Paris Fashion Week: Galliano wages desert campaign for Spring 2010

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PARIS -- Galliano’s inspirations for the Spring/Summer 2010 men’s collection included Napoleon Bonaparte’s ill-fated military campaign in Egypt and Syria and Peter O’Toole in ‘Lawrence of Arabia.’

The result, when you strip away the runway trappings -- head wraps, Galliano-as-Napoleon leopard print T-shirts and the requisite model with his hand stuffed solemnly into his jacket -- was a wind-whipped, sand-blasted, sun-bleached, bone-weary regiment of tailored pieces in whites and beiges layered in with embroidered denim and floral patterns (some over-printed on his signature newspaper print) inspired by Oriental vase prints.

Interestingly, Galliano’s was the second collection this season to directly reference the theme of desert warfare (the first was Versace’s love note to the foreign legion), and one of several that touched on the idea of nomadic tribes battling the elements by sending faded, wrinkled, crumpled and weathered-looking garments down the runway.

Since Galliano counts Napoleon among his heroes (who couldn’t have guessed that?) and this collection was so well received, it might be natural to consider another of Bonaparte’s famous military campaigns for a future season.

We suggest a Russian campaign -- though not for Fall/Winter. We all know what happened last time Bonaparte tried that.

-- Adam Tschorn

Photos from the John Galliano Spring / Summer 2010 men’s runway collection, June 26, 2009, in Paris. Credit: Jonas Gustavsson.

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