The Marchesa Luisa Casati was the inspiring force behind superstar
designer John Galliano's award-winning & worldwide
critically-acclaimed Spring-Summer 1998 Haute Couture collection for
Dior. On 1 July 2007, the Paris haute couture shows were launched with
French label Christian Dior giving a celebrity-studded catwalk show
and party at the royal chateau of Versailles to celebrate its 60th
anniversary and Galliano's 10th anniversary as Dior's creative
director. On show was Galliano's Fall-Winter 2007/2008 Haute Couture
collection for Dior inspired by a variety of great painters and their
artistic work. The international press has already selected a lilac
chiffon gown as the standout of the collection. It has been inspired
directly by the famed 1908 portrait of Casati by Italian master-artist
Giovanni Boldini. The painting itself remains in the collection of
British composer Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber.

LINKS
See photos from the collection at the official Dior site here (once
in the site, choose 'Fashion Shows' under which you will find 'Haute
Couture, Autumn/Winter 2007/8', choose photo presentation):
http://fashion.dior.com/dior.html

See the collection in a good quality, full-length video here:
http://www.frillr.com/?q=node/4147

See Casati's 1908 portrait by Boldini that inspired Galliano's new
design: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luisa_Casati

TEXT
Following here is the text of a major syndicated article on the
collection:

'Paris Couture Week Kicks Off With Dior'

By JOELLE DIDERICH (Associated Press Writer)

Published: 2 July 2007

The Paris haute couture shows kicked off Monday with French label
Christian Dior holding a celebrity-studded catwalk show and party at
the royal chateau of Versailles to celebrate its 60th anniversary.

Hollywood stars including Charlize Theron, Kate Hudson and Jessica
Alba joined guests at the 300-year-old orangery of the castle that
was home to France's Sun King, Louis XIV.

"It's amazing, it's like a dream come true," a dazed Alba told The
Associated Press. "I can't even believe the grounds and this castle.
It's extraordinary."

Stars of the supermodel era, including Naomi Campbell and Linda
Evangelista, struck poses in sumptuous evening gowns and 1940s-style
suits inspired by the works of painters ranging from Leonardo da
Vinci to Pablo Picasso.

The ideas flowed at breathtaking pace, earning the house's British
designer John Galliano a rare standing ovation.

Dior had shocked fashion editors when he unveiled his "New Look" in
1947, featuring ample skirts that used acres of fabric, in stark
contrast with the rationing in force during World War II.

Galliano sent out Brazilian model Gisele Bundchen in an updated
version of the fitted, hip-padded "Bar" jacket that was the
centerpiece of that seminal collection.

In his ten years at Dior, the 46-year-old has courted controversy
with catwalk antics such as a collection inspired by homeless people.
But he has amply proved his mastery of the ancient techniques that go
into producing made-to-measure haute couture.

"He is in perfect symbiosis with Monsieur Dior," said the company's
CEO Sidney Toledano, adding that its sales of haute couture had
doubled following Galliano's previous show in January.

Here, pieces of the house's history were deftly blended with
painterly references such as a stiff white ruffled collar on a brown
velvet smock coat, or silver embroidery on a dramatic black taffeta
gown topped with a lace mantilla.

Standouts included a lilac chiffon column inspired by Italian painter
Giovanni Boldini's portrait of the Marchesa Casati, an eccentric
Italian heiress famous for walking her pet cheetahs through Venice on
diamond-studded leashes.

Live performances by flamenco singers and a gospel choir lent a
poignant edge to the display, which was dedicated to the memory of
Steven Robinson, Galliano's right-hand man of more than two decades
who died suddenly in April at the age of 38.

Galliano recently travelled to Seville and brought back the flamenco
troupe, whose cries later echoed through the gardens of the chateau
as guests feasted on tapas, paella and champagne.

The Dior party was only the first in a series of glittering events
marking important milestones this season.

French designer Christian Lacroix on Tuesday celebrates the 20th
anniversary of his label with a catwalk show, followed by a party at
the trendy Paris restaurant Georges.

Italian couturier Valentino Garavani, not to be outdone, moved his
presentation from Paris to Rome, where he planned to hold three days
of events marking the 45th anniversary of his brand.

Other couture houses showing this week include Giorgio Armani, Elie
Saab and Jean Paul Gaultier. The parties come at a time when haute
couture is thriving once more, thanks to an influx of newly wealthy
customers from Eastern Europe and Asia.

Only a handful of houses are authorized to use the couture tag, which
comes with a strict set of guidelines fixed by the French government.
The price of dresses, which take hundreds of hours to complete, can
climb into six figures.

In recent years, high costs have prompted labels including Emanuel
Ungaro and Balmain to close their couture workshops.

Nonetheless, leading purveyors including Chanel, Lacroix and Dior
have reported strong double-digit growth in sales in recent months,
reflecting a similar trend in the markets for fine jewelry, art and
private yachts.