Very different from Karl Lagerfeld, who not too long time ago presented a glamorous Shanghai-inspired collection for Chanel in the city, Galliano has created the latest cruise collection for Christian Dior that captures the true spirit of la Parisienne.
"I didn't want to come here and present a Chinese-inspired collection to my Chinese friends," said Galliano in a previous interview. "I'm the ambassador of the house of Dior, and I wanted to come here with a French-inspired collection, and to show the savoir faire of France."
The 1960s-chic collection, together with eight exquisite haute couture pieces created specially for the Shanghai event, made its debut last Saturday in an enormous, 150-meter-long tent set up along the Bund.
The show started with "Lady Blue Shanghai," a short-film written and directed by David Lynch starring the house's muse Marion Cotillard. It was shot in Shanghai as part of the Lady Dior handbag advertising campaign.
Cotillard, clad in a pale yellow dress, also made her appearance on the front row of the show that night. She was joined by another Dior ambassador Charlize Theron, LVMH Chairman Bernard Arnualt and Dior CEO Sidney Toledano.
The film plays true to Lynch's quirky, mysterious style, featuring some of his signature elements, such as the blurring between imagination and reality, the beautiful weeping female protagonist, and the blue rose. Old Shanghai architecture, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower and of course, the Lady Dior bag, play key roles in the movie.
While the audience were still immersed in the somehow odd, surreal atmosphere created by Lynch, supermodel Karlie Kloss strutted out from the backstage in futuristic flashes of lights and dance music mixed with live accompaniment by the Shanghai Sinfonietta. In a butter-soft pink leather dress featuring rosette details, she paused for a while before carrying on.
French flair
Inspired by the cult French cinema movement Nouvelle Vague, the new collection featured graphic shapes, innovative fabrics and a sweet yet bold color palette. Some of the models looked as if they were just coming out from Barbie's wardrobe.
"I was just trying to recapture that excitement that was happening at that time in Paris, which is very similar to what is happening in Shanghai today," Galliano said.
Classics of French cinema came alive with a carefree joie de vivre. White guipure (lace) was cut in short shift dresses, while over-sized gingham, ribbon trims and marine stripes captured the fresh innocence of the age.
Meanwhile, gamine trench coats, cropped pants, a three-piece suit including a blazer inspired by Jean-Paul Belmondo displayed Galliano's preference for the mixed masculine-feminine style. There were also candy-colored cocktail dresses in the French corseted hourglass silhouette in peach, mint, lilac, light blue and a blush rose print.
The finale featured delicate embroidered haute couture princess silk gowns in pale turquoise, candy pink and lilac, marking an ultra-romantic, glamorous end to the 18-minute show.
A group of Chinese models, including Du Juan, Liu Wen, Sun Feifei and Qin Shupei joined the show.
Galliano turned up on the runway afterward with his own one-minute personal show. He was dressed up in vest, cropped striped pants, black boots and a black hat. Torrential applause.
The show and the following packed after-party at the same venue was the climax of Dior's two-day event in Shanghai last weekend. On Friday, it also re-launched its boutique in Plaza 66, double of its former size.
Designed by renowned architect Peter Marino, the 480-square-meter store features a wide staircase in Burgundy stone with a wrought-iron balustrade that echoes the famous Dior staircase at 30 Avenue Montaigne, the house's original address.
To celebrate, Dior has released a collection of limited edition pieces only available at the Shanghai store. The collection includes a Dior phone, a square scarf, sunglasses, Lady Dior handbag and evening bag as well as jewelry pieces. They are all in the Dior blue.
A retrospective exhibition, featuring antique pieces crafted by Christian Dior back in the 1950s, Galliano's dramatic haute couture gowns created for the house in the past decade, as well as Chinese artists Zhang Dali and Liu Jianhua's collaborative works with Dior, is also underway in the Plaza 66 atrium through May 31.
The short-film "Lady Blue Shanghai" can be viewed at www.ladydior.com
