The theme was ‘film noir’. The models were made-up and coiffed like Lauren Bacall. And the designer, John Galliano, took his bow in a trench-coat and Homberg, a la Bogart, accessorised with a pair of black-and-white spotted pyjama pants.  But the message at Christian Dior this afternoon was very definitely taken straight from the underwear drawer.  Sheer, 1940’s-style dresses, see-through negligee-gowns and flimsy party-frocks were all a window onto a woman’s most intimate possessions – her bra and knickers.  Backstage, Galliano revealed the undercover secret: all the underwear was actually built-in, making getting dressed a one-step operation for those willing to pay for such an expensive close-up.  Galliano said he had originally been inspired by archive photographs of Bacall and Bogart, in the front row at Christian Dior shows.  “She was a regular client of M. Dior and I loved the idea of taking that 1940s Hollywood glamour and making it more contemporary. And I liked the idea of the link between film as an illusion and the illusion of undressed dresses.”  The front-row line-up included the Hollywood actor, Bruce Willis, and his new wife, Emma Heming, who was wearing a black-and-white, tailored Dior suit; the singer Rihanna; and the burlesque star, Dita Von Teese.  “I’d like to see Emma in some of those dresses,” Willis said, after the show.  The show was staged against a ‘film noir’ backdrop of a derelict warehouse, suffused with shadowy light and dry ice. There was the sound of heavy breathing, a telephone ringing, a hoarse cry, a gun-shot and then screams. Murder on the dance floor? No, drama on the Dior catwalk. The models appeared, first, as enlarged shadows on a backlit screen.  In keeping with the Bacall-Bogart theme, the trench-coat was a key piece, worn with jeweled-lace petticoats or satin French knickers.  The 1940s mode embraced vintage-look short dresses, in floral chiffon with ruffled skirts, or in metallic Lurex, pointelle knits, seamed to enhance the bust and featuring built-in bras, knickers or petticoats.  Necklines tied with bows, short, puffed sleeves and high, platform wedge-shoes echoed the retro vibe.  The exposure factor was particularly effective when black lace came over jewel-bright purple or fuschia satin.  Corsetry was key for evening – a theme Galliano introduced earlier this year in his autumn/winter, haute couture show for Dior.  A flesh-tone and black lace corset, came with a black lace, ruffled skirt, sheer enough to show the lace-top hold-up stockings beneath. A sunray-pleated gown, as dazzlingly orange as a volcano, featured a crystal-and-sequin corset. Even a more prim, collared and bowed, long, dinner dress, was in diaphanous red chiffon, disclosing the black bra and knickers beneath.
Hilary Alexander reviews the Christian Dior by John Galliano spring/summer    2010 collection from Paris Fashion Week.