode of John Galliano's part romantic part maverick imagination world, comes this Sweet Charity / Grey gardens inspired collection that hit the Paris runway on a day where Paris, indeed, was the least bit interested in fashion - the Stade Francais was cheering the heroic French XV. Galliano, nevertheless, in a always actual restoration of historical nostalgia, featured a collection that transported the audience in a world that is a perfect blend of fairy and decrepit. There were twenties frills, floppy hats, flounced jackets, eccentric knotted knits in pastel pinks, printed chiffons or earth-tone metallics - true to Galliano's eponymous label. The setting: a dilapidated part of the seaside, a ramshackle boardwalk past a polythene covered spinning merry-go-round, past Chinese lanterns, a chandelier of spectacles, an ostrich on a pile of clapped out televisions and torn up newspapers.