Wild boy brings dreams to life
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Paris
John Galliano last night took a French bourgeois institution - the house of Givenchy - and turned it upside down with his first collection since taking over at the helm of the legendary couturier last July.
The Givenchy customers of old will be looking elsewhere for their neat suits and elegant evening gowns from now on, because the British designer's debut collection was aimed at whole new class of customer, including Marissa Berenson - granddaughter of the great Schiaparelli - and Paloma Picasso.
Tina Turner sat enraptured throughout and there were dollar signs flashing in her eyes as she was swept backstage for a closer look at duchess satin ballgowns with 12ft trains, deceptively simple plain black smoking suits, oriental kimono opera coats, lime green ball-gowns and bright red and orange column dresses, made of sari silk. Model Kirsten McNemeny bowed to the rock star's feet at the end of the show to plant a kiss firmly on her lips.
The genteel and low-key house of Givenchy that was always the home of restrained, tasteful dressing, has changed beyond all recognition in the hands of the wild boy. But this was the collection the designer has always wanted to show.
And while his ready-to-wear collections might, in the past, have been irrelevant for everyday life, the fantasy world of haute couture is what he has always dreamed of.
In this context, his clothes,themselves full of references to great moments in fashion history, are a new step forward for haute couture.
The collection also marked the debut of the new face of Givenchy - not Kate Moss or Stella Tennant, but an unknown 16-year-old American, plucked by Galliano from a film audition. Ramsey Jones, from Tampa, Florida, has signed an exclusive contract.
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