2016 Maison Margiela by John Galliano Runway Champagne Satin Breastplate Backless Bias-Cut Gown

ID: 0930262

Size: small - medium

Condition: excellent

This breathtaking John Galliano for Maison Margiela spring/summer 2016 champagne screenprinted silk satin bias-cut gown brilliantly merges the designer’s past with his new chapter at the house. This was only Galliano’s second ready-to-wear collection for Margiela, a season he taglined “Lo-fi, sci-fi.” Vogue specifically singled out this dress in the collection's eveningwear, stating "...a glimpse of a gold satin bias-cut slip dress of the kind the designer brought into fashion in the ’90s,” before concluding, “Galliano is back on his game again.” 

This unforgettable gown appeared on the runway as Look 26, modeled by Kasia Jujeczka. The striking breastplate bodice is constructed in a warm caramel toned synethetic fabric that resembles armor from afar. An asymmetric cut along the waist gives the front an even more distinctive shape. Wide straps sit over the shoulders; one is in the same fabric and the other is made in a blue-green velvet, both finished with interior linings. Turn around and your back is almost completely bare, with the wide straps traveling down either side to beautifully frame the open design. A low band curves around the waist and extends over the hip, where it cleverly unbuttons to reveal the concealed side zipper underneath. But our eye inevitably goes to the gorgeous champagne-gold silk. Cut on the bias, it skims the body before pooling at the floor like liquid gold in true old-school Galliano fashion. Across the back, an abstract blue silkscreen design appears against the lustrous silk satin. Galliano conceived the graphic as a playful visual joke, as though the wearer had unknowingly sat down on a freshly painted chair. This is such a special example of Galliano bringing one of his greatest signatures to Margiela. You get the bias cutting associated with his legendary 1990s gowns, reworked through the house's experimental vocabulary. It is exactly the kind of Margiela piece that collectors will covet, capturing an exciting moment when Galliano was once again showing the fashion world what made him such an extraordinary designer.