The year was 2005. Millennials were coming of age at a time when low-rise jeans, juicy zip-ups, and Smuckers Lip Smackers were all the rage. Dior’s Saddle bag was released 5 years prior, but it was still very much fashion’s it-item. Two years earlier I had purchased one of my very own, a Dior Trotter Saddle Bag and from that moment on I was obsessed with Dior’s every move.
In 2005, John Galliano opened the Spring Christian Dior show with the sound of a revving car, but most everyday fashion lovers weren’t privy to the sound, as fashion shows at the time were both elusive and exclusive. What followed was a quirky and fun, yet wearable at the same time, collection of RTW and accessories. Conjured up by Galliano himself, this collection featured mini skirts and slip dresses, logo tees and lingerie-inspired pieces galore. Galliano also expanded upon Dior’s iconic Oblique print, placing colorful flowers atop the classic logo print in a beautiful beige color way.
Though the collection itself did not receive very many accolades from Galliano’s critics, it was that beautiful print that lived in my mind for a very long time and further cemented my love for Dior. As for the bags themselves, most were reworked iterations of the already famous Saddle bag, a mash up of the old parading themselves as the new, but at the time the collection was everything to my 14-year old self, and years later I still remember viewing the images on-line for the first time, feeling much like it was Galliano’s world and I was just living in it.
That collection to this day holds a special place in my heart for the way that it made me feel. And though it may be considered dated or tacky now, it was the first time I realized the affect that high fashion can have on oneself. It was in that moment of feeling something deep in my soul that I became fully aware that fashion is about so much more than just the clothes themselves.
Do you remember a collection of the past that stands out to you in this way?
[images via Vogue Runway]
