The London show – held in a new office tower not far from Buckingham Palace – was the first from the British designer in some years, following his sacking from Dior for racial slurs in 2011. The atmosphere was somewhat relaxed inside pre-show, until the select handful of fashion elite (Kate Moss and Anna Wintour) and a small number of fashion press and photographers, heard the beat of the music and settled back in to their rows. Dubbed ‘Artisan’, the anticipated collection – from the brand formerly owned by Martin Margiela, proved almost a visual history lesson in the design life of John Galliano. A patchwork suede gilet hemmed with black toy cars opened proceedings, ensued by coats and appliqué dresses with chards of mirror-glass and lacquered shells – alluding to both romanticism and surrealism. Staying true to his previous collections at Dior, vintage-glamor was key in bold, yet playful cloth. Silk, yarn and organza came embellished in an eclectic mix of ‘found’ objects, from exotic shells, glittering jewels and pearls covering asymmetrical dresses and coats, exploding with tulle. Patching together the eccentricities were safety pins over a sheer red gown, an animal print bodysuit visible underneath. Meanwhile, retro fabrics in silk and cotton embraced swooping ribbons that formed silk mermaid columns. Deconstuctionism was a second ideology presented by Maison Margiela – a past tendance of Galliano too - seen in his very first works in his career. Jackets sat chopped-up in homage to Vivienne Westwood punk looks, alongside wearable short coats. Other customer-ready pieces included a tuxedo and two red dresses with scooped out backs for more luxurious and feminine occasions. Looking at accessories, the models’ heads were pasted with jewels and head-pieces, inspired by Giuseppe Arcimboldo paintings. Some wore Day of the Dead full-face masks, reiterating the haphazard beauty of the clothes, though sometimes it proved disturbing. Concluding the 24-piece collection, the gargantuan limbs of the models ended their jaunt in unmade coats and jackets, exposing the toile from each design. One thing was certain - Galliano had laid bare his creative process from the runway, and a little bit of his soul too. Now finished, he appeared vulnerable wearing white (not his usual color-popped attire) to a round of ferocious applause. Especially, from Moss and Wintour. “It was brilliant,” Wintour said after the show. “What I loved was the mix: There was so much that we know and we love about John, but then he took the Margiela vocabulary and translated it in such an appealing and innovative way. I loved seeing all the toiles at the end where you can see all the work and the new embroidery.”Renzo Rosso, head of OTB group who controls Margiela via a subsidiary called Neuf, would not let press see the collection backstage before the show. “We wanted the clothes to speak for themselves, and we wanted to step away totally from anything that was not about the clothes and about this marriage of super-creativity on John’s part and know-how and professionalism on ours.”Galliano and Maison Margiela will be back on the Paris schedule for the ready-to-wear collections in March.