When Hamish Bowles interviewed John Galliano, his former Central Saint Martins classmate, for the London Libertines episode of our podcast series In Vogue: The 1990s, the material was so rich that it was made into a special bonus track. This week, it’s being released to coincide with the designer’s 60th birthday.
Over the span of the episode, Galliano traces the arc of his career, from studies in English literature, French, and art at City of East London College, to Saint Martins, to Paris, where the designer lived a hand-to-mouth existence before he was tapped by Bernaud Arnault of LVMH to become the creative head of Givenchy and shortly thereafter Christian Dior. Galliano was the first Englishman to helm those historic Parisian couture houses. Today, of course, he’s happily pursuing deconstructivist fantasies at Maison Margiela.
In retrospect it seems like fashion was Galliano’s destiny, but that’s not exactly how the story unfolded. While enrolled at the City of East London college, the young Brit took a once-a-week art class. “I already loved drawing and I was told I was quite gifted. So... I ended up going to these classes and spending more and more time than I should have. And I liked the crowd there,” he relates. “And the wonderful kind of hippy trippy teachers there at the time advised me to apply to Saint Martins School of Art. And I did as they said and then I was offered a place.”
Once at Saint Martins, pen and paper continued to be Galliano’s preferred medium. He became “lost more in history and illustrations and cartoons, and the way they depicted characters and often summed up a line.” Galliano hadn’t planned on making a graduate collection, but was encouraged by his tutor, Sheridan Barnett, to pick up a pair of scissors and follow his illustrative lines in cloth. The rest is history. Tune in to hear Galliano share more of his journey.
Learn more about John Galliano on In Vogue: The 1990s.
In Vogue: The 1990s airs Fridays from September 17. Listen to it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, or wherever you get your podcasts. The LEGO Group is a launch sponsor.
Listen to “Episode 10: It Bags and It Girls,” here.
Listen to “Episode 9: NYC: The Rise of Downtown,” here.
Listen to “Episode 8: London Libertines: Galliano, McQueen, Chalayan, and McCartney,” here.
Listen to “Episode 7: Queering Culture,” here.
Listen to “Episode 6: Tom Ford’s Gucci,” here.
Listen to “Episode 5: Prada: A Revolution from Within,” here.
Listen to “Episode 4: Karl Lagerfeld the Creative Director,” here.
Listen to “Episode 3: Brand Americana,” here.
Listen to “Episode 2: Grunge Strikes Back,” here.
Listen to “Episode 1: The Rise of the Supermodel,” here.
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