John Galliano's Boldest Look of Fall 2009 Ready-To-Wear Explained

Though Christian Dior's Fall 2009 Ready-To-Wear collection was applauded for its myriad use of rainbow colors, rich colored suits, hobble skirts, shoes decorated with oriental motifs and the classic Lady Dior bags, there was one particular look namely the blue sheer gown exposing the rear that caused many a tongue to wag.Speculations were flying in all directions like paper planes, trying to take a wild guess on what John Galliano had really intended to communicate!!Some poked fun by stating that the dwindling economy had perhaps made Galliano suggest a look sans slip while the others persisted that he was blazing a new trail on the road to titillation!!

Jokes apart, if one tries to seriously muse on Galliano's thought process behind the look, one can see his favorite historical reference namely the Merveilleuses(for more on this refer to Understanding John Galliano) being alluded to.How so? Look at the picture below to see where he would have sourced his inspiration from!

"Ah! s'il y voyoit!" ( "Oh, What if he could see!"). Library of Congress description: "Print shows two fashionably dressed women walking on a country road and a "blind" beggar with a small dog on a leash and holding a cup and stick in right hand. The man has stepped on the skirt of one of the women causing it to tear, exposing her bare buttocks for the "blind" man to see. A satire on contemporary clothing fashions."

"Contemporary clothing fashions" refers to the fashion of 1790's(the caricature refers to 1797 to be very precise) when the Merveilleuses dressed themselves in several yards of almost transparent sheer fabric.

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Cosette enters the Convent

Before we further dwell into the journey of Cosette from the hell of Thénardiers with her saviour Monsieur Madeleine, it makes sense to reflect a bit on Monsieur Madeleine's past.Monsieur Madeleine's real name is Jean Valjean, he is an ex-convict, imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread from a baker out of dire necessity, in order to feed his widowed sister's seven kids after hard times fall upon his during the economic depression his country is going through at that time.He is imprisoned for five years but he attempts to escape four times and hence ends up spending a total of nineteen years in prison.

On Valjean's release he is made to carry an yellow passport that labels him as an ex-convict.Where ever he goes people treat him unkindly, and not even one inn takes him in for the night.At last, Bishop Myriel, an old clergyman in that town of Digne, takes pity on him, feeds him and offers him a bed for the night.Valjean still bitter and unsure about the Bishop's intentions, steals the Bishop's silverware and bolts in the middle of the night, only to be caught and brought back to the Bishop by the police.The Bishop saves him by telling the police that its he who had gifted him those articles.Valjean repents and then on tries to lead a just life.

Jean Valjean lands up in the town of Montreuil-sur-Mer, takes the name of Monsieur Madeleine, enters into business, becomes immensely successful and builds numerous schools, hospitals and orphanages.Javert, a police inspector always suspects Monsieur Madeleine to be Jean Valjean.In the meantime Valjean saves Fantine from the police, nurses her(she is afflicted with TB) and on her death bed promises to take care of her daughter, Cosette.

As fate would have it, Javert informs Monsieur Madeleine that they have found Jean Valjean.Monsieur Madeleine battles with his conscience for a whole night and ends up in front of the judge confessing that he is Jean Valjean, in order to save the wrongly accused man.Javert tries to arrest Jean Valjean when he visits Fantine on her death bed.Valjean manages to escape, hides the money he had made so far in a forest and while on his way to redeem Cosette is arrested by Javert.

Eventually while being transported on a ship, Valjean saves a fellow convict from falling overboard and jumps into the sea making it appear as if he had died.He then reaches the inn of Montfermeil and saves Cosette from Thénardiers by paying them thousand five hundred francs.

Valjean takes Cosette to Paris where they live in an isolated house called "Gorbeau House" with an old woman who acts as their caretaker.Sometimes during the evening Valjean takes Cosette for a walk.

Javert soon sniff's Valjean's trail and follows him to the Gorbeau house and takes up residence there.Valjean becomes aware of Javert's presence and escapes during the night with Cosette.Javert pursues him with his police force and corners him in an alley.With no other means of escape possible, Valjean climbs a high wall and finds himself in a garden that's part of a convent.

There he meets Fauchelevent, whoam on an earlier occasion he had saved from under the wheels of a heavy cart and had found him a job in that same convent.Fauchelevent introduces Valjean as Ultime Fauchelevent, his brother to the nuns and gets him a job as a gardener in the convent.Cosette is admitted to the school in the convent.

During the evenings Valjean spends time with Cosette and takes her for a walk to the Jardin du Luxembourg, when they are spotted by Marius who thinks no more of Cosette than an ordinary teenager, accompanied by her father.

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Cosette Mourns...

Monsieur Madeleine accompanies Cosette to the inn of Montfermeil, where he witnesses Cosette being kicked by Madame Thénardier, Cosette having to do with rags as toys and a dingy place under the stairs serving as Cosette's bed.Monsieur Madeleine offers money to the Thénardiers in exchange for Cosette, which the Thénardiers are more than willing to accept.Monsieur Madeleine prepares Cosette for the journey that lies ahead of them, dressing her in clothes that he had brought along with him.Due to Fantine's death, Cosette is clothed in a black dress with matching black shoes and together they set out for what would be a new chapter in Cosette's life...

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Cosette meets her Saviour

With the passage of time Fantine finds it harder and harder to meet Thénardiers' demands and forces herself into prostitution with the intent of providing a good life for her daughter.While refusing to oblige a man on the street she gets picked up by the police and as chance would have it, she bumps into her previous employer Monsieur Madeleine who not only delivers her from the police but also provides for her.(Till then he is unaware of how unjustly Fantine's supervisor had fired her.)However, Fantine due to her hard life thus far gets afflicted with tuberculosis and dies, with a promise from Monsieur Madeleine that her daughter would be cared for and brought up the way she had dreamed.

Things aren't any better at the inn of Montfermeil, as each day Cosette is treated worse than the previous day.One night it so happens that a traveller staying at the inn complained of insufficient water for his horse and Cosette is forced to go deep into the forest to fetch water.With great trepidation she enters the forest, trembling in her frail dress.On her way back, as she struggles to balance the weight of the bucket, she finds a hand lending her support.The person helping her is none other than Monsieur Madeleine and over the course of his conversation with Cosette he learns that she is Cosette and it really breaks his heart to see her in such misery and he resolves in his mind to undo all the injustice meted out to her so far.

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Cosette's Coat

The evil Thénardiers while on one hand torturing Cosette with hard household chores, on the other hand used to repeatedly make demands through letters to Fantine(Cosette's mom) asking her to send more money either for treatment of some malicious illness that had struck Cosette or for her good up keeping.Fantine, believing Thénardiers to the letter worked hard at a factory in her hometown of Montreuil-sur-Mer saving every sous she could, thinking that it would help her daughter's upbringing.The Thénardiers however continue to treat Cosette as bad as possible, while spoiling their own daughters with dolls and good clothes.

As luck would have it, Fantine's supervisor at the factory got to know of Fantine's motherhood, suspected her of poor character and consequently dismisses her from the factory.Fantine though jobless still gets persistent demands for money from Thénardiers.Driven by extreme need, she sells her beautiful long hair to pay the Thénardiers.After some time passes, the Thénardiers inform Fantine that Cosette is in desperate need of a coat to keep herself warm.And thats when Fantine sells her two front teeth, buys a coat with the money and sends it to the Thénardiers.The Thénardiers expecting money, are enraged on seeing the coat, they give the coat to their daughter while poor Cosette shivers as usual.

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Cosette ill-treated

Cosette gets much abused in Thénardiers' hands, she is more of a little slave to them.She is made to get up as early as five in the morning(which begets her the name Lark from her neighbours) to sweep the floors while shivering in the cold, wearing nothing more than thin gossamer frocks.Poor Cosette, all of five years old, she suffers in silence, not knowing what it is to be loved.

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Cosette meets Thénardiers

Cossette is left by her mother Fantine at the inn of Montfermeil, run by an unscrupulous couple, the Thénardiers.Since Fantine is an unwed mother(abandoned by her lover while pregnant), she wants to avoid the scandal that would be brought about by Cosette's presence at her hometown, Montreuil-sur-Mer.She is thus left by her mother, stylish and warm...

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Bag it!!

From embellished satin clutches in rich colors to simple leather embossed totes, it was all there(at Christian Dior Fall 2009 Ready-To-Wear fashion show) waiting to be picked up.Whats your fashion pick?

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From Hats to Pins

The elaborate hats that are so customary of John Galliano's shows were missing this time around at the Christian Dior Fall 2009 Ready-To-Wear fashion show and were replaced by a multitude of colored bobby pins(to be precise 12,000 for the 44 models) maybe an indicator of how one can cut corners using creativity(not that the Dior clients need such indicators anyway). Also makeup was done to the geisha way with bold eyes achieved through fake eyelashes on both the eyelids, rainbow hued eye shadows and thin fake eyebrows much above the natural one.From Indian embroideries, to Persian ikat prints, to Geisha makeup, Galliano has the whole world in his hands!!

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For the Love of My Feet...

There is always an elegance about John Galliano's shoes.This time too the shoes were available in a plethora of colors.My favorites were the Turkish inspired lattice work shoes in bright colors followed by the shoes with metal studded straps criss-crossing each other and in the process adding a tad of sophistication to them.The last kind were tie ups with tassel ends, they were relatively simpler while compared to the other two, giving a more modern twist to the Oriental fantasy spun by Galliano.The heels took a more Persian/Mughal stand, curved like an antique chair's leg with carved metal band at the base of the heel.

Overall the shoe affair was one of art meeting modernity, artistic yet wearable.

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John Galliano does a Rainbow on the Runway

The Christian Dior Fall 2009 Ready-To-Wear collection saw a rainbow of colors, whether the inspiration was Oriental or not, it was a color fest for the eyes, which in itself is very welcome in a fall collection.

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Mirror Mirror On The Wall...

What is the real color of the Dior gown? Yup ladies, its the same dress from Dior's Fall 2009 Ready-To-Wear collection shot by different photographers.Unfortunately, dresses are like humans, until you experience them with your own eyes there is no telling as to their "true colors".Next time around get yourself an invite to the fashion show you would like to see, after all, as one wise gentleman pointed out not so long ago, seeing is believing!!!

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Fiery John Galliano

Off late, John Galliano seems to have made black his trademark color on the runway and during Dior's Fall fashion show too he had diligently confirmed to it.However, just when I had given up all hope of seeing any color on him there he pops a surprise in the form of a little red heel, which added the "very Galliano" element to his ensemble.

After sending Persian and Mongolian princess of 1920s down the runway, he appears at the end of the show as the maverick dilettante 20s British boy out to steal those princesses and carry them off to his land.Way to go Galliano!!!

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