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John Galiano

(1960 - )

fashion designer John Galliano was born Juan Carlos Antonio Galliano, in Gibraltar, Spain in 1960. He studied design at St. Martin's School of Art, in London. He worked for a short time for Tommy Nutter, the Savile Row tailor, during his studies at St. Martins School; and also held a

part-time job as a dresser at the National Theatre. He graduated from St. Martins with first class honors in fashion design in 1984. For his graduation collection at St. Martins, he staged a spectacular show that caused a London fashion-world sensation; the collection was called Les Incroyables, and was based on fashion motifs of the French revolution. Galliano sold the entire collection to a London retailer, “Brown.” Galliano went into business for himself that same year (1984).

In 1991, Galliano launched two inexpensive, youth-oriented diffusion lines; Galliano Girl and Galliano Genes. Galliano’s experimentation with fabrics demonstrated his dedication to pushing fashion and dress forward, contributing excitement and surprise in every collection. Galliano prefers his designs to be historically based. His collections have titles such as "Afghanistan, Repudiates, Western Ideals, Fallen Angels, Forgotten Innocents, Olivia the Filibuster and Pricess Lucretia. They all have in common a sense of romance, precise tailoring and bias-cut.

In 1995, the president of the French luxury conglomerate LVMH, Bernard Arnault, appointed Galliano as principal designer at Givenchy. During and after Galliano’s brief stay at Givenchy, the house received unparalleled publicity. Alexander McQueen took over at Givenchy in 1996, while Galliano was named chief designer at another LVMH label, Christian Dior. Four years later, Galliano’s creative control over Dior’s clothes was extended to the house’s accessories, shop design, and advertising. Galliano produces couture and ready to wear collections each year for the house of Dior and his own label.

John Galliano has been a member of France’s Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture since 1993 and is the winner of many prestigious awards, most notably British Designer of the Year in 1987, 1994, 1995, and 1997, and International Designer of the Year in 1997; Designer of the Year, Council of Fashion of America, 1998; and Commander of Order of the British Empire, 2001.