Je suis Geshia

Je adore Dior, I have to admit I have never been a great fan of John Galliano. Sorry it is the truth until now. What a show, I adore everything Asian and many of my Asian friends are surprised at my knowledge of their culture and that I can tell the difference between Japanese, Chinese, and Korean. As a child I went through a phase everything Japanese or Chinese never knowing about the wars between them. I adored the Chinese opera, and watching Chinese and Japanese TV. I ate everything with chopsticks for 2 years. Even loved hanging out with the Chinese gang members in my neighborhood in Queens, New York the “White Tigers.” My addiction would continue thorough out my life reading the book ‘ Memories of a Geisha’ then seeing the film and the play ‘Miss Saigon’ made me want to be a Geisha so delicate, so manicured, so artistic, I could go on.

This is why I have to re-think my opinions of Mr. Galliano. I once wrote the following describing him.

Her Majesty John Galliano


Mr. Galliano has been known to copy, and be inspired by Vivienne Westwood, and he also part responsible for the entire ‘Bling’ culture, as well as responsible for bringing the whole ‘grunge’ look to the runway way before Marc Jacobs brought it back this year. Even though ‘grunge’ was not accepted by the fashionable, how dared he bring the street to the catwalk, fashion is about looking and feeling good. Know one likes looking like a bum, sorry Courtney Love. These were fashions first look at the grunge look. The times and Marc Jacobs changed all of that last season.

My own feelings about Galliano are mixed, it was not until recently that he has designed garments which I kind of like. I speak about his most recent collection, for ‘I love Rock and Roll and it was a very rock and roll collection.’ His other collections are lest desirable. Although I don’t deny his talents, my personal opinion of the designer is that he is a misogynist, that deep down he hates women. Wanting only to cheapen us and sell us to the highest bidder. Or maybe he is just jealous? He is always questioning women’s sex appeal, even a man may make better female then real women.

There is a connection between Mr. Galliano’s cinematic visions of the vamp and their historical prototypes. When the vamp is seen as desirable, it is tinged with fear. Her sexuality is fatal, she destroys men as she entices and seduces them. Galliano fashioned the female Geisha after this, after all geisha’s are in fact kept women. Galliano has always had a love affair with women in history of this sort. This is why I have always had issues with him.

Yet Monday the 22nd of January 2007 the man called Galliano absolutely took my breath away. From the music from "Madame Butterfly" the soundtrack used to set the scene, which enthralled the onlookers. The epitome of Japanese elegance and ornamentation. We returned to they hey day of the House of Dior with the ‘New Look’ on the stage it rained cherry blossom’s and confetti butterflies. The stage designer was a larger take on the designer studio of Monsieur Dior himself, with the Gargantuan chairs from his studio!

His genius reined, he was able to incorporate the present, past and future of the Dior house. He also has put the ‘T’ in team work, pulling this spectacle off with the help of the amazing milliner Stephen Jones, who fashioned the headgear alone, the pagoda hats, cherry blossom branches, chopstick twigs and pink miniature lanterns. The makeup artist Pat McGrath complemented the trio with her graphic stripes of eye shadow on a white face was the work of the brilliant artist. Loved loved all the colors, that still gave the trend of everything disco 80’s glam, yet couture! This was art at it’s best, you could smell spring in the air, even though it was one of the coldest day’s this year in Paris. We all had rosy checks and wet eyes after viewing this show. Galliano has validated his 10 years at Dior.

Like many women’s lives we hide behind our beauty to cover up the tragic stories in our lives. Always hoping for our savior to come. With the couture industry almost a dieing art Galliano has come to save what we know as Paris Couture. In a époque of designer wanna bee’s couture has almost lost it’s edgy. It is word many modern day designers like ‘Juicy Couture’ add the word couture just to make it ‘Bling’. Dior is our redeemer and how classic for him with his appearance at the finale, swaggering down the runway in uniform as Colonel Pinkerton in "Madame Butterfly."