Holt Renfrew Challenge #3

CHALLENGE #3:

Choose your favourite style icon from 1920 - 2000 and recreate their signature look.

When I read the challenge mandate, only one person came to mind - John Galliano!

John Galliano is Fashion's Pirate, Trustee of the Dior Legacy & my Mentor. His talent is monumental. But beyond this, it is his outlook on life and his humanity that I am so strongly drawn to. His business sense, immense creativity and humility teach me that you can become a success, while keeping your soul intact. I am forever in his debt.

A cool quote from John :

" It's been a long time since I left (college) but I still feel like a pirate that is plundering the globe for beauty and gems of ideas. A memory, a moment, a person is the greatest treasure... but a diamond is a very good second."

John is known for his outlandish looks. While some designers shyly poke their heads out to the crowd at the end of a runway show, John relishes the opportunity to make his entrance. He has been known for taking to the runway in full hair and makeup, strutting like his models and posing for the camera. What really gets attention are his outfits. Always interestingly-attired, John emerges to his public as character from his collections. One season it was Charlie Chaplin, another it was Madame Butterfly's Colonel Pinkerton. He has been the Spanish bullfighter, the bloody and sweaty boxer, or even the Marquise De Sade. John has explained that this is his way of closing the chapter on the present collection, and creatively clearing his mind for the next. Also, he is following all those beautiful models in their Dior clothes, so he has to make some effort!

Here are a couple of his iconic looks:

John as a vintage sea-explorer, a Spanish Bullfighter, a Colonel Pinkerton, & a street imp

Pinning John down to one look is hard, because he is such a chameleon. But if you look closely, some elements are always present. The fitted vest/ blazer, an theatrical coat/ jacket, and a hat. There must always be a kooky hat!!

I've chosen his look from the Fall/Winter 2005 Couture show, that commemorated the 100th anniversary of the birth of Christian Dior. John served up a genius collection of transparency, classic Dior shapes, and cultural influences.

Let me paint you a picture of his spectacular entrance: As the final girl exited the runway (more like a movie set with lavish props), there was a clash of thunder on the speakers. Smoke filled the room and an actual carriage, drawn by a horse, pulled up. The lights dimmed, and out emerged John looking amazing.

John Galliano after Dior's Fall/Winter 2005 couture show

This look would be relative easy to replicate. I already have the vest. I would need a pair of really funky pants, the hat, the flower pin, and a blond wig. The challenge would be translating his fierceness and energy onto camera. A friend of mine has a trampoline in his backyard, and I was thinking that I could ask him to take the shot as I jumped up and down in the air. Can you imagine the finished snapshot?! Hair flying, fabric flapping, arms and legs extended, all frozen in mid-air. How cool would that look! The only question is, would the wig hold up?

Photo Credits: Style.com