No one does storytelling like John Galliano. An elaborate narrative arch underpins every collection they make: from French revolutionaries in billowing longline coats to corset dresses layered with bondage, inspired by Freud’s musings around fetishism. FW22 saw an extension of their own tale which began with the Artisanal 2022 collection, Cinema Inferno – where protagonists Count and Hen, Galliano’s rendition of Bonnie and Clyde, were fugitives on the run in their “Southern Gothic” fantasy. This time around, the pair’s imagined lovechild took centre stage – presenting a wardrobe riffing on both parents’ individual aesthetics.

Held at Margiela HQ, the scene was set as film loops and mannequin-based tableaux re-enacted key moments from the Artisanal 2022 offering. Plaid ®Pendleton shirts were worn in reverse or treated to the house’s Rorschach cutting technique, where cut-out yokes modelled on the ears of Mickey Mouse were spliced together with lightweight knits to imbue pieces with a sense of childhood joy. A collaboration with The Walt Disney Company saw t-shirts and cadet hats covered in the iconic character’s image, made in Recicla fashion – a term Galliano coined to denote re-purposed, lived-in pieces.

Skirts were tucked into fishnet pants, as reimagined prom dresses in tiered tulle and velvet were rebellious to the core. Accessories-wise, models wore statement eyewear created in conjunction with Gentle Monster. The Tabi Blucher also made its debut, featuring an almond-shape take on the Tabi toe inspired by US police officers’ footwear. Theatrical beyond even Baz Luhrmann’s wildest dreams, Galliano once again asserted themselves as the industry’s best spinner of yarns in more ways than one.