Photo: Indigital.tv1/9John Galliano, Fall 2004, Spring 2003, Spring 1993“It was the spectacular, combined with the historic references, that made John’s shows so remarkable and that much more intriguing. He skewered them visually, there was nothing literal or academic. It was extreme fantasy shadowed in reality. They were awesome. You couldn’t believe what you were seeing half the time.”
Photo: AP Images2/9Calvin Klein, Spring 1989The early Calvin Klein shows were so fresh and chic, and he used the editorial photographic girls; all of the posturing of the runway girls was obliterated by the fresh, fresh, fresh presence of editorial girls—genuine American models who were in the magazines. Made the clothes look completely different. It imparted a sense of exuberance and joy. Calvin was so good at that.
Photo: Marcio Madeira3/9Alexander McQueen, Spring 2004McQueen is just heartbreak, in a word. The poignancy married to the grotesque, visceral is the word.
Photo: firstVIEW4/9Helmut Lang, Spring 1997It was a turning point in fashion, because it introduced a cool that we weren’t familiar with; it was Teutonic, a sort of Bauhaus austerity in cutting-edge chic. And the presentation was new, inclusive, everyman and everywoman; it was the first time we’d seen that with such arresting style.
Photo: Getty Images5/9Jil Sander, Early ‘90sWhen I started to see Jil Sander, I loved it . . . it was an attitude and a perception of fashion that was current and of its time. It was very minimal but very sophisticated in the cut. There was nothing uncomplicated about the way pieces were made. The intellect was paramount. You could really sense it.
Photo: Indigital.tv6/9Givenchy, Spring 2016This show was all about its dramatic staging. The collectsion itself was a retrospective of everything Riccardo had done; a celebration of a past vision and the emotional impact it had made on all of us. And the way the weather cooperated was just extraordinary. It had been so overcast and then the sun burst through and then set right on time. They did it right at sundown, and the show started as the tower lights came on.
Photo: Dustin Pittman7/9Stephen Sprouse, 1983The Stephen Sprouse show was amazing! It was in what is now Webster Hall in the East Village. It was rock ’n’ roll, Siouxsie and the Banshees. The sound decibels were beyond anything I had ever heard. An elevated runway, no frills, pitch black, and the attitude of the models, if they were even models, was of such aggression and determination. It was a shock and an energy rush.
Photo: Indigital.tv8/9Louis Vuitton, Fall 2011The amount of imagination, detail, precision, preparation—the technical aspect of Marc’s showmanship is extraordinary. From the clock ticking backward at the train show, which was somehow heartbreaking, to the perfect synchronization of The Night Porter elevators, to the voyeurism that was realized during Grand Hotel, peeking through the doors at an illicit scene.
Photo: Indigital.tv9/9Marc Jacobs, Fall 2012His collaboration with Rachel Feinstein realized a set that was so impactful that it changed the message of the clothes and the way we saw them. The perception of the design was being directed by the showmanship. It’s the intellectuality of it. And the Spring 2008 show, the show that ran backwards, might not have been that technically complicated or impressive, but the concept, the idea! . . . ideas are precious. There are so few, and they’re sacred.
