Rest assured, the genius that is Dior will go on…
Christian Dior announced yesterday that it has canned head designer John Galliano after his très racist rants in two separate incidents (and isn’t his prejudice quite surprising, as one would guess he has faced much prejudice himself). But alas, I thought I would take a moment to point out that the design house will be just fine sans M. Galliano. After all, Dior made famous the little black dress. The brand will no doubt swiftly return to its former glory rooted in Parisian elegance. The talent that has come out of the succession of creative heads prior to Galliano prove that this blemish is but a blip in the fashion house’s rich history. Let’s take a look back at some of these gems…
Dior kicked off his career in 1947 with his debut “New Look” for the woman’s suit that featured a fitted jacket meant to celebrate a woman’s figure, and he was immediately adored for it in the aftermath of WWII. In his too-short 10-year career, Dior went on to design lavish evening gowns, day dresses, coats and accessories, bringing haute couture to the masses, and was the first fashion designer in the world to appear on the cover of TIME magazine in 1957.
Following the death of Christian Dior in 1957, Yves Saint Laurent held the post briefly, with Marc Bohan taking over in 1961 for nearly 30 years. He was succeeded by Gianfranco Ferre until 1997 when Galliano stepped in. So that’s 50 years of major fashion history made prior to that which we will not name…
I was actually not much of a fan of the OTT look so extravagantly explored during Galliano’s reign, and would love to see Dior return to the classically refined pretty feminine silhouettes a la Roger Vivier and Roland Mouret…but that’s just me.
I would wear every one of those outfits today (ok, maybe not the polka dots). Really, so timeless. Dior deserves better than Galliano.
I am always shocked when people say something like he did. How do these evil things even pop into their heads??? Especially since Natalie Portman is a Dior spokeswoman, Jewish, and previous good friend of his. Weird.
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That photo with the fan is the epitome of classic & timeless beauty. I don’t think anyone will ever beat it.
So crazy…sometimes it is so hard to pull ourselves away from outward beauty when it conflicts with inner ugliness. I am so proud of everyone for taking such a strong stance against galliano. It reminds me that the aesthetics mean nothing when it does not reflect an inner beauty.
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