Word: mcqueens
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John Galliano, 36, a cheeky Spaniard brought up in London, was the toast of the SoHo fashion scene but unknown on the Avenue Montaigne when he took over Givenchy two years ago. A year later, Arnault moved him to Dior and plucked Alexander McQueen--even cheekier and younger, at 27--to guide the fortunes of Givenchy. At Louis Vuitton, a maker of fancy luggage and handbags that dates to 1854, he has hired an American, the young sportswear designer Marc Jacobs, to create a line of bags and sportswear to take on the chic of Gucci and Prada. Jacobs should...
That is the nitty-gritty behind what is sold as glamour. Maybe the humbling demands of a beginner's job in fashion are one reason why so many young comers tend to show off. For instance, says Wendy Dagworthy, herself a designer and director of the undergraduate school: "McQueen was determined, and he was an excellent cutter. He loved shock tactics. Many of the students here do. They're trying to get noticed, but we tell them, 'Never design only for the catwalk...
...follower of fashion shows knows that the kids don't always do what their teachers tell them to. Galliano's snowy roofs and jungle walks are haute theater. McQueen has been known to moon on the runway, and his collection featuring the infamous bumster, jeans designed to bare the bottom, caused a sensation. In his latest London outing, he sank his catwalk under a few inches of water. The models maneuvered well, but when he took his bow, the maestro looked like a cat on a hot tinny puddle...
...will all this go at Givenchy? There will be some sort of culture clash but, McQueen promises, "no bumsters." He believes the refinement of his tailoring makes him a worthy heir to Hubert de Givenchy: "The line of the body and the tailoring make it closer to what he was about, with his training with Balenciaga." As for the cost of couture, McQueen calls it just a fact of life. "If it requires 83 hours for a person to sit there beading a dress," he says, "that's it. Take it or leave...
...McQueen sees himself as Givenchy's disciple, Galliano is wrapping himself in the tulle of Dior as "the designer I most respect in the 20th century. My own style is close to M. Dior's because of his romantic and hyperfeminine style." Each man has a point. The fashion industry hopes these newcomers will touch feminine fantasy the way the old masters did. But Galliano and McQueen also carry other legacies: the British spirit and the brash vitality of Central Saint Martins. That may work in their favor...