John Galliano F/W 2012

Text by Andrea de Saint Andrieu

Photographs by Syed Munawir

Moving on from the men who made london’s sixties, we discovered Bill Gaytten’s idea of some popular 1920’s american figures. Though more toned down than what we were used to seeing with John Galliano, the designer (who’s been at the head of both the women and menswear collections for two seasons) still captures the essence of the brand, what makes it so different and exciting.

The show starts with outfits inspired by Al Capone, a clean silhouette with sharp cuts: belted and double breasted vests, baggy trousers and black shoes with a metallic silver heel. Then pants got slimmer and coats longer as we moved towards the henchmen’s disguise, hiding behind his peacoat or trench’s collar as he keeps an eye on his victim.

Change of persona: as we saw the dark colors turn into khakis and gold, the models came out wearing aviator jackets, jerseys, football pants and awesome gold leather helmuts creating a look half way between an airplane pilot and a sportif.

The collection came to an end on a festive note, suit pants worn with embroided tops and patent leather shoes, just what you need to go out dazzling on the dance floor. The finale’s outfit was the perfect way to close this show: a luxurious fur coat worn shirtless, which exuded “Galliano”.

Though times have been rough for the John Galliano house, we have no doubt they will stay on top of things, with their latest team who’s been producing amazing collections season after season.