Written by Nicole Štěch

He became renowned for his dramatic, almost theatrical work, which often hovered on the edge of acceptability. His approach provoked both fashion insiders and the wider public, especially when he took on the creative leadership of the most prestigious fashion houses. When he graduated from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in 1984 with a collection inspired by the French Revolution titled Les Incroyables, it sparked immediate acclaim. Those in the know understood that they were witnessing a fashion magus poised to change the rules of the game. Such historical excursions and cultural references remained central to his work throughout his career. Each collection was a journey into the depths of human history and an attempt to hold up a mirror to contemporary society. This is precisely the essence we now miss in a fashion industry striving to be so thoroughly correct – and Galliano often did not hesitate to push beyond the boundaries of what was deemed acceptable. Setting aside Galliano’s 2011 scandal, which sparked a debate still very much alive today about the extent to which an artist’s work can be separated from their personal conduct, I wish to focus solely on his creative output – work that reached its peak during his most defining period at Givenchy and Christian Dior.

In 1995, Galliano was appointed creative director of Givenchy, making history as the first Brit to lead a French haute couture house. After just one year in this role, he moved to Christian Dior, where he fully expressed his creative vision. His collections and their presentations were monumental, theatrical productions, blending deep historical references, provocative creativity, and exquisite tailoring. Galliano’s era at Dior became a symbol of modern fashion, shaping both the aesthetics of haute couture and the way collections were presented. It was a period of grand, theatrical tableaux that honored the legacy of the house’s founder while simultaneously pushing the brand toward surrealism and postmodernism. Galliano continued these creative excesses until 2011, when he was immediately suspended and subsequently dismissed from his position at Dior following his antisemitic scandal. After three years in seclusion, he returned to the fashion world as creative director of Maison Margiela, a position he held for ten years until 2024.

During his time at Dior, Galliano unveiled numerous collections that have since become part of fashion history. While his ready-to-wear and haute couture designs captivated audiences on the runway, it was handbags that proved to be the fundamental cornerstone of his financial success. Within the house’s ateliers, designs were created that achieved mass appeal. It is often said that when a new name is appointed to the role of creative director, true success is declared the moment they create a handbag beloved by the masses. The one that unmistakably sealed John Galliano’s success was the Dior Saddle. I usually reserve the word iconic, but in this case no other description suffices. The Saddle is a cult object. Its silhouette – evoking a horse’s saddle, with an asymmetrical flap and a bold “D” charm – was first introduced in 1999 during the Spring/Summer 2000 ready-to-wear show. Appearing in countless variations, it, like Galliano’s other handbags, has retained its value on the secondary market even decades later. It appeared in numerous variations – ranging from denim and silk to a wide array of leather treatments and prints – and, like Galliano’s other handbags, has retained its value on the secondary market even decades later.

At the dawn of the new millennium, during one of Dior’s most daring periods, the designer pushed the legacy of the Saddle Bag into distinctly punk territory with the Hardcore series – a defining moment that fused meticulous couture craftsmanship with a subversive street attitude. The handbag designs, which formed part of Dior’s collections in 2003 and 2004, were characterized by bold graphic prints on canvas or jersey, silver hardware, chains, star-shaped charms, and metal details reminiscent of piercings, all echoing the rebellious energy of punk culture. Some versions also incorporated safety-pin and stud motifs, lending the silhouette a sharpness that was entirely exceptional in the context of luxury handbags at the time. Today, these models are highly prized by collectors for their rarity, striking aesthetics, and status as icons of the early 2000s. Select pieces command five-figure sums on the secondary market – most notably the pierced Saddle Bag, often regarded as the Rolls-Royce of handbags.

The reason Hardcore handbags have enjoyed strong momentum in recent years lies, among other things, in the fact that fashion houses and their creative directors are increasingly drawing from their archives and reinterpreting these elements in a contemporary context. A case in point is Dior’s Cruise 2025 collection presented in Scotland by Maria Grazia Chiuri. It was Chiuri who reintroduced a punk spirit to the collection, expressed through hardware details and punk-inflected aesthetics combined with traditional textures such as tartan and leather. By bringing this visual language back into the mainstream fashion discourse, Chiuri helped fuel renewed demand for Hardcore pieces on the secondary market. And she was not alone – so too did everyone who joined the renewed hunt for vintage Hardcore handbags more than two decades after their original debut.