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CHRISTIAN DIOR FALL/WINTER 2004 COUTURE

Vienna,Istanbul back from a trip in Central Europe, John Galliano proposes his very free vision for a collection that mixes romantic 19t-century references, resuscitating Empress Elisabeth Sisi of Austria, the glamour of 1950s pin-ups and Zsa Zsa Gabor, stated the Dior Fall Winter 2004 Haute Couture Collection.

Imagine a stately parade of Austrian and Hungarian princesses competing with one another for precedence in outrageously ornate corseted gowns, their crowns slightly askew. Tottering under the weight of pounds of elaborate fabric, skirt flounces the width of the runway, bank vaults of jewelry, and 6 inch platforms, Christian Dior's models pulled off a spectacle that held the audience breathless in case someone fell. So vast and encased were the frocks that at one point, Karolina Kurkova actually got stuck in the exit and had to be manhandled off.

"I went on a research trip to Vienna, and then got to looking at Egon Schiele, and Empress Sisi, and Russia!" was John Galliano's explanation. Strangely, in spite of the mind blowing succession of hobbled, hourglass silhouettes, blown up with massive outcrops of Edwardian swags and drapes and gigantic fur trimmed opera coats, this was a pared-down Dior Couture in several senses. Galliano ditched the Leigh Bowery meets kabuki makeup in favor of powdered faces, and the dresses, for all their rich embroidery, crystal chunks, and hand-painted cherubs and birds, gave a new sense of the body beneath.

In that way, it was easier to make the imaginative leap from runway to real event (perhaps one of those royal weddings that have enthralled Europe this summer?) than was usual in previous Dior Couture extravaganzas. This show also made a heady, sensuous display of color, brick red, emerald, celadon, boie de rose, and more-and an opulent celebration of couture-crafted textures, often enhanced to look as if the girls were actually wearing the gilded upholstery and painted ceilings of an imperial palace. On the other hand, it was also essentially a show of one queenly message, repeated 28 times. And that, for Galliano, displayed an odd lack of variety.

For his most stately collection yet, the designer 'put on a regal display of mermaid silhouetted robes accessorised with crowns, orbs, diamonds and long white gloves that made humble subjects of his A-list audience, Vogue reported.

The most luxurious materials were used: silks, brocades, moires, taffeta and velvets, trimmed with sable, ermine and fox, adorned with peacock feathers and delicately embroidered or hand-painted with designs reminiscent of 18th-century motifs inspired by Sevres porcelain and Faberge eggs.

Trompe-loil effects such as flesh - colored bustiers also peppered the collection, while gravity-defying pleats and gathers on dramatic evening gowns showcased the skills of Dior's Haute Couture Atelier.