As Gwendoline Christie finished her circuit in her kinky fit-and-flare latex dress, the photographers howled “Bravo” and filmmaker Baz Luhrmann joined the audience in stomping his feet. Every outfit was a marvel of imagination and artisanal craft. Mix between New look, and French cancan dancers, but also the style of the court of Catherine de Medicis.

There were sheer bias-cut dresses embellished with silvery embroidery, or dense accumulation of godets; rumpled street-urchin suits nipped and tucked for maximum glamour, and gauzy siren gowns that showed off the models’ enhanced Jessica Rabbit figures like the cartoom.

At the end of a week full of safe, client-friendly clothes, Galliano returned the rare pursuit to its original R&D purpose. This poignant, unforgettable show reaffirmed Galliano’s status as a fashion icon.