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The full title was “A Voyage on the Diorient Express, or the Story of the Princess Pocahontas”, and the show delivered on it. A real steam train pulled into the station with the models on board, and at the end Galliano waved to the crowd from the carriage.
The story mixed sixteenth-century Europe with Native America. Tight-laced Renaissance ladies stepped off in huge period gowns with ruffs and heavy brocades. Others wore feathered war bonnets, fringe and beadwork. There were musketeer types in plumed hats and miniskirts. Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell were among the cast. The scale of the dressmaking was extraordinary, and as theatre it is one of the most famous shows of the decade.
It also has to be looked at honestly. The use of Native American dress as costume has been criticised since, with Native writers calling it one more Pocahontas fantasy. That is a fair reading, and it is part of the collection’s history now.
What remains is a show of astonishing ambition from a designer at the height of his powers, with all the excess and all the blind spots of its time.
Watch the show
External sources
Watch the show: Diorient Express on YouTube
View the collection: Dior Haute Couture Fall/Winter 1998 on FirstView
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Pictures courtesy of Vogue Runway
We do not own the rights to any of these images and they have been used in good faith. Every effort has been made to ensure that all images are used with proper credits. If you are the rightful owner of any image used on our site and wish to have it removed, please contact us at ayerhsmagazine@gmail.com and we will promptly remove it. We are a non-commercial, passion-driven, independent fashion blog and do not intend to infringe any copyright. Thank you for your understanding.
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