>John Galliano

Fashion Designer

John Galliano is a groundbreaking fashion designer, acclaimed for his fusion of romantic historicism with extraordinary technical skills and progressive aesthetics. Born in 1960 in Gibraltar, Galliano came to fame through his graduate collection for Central St. Martin's College of Art and Design, 'Les Incroyables', in 1984, which announced the designer's signature strategy of reviving the past whilst heralding in the new. The collection was famously bought in its entirety by Joan Burstein, the owner of Browns boutique in London and displayed in its front windows: an unprecedented and prestigious endorsement. Galliano set up his own label in that year with the immensely successful 'Ludic Game' collection and he enjoyed consistent critical acclaim throughout the decade, championed in particular by fashion editor Anna Wintour, in spite of looming financial pressures. These were assuaged in 1995, when he was invited to become the designer of Ready to Wear and Haute Couture Collections for Givenchy, becoming the first Brit to design for the label. This controversial appointment on the part of the LVMH luxury conglomerate that owns Givenchy was compounded when Galliano was appointed as the new designer of LVMH's flagship, traditional fashion brand Christian Dior in 1997, bringing modernity and vigour back to the iconic institution.