Opening to the sound of thunder and rain, a welcome thought in the muggy Parisian heat, Bill Gayten's John Galliano show was set in a large square white space, with LED-clad pillars providing the lighting. As the aural clouds lifted and the soundtrack began in earnest, the pillars became a bright sky of passing clouds. With that the boys entered, wearing suits and bowler hats by longtime collaborate Stephen Jones, entirely printed with a matching sky landscape. An ode to surrealism, the tailoring theme continued into pure white looks, emblazoned with famous phrases from the associated artists' works, adding in a couple of hugely oversized shell pendents and one giant metallic red lobster clinging to a model's chest. Naturally, cuts were not simple, with large shawl collars scooping across sports jackets and off centre and asymmetrical buttoning. A large number of the pieces, long coats, trenches, suits and hats, had a floral pattern, black on white and white on black. Combined with the flat caps it felt like a twist on the east London heritage of pearly kings and queens.
