Galliano's invitation to the ball

0 Comments | AFP, January, 2008

PARIS (AFP) — John Galliano's haute couture collection for Dior for next summer was a seductive invitation to the ball in the romantic setting of the Bois de Boulogne park in Paris.

In a giant marquee, his models frolicked in sumptuous gowns in rich, vibrant silks, embroidered with gold, or encrusted with crystals and jade.

Overcoats, with extra volume at the back in the style of the legendary Cristobel Balenciaga, were thrown over straight skirts or slinky body-hugging dresses. Other frocks were tight across the bosom but with voluminous skirts.

Slender waistlines were emphasised with peplums, while the backs of dresses were puffed out, and had outsize silk flowers weighing down the hems or nestling in the backs of layered necklines.

Gold arabesque...