FOLLOWING his couture show, John Galliano continued to deconstruct outerwear and incorporate technical fabrics in his RTW AW18 collection for Maison Margiela.
Presented at the Le Grand Palais, models marched the drum beat of the ever-changing soundtrack that featured When The Saints Go Marching In, as if they were going on an expedition to unconquered lands. Galliano’s sportswear influence was evident from the inclusion of anoraks, ski-boot style trainers and emphasis on headwear. Balaclavas, paint drip helmets, topless fedoras and transparent vinyl hoods looked as if they would offer protection in futuristic apocalyptic world. Or perhaps the apocalypse has already happened and Galliano has just stitched the remaining fabrics together.
The designer experimented with textures by pairing the rigid hoods with contrasting knitwear. The transparent vinyl appeared in a series of coats, layered on top restricted the movement of fringing. In contrast, the dissected puffer jacket sleeves that mismatched the opposite sleeves on the trench coats consumed space on the runway.
The collection lacked prints and garments were mainly composed of blocks of vibrant colour against dark or muted tones. As striking as these reds, blues, yellows were, they were upstaged by the holographic oversized coat, jacket and skirt with identical bags.
Despite the pieces arguably looking like they were from sci-fi movie, they were very wearable. Out of the 33 looks, there weren’t meant many looks that would be considered flattering, but the deconstructed outwear did create some innovative silhouettes.
by Tom Halford