John Galliano is known for his dramatic approaches to fashion, of course, and that has always been part of his undeniable charm. Yet oftentimes he has also been criticised for being too ‘costumey’ rather than high-fashion; and this time around, I have to say, he definitely went too far. It’s not even ‘costumey’ that’s the problem here. It’s just plain trying too hard.

Galliano’s latest collection for Christian Dior sports a certain pair of heels which are not only already unappealing in their overall aesthetic of purple velvet and silver metal wavey wrap-arounds, yet upon closer inspection you may see a figure of an African tribesman at the arch and heel of the shoe.

Now, whether or not you believe that fashion has a responsibility to be political, the fact of the matter is that having that pot-bellied tribesman on the heel of a woman’s foot is not aesthetically pleasing.

The theme of the day was “African chic!” as Galliano excitedly declared for this Spring 2009 collection, and the rest of the pieces would have been perfectly charming had it not been for this obvious stain in the entire ensemble.

The dresses were fabulous, and yes it’s refreshing to have some earthy flavour in trend again. Yet the shoe, really. To me it’s the fashion equivalent of the Hungry Jack’s ‘Quadstacker’ Burger, in the sense that people look at it and go, “Oh, that is disgusting,” but do wait and see if a friend or someone they know would be clueless enough to buy it.

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