JOHN GALLIANO

John Galliano is a British fashion designer, acclaimed for his fusion of romantic historicism with technical skills and progressive aesthetics. Born in 1960 in Gibraltar, Galliano came to fame through his 1984 graduate collection for Central St. Martin's College of Art and Design, 'Les Incroyables'. The collection announced Galliano's signature strategy of reviving the past whilst heralding in the new. 'Les Incroyables' was famously bought in its entirety by Joan Burstein, the owner of Browns boutique in London and displayed in its front windows: an unprecedented and prestigious endorsement. Galliano set up his own label in that year with the immensely successful 'Ludic Games' collection and he enjoyed consistent critical acclaim throughout the decade, championed in particular by fashion editor Anna Wintour, in spite of looming financial pressures. Galliano won the British Fashion Council's Designer of the Year award in 1987, 1994, 1994 and 1997.