John Galliano Spring/Summer 2010

For those followers of the blog, you may know that I don't have much patience for those avante-garde designers that are really "out there". I suppose the designers fashion themselves as "artistes" and are trying to make some visionary artistic statement by pushing the boundaries of conventional sartorial norms. Despite the (perhaps acknowledged) impracticality of their designs, the clothes allegedly nonetheless serve some other social function.

Personally, when I assess a fashion show, I ask myself what would I think of that person if he strode down the street or into a nightclub wearing that outfit. Maybe that's the wrong question (from the designer's perspective) , but that's just what I think.

For that reason I never quite got the strangeness by labels as Comme Des Garcons or the strangeness that Thom Browne consistently delivers.




Commes Des Garcons, Spring/Summer 2010

Thom Browne for Moncler Gamme Bleu, Spring 2010

By that rationale, you'd expect me to hate John Galliano. Wrong.

For some reason, I "get" Galliano. If you strip away the theatrical element from his fashion shows, and isolate the clothing piece by piece, most of the items are pretty cool. But I also think that the crazy models themselves look pretty wicked even as they are (though there are always ultra-ridiculous exceptions). This season was no different. I liked the way the models were wrapped with various items around their waist, be they belts, shirts or other un-identifiable clothing. It actually created the illusion of smart tailoring and it was clever effect.

In my opinion, there are very few designers who can touch Galliano.

-The Scandal

All images, from style.com, Marcio Madeira

-The Scandal