From the Autumn/Winter 1994 “Black” collection by John Galliano
“Minimono” kimono minidress and embroidered obi belt ensemble.
A tailored, double-breasted, minidress with Japanese kimono-inspired portrait collar and long pointed sleeves, lined in cream satin. Silk, rose embroidered obi belt.
A rare and highly collectable ensemble from John Galliano’s pivotal show.
“The Impact of John Galliano's A/W94 Japonisme Collection, the runway show that changed the face of fashion forever
As far as fashion shows that double as cultural milestones go, John Galliano has had his fair share – but perhaps the most notable is the spirited, salon-style offering that took place twice on March 5th, 1994 at São Schlumberger’s Hôtel Particulier. Today, it’s fashion folklore: the moment that an impoverished, poetic David triumphed against the seemingly impenetrable Goliath that was Paris’s megawatt fashion industry. In reality, it was a last-minute culmination of like-minded creatives that established Galliano as perhaps the most seductive, skilled and subversive storyteller of an era.
Galliano and his team were without a studio or a penny to produce another collection, and had resigned themselves to the fact that wouldn’t be able to... cue Anna Wintour. Galliano’s most potent patroness stepped in and did what powerful women so often do to get the ball rolling: she organised a lunch. Over Portuguese sardines, André Leon Talley (Wintour’s man on the ground) and Galliano asked São Schlumberger if she’d be prepared to lend her empty 17th century Rue Ferou mansion, which was supposedly built for D’Artagnan, one of the Three Musketeers.
Galliano had always been inspired by the Japonisme and Chinoiserie that permeated fashion and the arts at the beginning of the 20th century. Galliano’s dear collaborator, Amanda Harlech (née Grieves) called the muse an “oriental kittenish princess.” Paul Poiret and Madeleine Vionnet, both major influences on Galliano, were two of the first Parisians to incorporate the kimono into their designs, borrowing from the characteristic arch over the back, the collar falling back to reveal the nape, and the asymmetrical hem, which is shorter at the front and longer at the back. Galliano’s vision, however, was distinctly untraditional – stockings and seams elongating lithe legs, embroidered obi belts double as corsets and bandeaus, and tailored smoking jackets masquerade as mini dresses”
-excerpt from Osman Ahmed’s article in Another Magazine
“John Galliano was out of cash and sleeping on the floor at a friend’s flat in early 1994. But if he was down, he wasn’t out. With new backers, a cadre of generous friends (hatmaker Stephen Jones, muse Amanda Harlech), and a fairy godmother in the form of the Paris hostess São Schlumberger, who lent him her Left Bank hôtel particulier, he pulled together a career-making collection that fused the East and West of Japanese kimonos and glamorous 1940s-style tailoring. A year later, Galliano landed a job at Givenchy, becoming the first British designer to run a French couture house”
-Vogue runway
Shoulder 19"
Chest 17"
Length 26.5"
Waistband Length 30.5"
Excellent Condition
Model measurements
Height 5'9½" (176cm)
Bust 32" (81cm)
Waist 25" (63.5cm)
Hips 35½" (90cm)
From the Autumn/Winter 1994 “Black” collection by John Galliano
“Minimono” kimono minidress and embroidered obi belt ensemble.
A tailored, double-breasted, minidress with Japanese kimono-inspired portrait collar and long pointed sleeves, lined in cream satin. Silk, rose embroidered obi belt.
A rare and highly collectable ensemble from John Galliano’s pivotal show.
“The Impact of John Galliano's A/W94 Japonisme Collection, the runway show that changed the face of fashion forever
As far as fashion shows that double as cultural milestones go, John Galliano has had his fair share – but perhaps the most notable is the spirited, salon-style offering that took place twice on March 5th, 1994 at São Schlumberger’s Hôtel Particulier. Today, it’s fashion folklore: the moment that an impoverished, poetic David triumphed against the seemingly impenetrable Goliath that was Paris’s megawatt fashion industry. In reality, it was a last-minute culmination of like-minded creatives that established Galliano as perhaps the most seductive, skilled and subversive storyteller of an era.
Galliano and his team were without a studio or a penny to produce another collection, and had resigned themselves to the fact that wouldn’t be able to... cue Anna Wintour. Galliano’s most potent patroness stepped in and did what powerful women so often do to get the ball rolling: she organised a lunch. Over Portuguese sardines, André Leon Talley (Wintour’s man on the ground) and Galliano asked São Schlumberger if she’d be prepared to lend her empty 17th century Rue Ferou mansion, which was supposedly built for D’Artagnan, one of the Three Musketeers.
Galliano had always been inspired by the Japonisme and Chinoiserie that permeated fashion and the arts at the beginning of the 20th century. Galliano’s dear collaborator, Amanda Harlech (née Grieves) called the muse an “oriental kittenish princess.” Paul Poiret and Madeleine Vionnet, both major influences on Galliano, were two of the first Parisians to incorporate the kimono into their designs, borrowing from the characteristic arch over the back, the collar falling back to reveal the nape, and the asymmetrical hem, which is shorter at the front and longer at the back. Galliano’s vision, however, was distinctly untraditional – stockings and seams elongating lithe legs, embroidered obi belts double as corsets and bandeaus, and tailored smoking jackets masquerade as mini dresses”
-excerpt from Osman Ahmed’s article in Another Magazine
“John Galliano was out of cash and sleeping on the floor at a friend’s flat in early 1994. But if he was down, he wasn’t out. With new backers, a cadre of generous friends (hatmaker Stephen Jones, muse Amanda Harlech), and a fairy godmother in the form of the Paris hostess São Schlumberger, who lent him her Left Bank hôtel particulier, he pulled together a career-making collection that fused the East and West of Japanese kimonos and glamorous 1940s-style tailoring. A year later, Galliano landed a job at Givenchy, becoming the first British designer to run a French couture house”
-Vogue runway
Shoulder 19"
Chest 17"
Length 26.5"
Waistband Length 30.5"
Excellent Condition
Model measurements
Height 5'9½" (176cm)
Bust 32" (81cm)
Waist 25" (63.5cm)
Hips 35½" (90cm)
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