There were many people who thought that John Galliano wasn’t the best choice for the role of creative director at Maison Margiela – these days it seems like it’s better to take the name of the founder off the label and leave only his surname – and all these people were proven wrong in Monday’s presentation of his first couture collection that took place in London. Everything, from the bright and clean white of the room to the skimpy shorts and platform shoes, was a perfect mix of the two esthetics. 

All the looks were based on the ideas of artisanal, recycling and deconstructing – three key words engraved in the Maison’s DNA – but it was their mix with Galliano’s love for romantic yet daring silhouettes and dramatic moments that gave us the most exciting pieces of the collection. In true Margiela fashion every single piece concealed a huge amount of details so much so that Christopher Baily, creative director at Burberry and one of the few lucky people invited to the runway debut, said that he “wanted to keep pressing the pause button, to study, look closer at, play with and enjoy the clothes”.

As a matter of fact, this would have been the only way to truly appreciate every single element that went into creating the collection: a sleeveless canvas jacket was trimmed with matchbox cars, a crimson red coat was embellished with red lacquered seashells arranged in the fashion of Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s paintings and a long, black, wool coat was covered with toy soldiers. Galliano then balanced these heavy-detailed looks with other simpler, plainer garments: their quiet, monochrome perfection offered a moment of breath in an otherwise dense collection. But it was the last look that walked down the runway that had everyone in the audience gasp: a red, grand ball gown fronted with jewels, mirrors, portrait miniatures and more. To top the whole look off the model wore an organza-made, bejeweled day of the dead mask and an equally bejeweled glove. 

Instead of the grand exit that we all expected, Galliano took a blink-and-you-missed-it bow wearing none of his flamboyant signature looks, but the mansion’s traditional white coat; maybe to show that this time he’s there to stay. As shoe-designer, Manolo Blanick brilliantly declared “the boy is back!” Yes, he is indeed.   

Click inside to see the whole collection!