The John Galliano label opens a new chapter in its history

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Jun 2, 2015

John Galliano is undergoing some big changes. Following four years of silencestarting with the March 2011 expulsion of its founder, designer John Galliano, and the October 2013 bankruptcy of Italian company Ittierre, which produced its collections under license, the ready-to-wear brand, which is designed by Bill Gaytten, the former assistant to John Galliano, and which is owned by Christian Dior Couture (LVMH), is returning to the spotlight with a new image and strategy. 

"This turbulent period has led us to rethink the brand’s entire strategy and to start fresh, changing up our teams in order to bring in some new energy," said managing director Dominique de Longevialle. Frank Durand, who has worked for the likes of Balmain, Mugler and Isabel Marant, has been called upon to redefine John Galliano’s visual identity.

The artistic director has redesigned the logo, shedding its gothic side, while adopting "a style that is both refined and raw". The packaging has also been altered, now employing craft paper and the label in golden letters. As for its advertising campaign, which will air late 2015, it will be set in the streets of London, evoking John Galliano’s beginnings. "The campaign puts the brand back in its original element, while eschewing its negative period," said the CEO. 

As for collections, exit the secondary line and the primary line’s hyper luxury positioning. From now on, John Galliano will be composed of a single expanded collection, consisting of two core elements. Its "show collection" will rely on the house’s Parisian atelier, featuring more sophisticated women’s pieces, such as embroidered evening dresses going for as much as 2,000 euros that will be shown during fashion week. 

The other part of the collection, for men and women, will have a premium contemporary positioning and thus will be more accessible in terms of prices: between 300 and 1,000 euros for the range’s core. It will also be more wearable. John Galliano’s new line will be produced and distributed under license by Italian company Studio Roscini, which has recently been renamed Modalis. The manufacturer is located in Umbria, near Assisi Spello, and works for labels such as Celine, Jason Wu, Proenza Schouler, etc.

"We’ve worked a lot with the archives. We focused on London and John Galliano’s design from the 90s. We borrowed a lot of very strong elements while also bringing them in a contemporary context. The brand celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2014. Bill Gaytten has worked for over 20 years with John Galliano. The result is very interesting and the new project is being rather well received - with a great degree of interest," said the brand’s boss.

The spring/summer 2016 collection will be unveiled during Paris Men’s Fashion Week on June 25 in a gallery on rue du Perche (3rd arrondissement), while John Galliano's women's show will be held, as usual, in Paris in October. "In recent years, we’ve continued to show our women’s collection and to communicate about the brand, including maintaining a press office in China," said Dominique de Longevialle. 

John Galliano’s distribution will gradually be developed through the multibrand channel with the goal of "recuperating its place in department stores", and through monobrand stores sometime between 2016-17.