Wedding Outfit and Veil thumbnail 1
Wedding Outfit and Veil thumbnail 2
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This object consists of 4 parts, some of which may be located elsewhere.

Wedding Outfit and Veil

1987 (made)
Artist/Maker
Galliano, John (designer)
Jones, Stephen (designer)
Place of origin
London (made)

Roses of ivory silk cluster and trail over the shoulder and back of this wedding outfit. The garland starts with small buds, gradually growing to full soft blooms. More roses made from satin and chiffon with organza leaves tumble from this romantic ensemble. Fabric flowers are not new but these are unusual. They form an integral part of the garment as if growing from the fabric itself. Francesca Oddi wore this dress at her wedding. Galliano also designed her three bridesmaids' dresses.

John Galliano's family was Spanish-Gibralterian. He came to London at the age of six. He studied at St Martins School of Art, graduating in 1983 with a collection based on French Revolution costume which was sold to Browns. He launched his first collection under his own name in 1984.

Object details

Categories
Marriage
Womenswear
Fashion
Object type
Wedding outfit and veil
Parts
This object consists of 4 parts.

  • Wedding Dress
  • Wedding Coat
  • Blouse
  • Veil
Materials and techniques
Silk trimmed with satin, chiffon and organza
Silk (Textile)
Chiffon
Organza
Satin Weave
Brief description
Wedding outfit designed by John Galliano, and veil designed by Stephen Jones, London, 1987
Physical description
Wedding outfit comprising of a dress, blouse, veil and coat. Roses gathered from folds of ivory silk fabric cluster and trail over the shoulder and back of the wedding coat. More roses are places amongst the complex folds of material. The dress is strapless with shirred decoration and has more roses at the hips. It is worn over a organza blouse with long sleeves.
Gallery label
(1997)
John Galliano is in his element when designing with romance and fantasy in mind. Roses trail over the shoulders and the back of this highly decorative wedding coat. Typical of his complex techniques, the roses are not applied separately, but are integral to the cut of the coat. The dress is strapless with shirred decoration and has more roses at the hips.
(2011)
Wedding coat, blouse, veil and headdress
John Galliano (b.1960)
London, 1987
Shoes: Patrick Cox (b.1963)

Mainstream bridal wear in the 1980s was dominated by extravagant interpretations of the traditional white wedding dress. John Galliano's 1987 design for Francesca Oddi was very different. The coat demonstrates his experimental approach to cut and construction and his imaginative handling of surface decoration.

Coat: man-made fabric decorated with organza, chiffon and satin roses
Blouse and veil: silk
Shoes: silk and leather
Given by Mrs Francesca Oddi
V&A: T.41A to E-1988
(1991)
These three recent additions to the collection of 20th century fashionable dress celebrate weddings of 1957, 1968 and 1987. From time to time the Museum acquires wedding dresses by leading fashion designers. Display space in this gallery is limited and unfortunately there is not sufficient room for these special occasion gowns which are usually so lavish with spreading skirts, long trains and floating veils. A selection of the V&A's wedding dress collection can be seen at the Museum of Childhood, Bethnal Green. Wedding fashions change yet, as these garments reveal, the wearing of white or off white is a tradition most brides continue.

Wedding Ensemble - blouse, dress, coat and veil
Off white silks and organzas
John Galliano, London, Summer 1987

In 1987 John Galliano was voted 'British Designer of the Year'. Completely in tune with contemporary needs John Galliano has a gift of isolating notions from past styles and reinterpreting them to create clothes that are utterly modern. At this time he was fascinated by intricately draped evening attire of 1910-12. He delighted in strewing areas (shoulder and back of the coat) with clusters of flowers - some (by clever cutting) are composed from the coat panels themselves and others are attached in toning fine silks. Francesca Oddi's four bridesmaids wore tiny versions of this outfit completed by miniature double-brimmed bowler hats worn tilted over their foreheads.

Worn and given by Francesca Oddi
T.41 to E-1988
Credit line
Given by Francesca Oddi
Object history
Registered File number 1987/1946.
Part of a wedding outfit T.41 to E-1988.
The wedding outfit was worn by the donor, Francesca Oddi for her marriage in 1987.
Production
Summer 1987
Subject depicted
Roses
Summary
Roses of ivory silk cluster and trail over the shoulder and back of this wedding outfit. The garland starts with small buds, gradually growing to full soft blooms. More roses made from satin and chiffon with organza leaves tumble from this romantic ensemble. Fabric flowers are not new but these are unusual. They form an integral part of the garment as if growing from the fabric itself. Francesca Oddi wore this dress at her wedding. Galliano also designed her three bridesmaids' dresses.

John Galliano's family was Spanish-Gibralterian. He came to London at the age of six. He studied at St Martins School of Art, graduating in 1983 with a collection based on French Revolution costume which was sold to Browns. He launched his first collection under his own name in 1984.
Bibliographic references
  • De La Haye, Amy, ed. The Cutting Edge: 50 Years of British Fashion 1947-1997. London: V&A Publications, 1997.
  • Miller, Lesley Ellis, and Ana Cabrera Lafuente, with Claire Allen-Johnstone, eds. Silk: Fibre, Fabric and Fashion. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 2021. ISBN 978-0-500-48065-6. This object features in the publication Silk: Fibre, Fabric and Fashion (2021)
Collection
Textiles and Fashion Collection
Accession number
T.41 to C-1988

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Record createdDecember 15, 1999
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O15688/wedding-outfit-and-galliano-john/
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