Arguably, John Galliano’s Spring 2000 Haute Couture collection was his most controversial and thought provoking up to date. The infamous “Hobo” collection was inspired by the poor people of Paris who Galliano had seen during his runs along the Seine. The homelessness-inspired pieces presented during the show sparked such controversy that a Parisian Dior boutique was forced to face demonstrations by the hands of local activists and homeless. The protest had been reported by worldwide press and enraged millions of people within and outside of the fashion circles. Dior and Galliano, who had been quite indifferent about the early criticisms, had been faced with global boycott. However, the show’s critics failed to heed the brilliant artistic statement of the entire presentation. There was an underlying irony behind creation of incredibly laborious clothes, presented to the few richest women of the world, purely thanks to inspiration taken from people who struggle with monetary issues on a daily basis. Women who were used to spending hundreds of thousands of Euros on single pieces, had been confronted with a vision of reality which seemed entirely alternative to them. The entirety of the concept of making clothes for months by hand, with the most luxurious materials, only to make them look deconstructed, worn and destroyed was nothing but a mindfuck. A shock too, taking in mind that those women, used to glamour and opulence, now had been proposed wearing clothes which were wearable works of Egon Schiele. -Hautedeath
