HOW AND WHY DOES JOHN GALLIANO SHOW FLAMBOYANCY IN HIS DESIGNS?

Whilst at Central Saint Martins, John Galliano became part of the explosion of the 80’s club scene. An era which saw a contradicting change to the 70’s punks but remained to make as powerful of statements and rebellious acts through fashion styling. The New Romantics celebrated all things frilly and fanciful, with ostentatious clothing and makeup (Henkes, 2019) showcasing a romanticism which is so highly accounted for in Galliano’s collections.

Relating back to gender, the New Romantics allowed John Galliano to envelop this challenging essence inside of him, driving him to seek the theatrical and glamour of the movement- aspects he has clearly conveyed into his own niche today. The New Romantics stood as his breeding ground to embrace the flamboyancy he had hidden as a child and pushed him to flourish the dandy look.

I have a strong appreciation and admiration for Galliano’s graduate collection, most significantly, as it introduced me to a deeper level of semiotics and communication in fashion, as well as allowing me to discern the initial flamboyancy of his work. The Incroyables were the original dandies of the 18th century and Galliano has translated this through additional extravagance of tulle, and fearlessness in upside down, inside out jackets and rainbow ribbons.

I believe this flamboyancy was most present in the Dior shows too, for example in his Fall 2003 collection, featuring an exuberant performance of fiery flamenco gypsies, stamping the runway in flounced skirts, corsetry, and wickedly mannish, form-swathing jackets (Mower, 2003). From this catwalk solely, you can see Galliano continuously relays back to his roots, this time it was flamenco and weaved the arts of dance into his collection, alongside supplementing his own feistiness and flamboyancy through frills, bold hues, and over exaggerated silhouettes.