John Galliano

John Galliano was founded in London in 1984 by the designer of the same name. Emerging from Galliano’s time at Saint Martin’s, the label developed an approach to fashion in which historical dress could become the starting point for an imagined character. Its subsequent Paris chapter brought that theatrical instinct into the setting of a French fashion house.

Menswear translated the label’s interest in costume into a wardrobe where tailoring could be romantic, provocative or deliberately disheveled. Waistcoats and long coats suggested another era, while denim and printed jersey brought the narrative back to contemporary life. A garment could retain traces of formal dress even as its proportions or styling changed its meaning.

The Gazette newspaper print became one of the brand’s recognizable motifs. Set against tailoring or applied to casual pieces, it made the surface of the clothes part of the story. The men’s collections often moved between a public display of character and more intimate references, including underwear worn as part of an outfit.

Galliano left his namesake house in 2011, and Bill Gaytten took responsibility for its collections. The label continued after that separation, including a revised visual identity introduced in 2015. Its archive records both the founder’s theatrical approach and the later work of a house interpreting the codes he had established.