Dior By John Galliano

During his time as a student at London’s Central Saint Martins, Gibraltar-born British fashion designer John Galliano worked as a dressmaker at the National Theatre, learning the art of costume and the power of illusion. A regular at London nightclubs, Galliano met a circle of artists and colourful personalities, forging strong bonds with kindred spirits who would play a decisive role in his career – including Stephen Jones, who would become a milliner for Dior. Following the success of his own label (founded in 1984), he was appointed creative director of ready-to-wear and haute couture at Givenchy in 1995, before joining Dior in 1996 as artistic director of the women’s collections. There, he distinguished himself with his extravagant shows that combined eclectic historical and cultural inspirations – a global kaleidoscope of references and unbridled inventiveness, imbued with romanticism and history. The designer’s sensitivity to haute couture savoir-faire and his innate sense of the spectacular have earned him a reputation as a master of the silhouette. John Galliano has truly reinvented the art (and the very role) of haute couture, redefining its tropes in a new kind of contemporary fashion that combines the influences of his travels (whether real or born of his imagination) and Christian Dior’s rich heritage. This book highlights the exceptional silhouettes he created for Dior, collection after collection, from 1996 to 2011, through his most iconic models, photographed by Laziz Hamani, alongside photographs by Steven Meisel, Annie Leibovitz, Irving Penn and Paolo Roversi. This singular odyssey is the fifth volume in a new series of books paying tribute to the House’s artistic directors.