Suzy Menkes Raves Over John Galliano Debut At Martin Margiela
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John Galliano’s friends — including bestie Kate Moss — were out in full force this afternoon in London for his debut as Creative Director at Martin Margiela. Writing for Vogue UK, Suzy Menkes heaped praise on the designer — gushing really — about the debut collection.
The crowd was in a mood to forgive and forget Galliano’s fall from grace, writes Menkes. The timing was not perfect, as we noted earlier today, based on current events in Paris.
In the mix of oddities and remnants — presumably as an acknowledgement of Margiel’s spartan concept of remake-and-mend-
“there was a sweet elegance, writes Menkes. “Another plain red velvet dress, cut away in curving, flesh-revealing spaces at the back, had the fashion audience sighing and dying, with Natalie Massenet of Net-a-porter the first to sing its merits and show her desire.”
Kate Moss would wear these tiny shorts to Glastonbury, writes Menkes, noting the expected sexual message that pulsed throughout the show. Totally abondoning the Margiela aesthetic, Galliano swung into his Dior days, mixing sheer red transparency over an animal print bodysuit.
Vanessa Friedman, Fashion Director and Chief Fashion Critic for the NY Times has now weighed in with a positive but more circumspect review. Her critique better articulates AOC’s response to the images.
Mr. Galliano is always good — but, more important, relevant?
Beyond the excitement of today, would, or should, anyone care?
Maybe.
This wasn’t a slam-dunk debut of a new vision — not one of those moments that changes the direction of clothes, redefining a silhouette or a mood and making women sit up in recognition and think, “That’s how I want to look now.” It wasn’t a moment that wiped the slate clean with its own power.
It was, rather, more of a slow stretch; a warm-up. You can understand it. Mr. Galliano has been on the bench awhile.
