Swing Fashionista

Well, you all know how great a fan I have been of John Galliano’s work for the house of Christian Dior, so this is a sad post. I’m sure you have all heard how Galliano has been dismissed from Christian Dior, after being publicly disgraced in relation to antisemitic and pro-Nazi statements, and he has now checked himself into rehabilitation for alcoholism. Yes, I know. Shock. Disbelief. This was his last ready-to-wear collection for Dior, and as usual, has so much I adore. Apparently the show was a sad affair, with a long speech from the CEO Sidney Toledano and, in place of Galliano’s usual flamboyant strut down the catwalk at the end, a gathering of the collection’s design team, seamstresses and craftsmen on stage, and both cheering and weeping from the audience. As Tim Blanks at Style.com noted, “The only precedent for this situation is Coco Chanel’s postwar denunciation as a Nazi collaboratrice. Her exile from the fashion world lasted nine years.”

In tribute to Lee Alexander McQueen, I have been posting a retrospective of past collections, from a SwingFashionista perspective. The best of Alexander McQueen for retro-loving folk. May he rest in peace. In part 10, my top picks from the Spring 2006 ready-to-wear show. More to come…

In tribute to Lee Alexander McQueen, I have been posting a retrospective of past collections, from a SwingFashionista perspective. The best of Alexander McQueen for retro-loving folk. May he rest in peace. In part 8, my top picks from the Spring 2005 ready-to-wear show. More to come…

In tribute to Lee Alexander McQueen, I have been posting a retrospective of past collections, from a SwingFashionista perspective. The best of Alexander McQueen for retro-loving folk. May he rest in peace. In part 6, my top picks from the Spring 2004 ready-to-wear show. This show was quite the spectacle:

The show – staged in the Salle Wagram, a nineteenth-century Parisian dance hall – was an exuberantly hilarious reenactment of Sydney Pollack’s Depression-era film They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Choreographed by Michael Clark over two weeks of intensive rehearsals in London, the narrative involved dancers, models, and audience in a visceral celebration of exquisitely glamorous clothes.

In tribute to Lee Alexander McQueen, I have been posting a retrospective of past collections, from a SwingFashionista perspective. The best of Alexander McQueen for retro-loving folk. May he rest in peace. In part 4, my top picks from the Fall 2003 ready-to-wear show. More to come…

As usual, fun and funky from Betsey Johnson. The Spring 2010 ready-to-wear collection has a 1950s twist, with above-the-knee poodle skirts and plenty of crinolines in girly colors…  I can see Jo (card-carrying Betsey Johnson fan) rocking all these numbers:

From Moschino’s Cheap & Chic line, ready-to-wear collection for Spring 2010. Cute little jumpers and playsuits, ruffles and polka dots, bows and belted waists, high-waisted bikinis, gingham and plenty of striking black & white.

Ahh, so much to love in this one. Clingy striped sweaters, waist belts, pencil skirts, retro disc fascinators, crystal-covered cats eye glasses, seamed Cuban heel stockings (even in purple!) and rhinestone-covered strappy platform heels. But most of all – happy, laughing, smiling, dancing models! How wonderful.

These photos (infinitely more gorgeous than the official catwalk shots) from The Cherry Blossom Girl.