Mymingpai

2010 Spring Summer Haute Couture Fashion Shows

Christian Dior

Haughty, crop-switching equestriennes in top hats, veils, and impeccable riding habits; incredible ball gowns swathed and swagged in dozens of yards of duchesse satin: This was one of those occasions when John Galliano pushed a Dior couture show into the realms of sensory overload. He'd been galvanized by a research trip to the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum, where—just up his romantic street—he lost himself in a recent bequest of Charles James gowns being prepared for this spring's exhibition American Woman. "I was reading that, actually, it was Charles James who influenced Monsieur Dior to come up with the New Look," he said. "And then I was looking at a photo of Charles James doing a fitting—and on the wall behind him was a picture of women riding sidesaddle. And that was it!"