Dior more carnival than couture

Paris couture week is well under way, and the Christian Dior show has been the most

anticipated of the season. This is the first Dior couture show without John Galliano overseeing design and creative direction since 1996.

While the fashion world may be divided on Galliano's abrupt firing, of his absence critics agreed the show lacked polish, restraint, and clear vision. Bill Gaytten, Galliano's right-hand man who was recently appointed head designer of the John Galliano label, oversaw this couture collection as well as the most recent Galliano men's show.

WWD stated: "This was not about an in-house designer or designing partners attempting can-do reinvention. Rather, it telegraphed interim status, and in haute couture, interim doesn’t work."

Gaytten is a great tailor and pattern cutter, but "he is not a designer," Horyn writes. The International Herald Tribune's Suzy Menkes was likewise harsh, adding, "This carnival of a show looked like a bunch of partygoers had done a witty, wacky take on Dior extravaganzas."

Backstage, Mr. Gaytten said it was time to do something a bit more modern at Dior. And when asked if he wanted the creative director job, he said, “Yeah, I do,” and added, “I’m not a fool.”

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