THE NORTH RIDING PROJECT

For his collections, he was still stirring unrelated ideas together like a sorcerer conjuring magical potions in a cauldron. In one show he referenced Rajasthan gypsies, Wall Street bankers, Arab nomads, Tibetan folklorists; for another, he used the images of 1960s South African photographer Bobson Sukhdeo Mohanlall, who shot portraits of fellow black Africans in traditional a well as modern dress, then added Elvis impersonators and cowboys; for another, at the Centre Pompidou museum, he sent out two nearly naked Japanese Kodo drummers to pound out a beat while models marched down the runway as Eskimos, drum majorettes and circus ribbon dancers. ‘Galliano slayed his audience with invention, humor and skill,’ Women’s Wear applauded. ‘It was a toure de force of bravado and, more importantly, beauty.’

Thomas/McQueen, 2015