In true Martin Margiela style, John Galliano didn’t come out for a bow after his first ready-to-wear collection for Maison Margiela on Friday evening in Paris. To me it was the only disappointing part of a magnificent show that felt like the ultimate culmination of so many things: the fall and rise of the larger-than-life mega star John Galliano, the redefinition of a Margiela without Martin, and fashion’s post-recession rediscovery of a certain grandeur that went away when John did. I’ve experienced few shows as tense as the moment when that finale ended, everyone stretching their necks at the catwalk entrance to see if he would come out, photographers chanting his name – “John, John, John!” – out of a genuine excitement to see this majestic character, who finally gets to share his genius with us again.
In my eyes, John represents to fashion what another of my great idols, Michael Jackson, represented in broader culture. They’re superhuman forces of nature, hyper-creative, hyper-intelligent, and hyper-emotional in a way that could only ever make their work entirely honest. Wherever John was hiding in the Grand Palais during his show – he wasn’t backstage – I hope he felt like Michael did that day when he went to London to announce his This Is It tour at a press conference, after so many years out of the spotlight. Overwhelmed with cheers from fans and even the press, normally so unimpressed, you could tell he felt the love again. I hope that John, like Michael, felt welcome back in his industry, and in the world, because if Friday’s show proved anything, it’s that we need John Galliano to keep creating.
His decision not to come out for a bow reflects the humble approach he’s taken to himself as part of his recovery, which should be respected – even if there’s nothing I wanted more than to see him victory march his way down that runway in all his regal glory. That, of course, wouldn’t have been very Margiela, and for John, honoring the Maison’s codes and history clearly takes first priority. He exercised his effortless capability for fusing the Margiela trademarks and spirit with his own at the haute couture show in January, but his ready-to-wear was on a different level, in a sense because daywear was a much bigger challenge. When John left fashion, the recession covered the fashion landscape in its shadow of restraint, virtually alienating John’s work – always synonymous with fantastical splendor, unapologetic opulence and epic productions – amongst all the minimalism.
It was a wave so powerful it had to end in something as ridiculous as normcore before the guarded gates of what’s considered cool and appropriate could finally be opened to a little more extravagance. John’s return to fashion is a part of these winds of change, and for his fall/winter 15 ready-to-wear collection for Maison Margiela, confronting the optical white walls of the house and its intellectual approach to fashion with John’s historicism and theatrical mind, to me, both embodied the spirit of fashion right now – that tension between fantasy and reality – and signified the mood of what’s to come on a broader scale. The collection itself? Well, it was 70s: floor-length coats, skirts cut mid-thigh, furry or feathery coats and skirts, vinyl, suede, velvet. All viable proposals for real daywear, but so much dreamier than that.
It was, however, as it always was, in his showmanship that John really got to flex the expression muscle. A symphonic remix of Jasmine Thompson’s cover of Hozier’s Take Me To Church set the ceremonious tone. Then came the madness: in between models walking their regular stroll, frenzied models with short red wigs rushed down the runway forward-bent and furious. Were they running away from something? In those optical white surroundings, John’s fantasies were certainly more exposed than ever, stripped bare like they’d been dragged into the harsh bright light of reality. Perhaps it represented how this king of dreams feels in a current fashion realm, which is tougher, realer and far less dreamy than the one he left four years ago. Not that he has any reason to run. And that’s why he should have taken his bow, and bathed in the applause of his people. This was the definitive return of the King.
Credits
Text Anders Christian Madsen
Photography Mitchell Sams