John Galliano: Unseen

A striking tribute to John Galliano's highly creative collections for his eponymous label (1996–2011), captured behind the scenes by American Vogue photographer Robert Fairer

Robert Fairer – American Vogue’s exclusive backstage photographer for over a decade – opens up his archive to unveil stunning photographs that were, until now, one of fashion’s best-kept secrets.

Presenting John Galliano’s creations for his eponymous label (1996–2011), John Galliano: Unseen celebrates the visionary and exquisitely multi-layered collections that acted as a showcase for the designer’s romantic, theatrical, radical ideas, granting rare behind-the-scenes access to a highly charged world of fantasy, collaboration and beauty.

Now creative director of Maison Margiela, John Galliano started his career in London in the late 1980s, straight after graduating from Central Saint Martins. After being appointed head designer of Christian Dior in 1996, Galliano continued to create two collections a year for his namesake brand. They acted in many ways as a laboratory of ideas, allowing him to let his imagination run wild, free from both the commercial pressures associated with a house as iconic and as global as Dior and the influence of the hallowed house’s iconic pieces – a pure expression of his personal design style.

Opening with an essay on the designer’s work, John Galliano: Unseen unfolds chronologically. Thirty collections are included, each introduced by a short text by Claire Wilcox, revisiting the designer’s most iconic creations and revealing previously unseen behind-the-scenes moments that capture models, hairdressers, stylists, makeup artists and John Galliano himself at their most creative. Robert Fairer’s stunning and high-energy photographs capture the glamour and frenzy that defined Galliano’s shows. A treasure-trove of inspiration, they make this publication a must-have reference for fashion and photography lovers alike.

About the Author:

British photographer Robert Fairer worked exclusively for American Vogue behind the scenes for over a decade. Beginning his career at British Elle in the mid 1990s, then Harpers Bazaar USA and finally at American Vogue, he covered the fashion zeitgeist of supermodel, designer and fashion excess from 1993-2011.His backstage archive has been published in three monographs, Alexander McQueen Unseen, John Galliano Unseen, and Marc Jacobs Unseen by Thames & Hudson, Yale University Press, Schirmer Mosel and Abrams. Robert’s work is published in The New York Times, Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, i-D Magazine, and Visionaire, as well as fashion, portrait and lifestyle books, and anthologies. Robert continues to document the fashionable elite and collaborate with his editors and clients in uncharted fashion domains.