Art at the heart of Dior Today in Style Design Paris Fashion: The jewelers of Place Vend me get in on the act Each model - from golden not-so-oldies like Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell to Amber Valletta and Giselle B ndchen were dressed in the spirit of artists whom Dior often knew as friends. Not Caravaggio, whose rich red dress Galliano said Evangelista personified. But a harlequin suit from Picasso - with a jaunty lilac hat and a Jean Cocteau inspiration - and a silhouette of white sequins and a lyre as a hat were creations in memory of Dior through the magical imagination of Galliano.
"I love the lyre hat, but I am mad about the big 1950s hat in honor of Ren Gruau," said the milliner Stephen Jones, referring to the fashion illustrator whose work was emblematic in that period of Dior. Another sinuous mauve dress with a cartwheel hat, inspired by Boldoni, looked very familiar. But the fact that Galliano has created such a strong image is one of his strengths.
"Look, it is from one of his earliest collections," said the model Audrey Marnay, who was wearing a black dress embroidered with musical instruments. Kate Hudson, in sunshine yellow, gasped at the splendor of Versailles, where she walked around the fountain and miniature lake. "I feel as if I am in another century," she said, which is something that could be said of the Dior collection.
"I think Galliano and Dior are the perfect mix," said Monica Cruz, a look-alike with her sister, the actress Pen lope. Sidney Toledano, Dior s chief executive, had the same sentiments. "It s a big moment for the house and for haute couture, and it shows John s osmosis with the studio," said Toledano, adding that the customers for this high-level haute couture had doubled since the precious show in January.
For Bernard Arnault, president of LVMH, Mo t Hennessy Louis Vuitton, it was a magic moment. And his daughter, Delphine, reminisced about learning as a 10-year-old that her father had bought Dior. "It was a symbol of elegance then, as now," she said.
For his last trip to Versailles, early in his 10-year career at Dior, the madcap British designer had focused on the movie "Mad Max," turning the graceful Orangerie into a black tent. This time, the location was a sweet mix of surreal "arms" acting as candelabras beside a line of traditional couture chairs, silvered for the occasion, like the leaves on the faux trees. A giant statue of Louis XIV towered over the center of the runway.
Galliano s romantic historicism seemed suited to this occasion, at a time when haute couture, so often pronounced dead, is having a renaissance with a combination of new money and a desire for the unique in a democratized luxury world. Whether or not clients will have the cultural background to follow Galliano s magpie mind into dresses inspired by Fragonard, Boucher and Watteau, they will get the romantic beauty and sweet colors. Fashionistas also have the choice of B ndchen as seen through the lens of the photographer Irving Penn and Helena Christensen by Horst.
The galaxy of superstars at the event included the actress Monica Bellucci, who said of Galliano: "His clothes are so seductive - and this such a special night." Other guests included Juliette Binoche, Sofia Coppola, Charlize Theron, Eva Green and Zhang Ziyi. It was a resplendent Marisa Berenson who had the last word.
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