From impossible corsets, through silicone prosthetics to enlarge the hips, gothic-doll 'porcelain' make-up, which sent the network into a frenzy of guessing games ("How the hell did Fath Magrath do that?!"), to the phenomenal location.
What wasn't there.
Beneath the Pont d'Alexandre III arched bridge spanning the Seine, models and models erupted, fled or grotesquely walked along dim scenes that alternated on the long runway, outside and inside what looked like a musty cafe and a dodgy bar.
John Galliano presented a wild and mystical theatrical show in an artistic collection for the Margiela Spring 2024 fashion house, which closed the couture week in Paris and entered the pages of history.
But what started with nipple-baring breasts under tulle and lace gowns, some exquisitely delicate and others dramatic, only foreshadowed what was to come.
As soon as Look No. 3 hit the runway we already got a slight glimpse (is it a mistake to see her? Is it on purpose?), and when it was the turn of Look No. 8, a transparent brown lace golf dress in an hourglass silhouette, there was no longer any doubt and the eyes of the lucky guests They opened wide - the model exposed her pubic hair for show.
Shocking and fascinating at the same time.
Mason Margiela/GettyImages
Even the fact that at the end of the show, as soon as the network began to be filled with testimonies from behind the scenes and it became clear that it was not real pubic hair but a small "wig" simulating the forbidden triangle, it still did not calm the lively discourse that soon grabbed headlines.
"In Galliano's show, it's about a wig of pubic hair called "Merkin", explains Yara Kider, curator and fashion historian, and continues.
"Actually, in crazy couture work, they embroidered real hairs on fabric, and they are literally part of the garment itself."
To our question, what was the goal of the designer actually?
Kidder replies: "Throughout his career, Galliano always knew how to tell a story, as well as shock and arouse wonder. He is a total designer, and pubic hair is part of the story he wants to convey now. I think that the entire collection he presented aims to arouse wonder and questions, it does not seek to present beauty and ideals but actually distortion, grotesqueness, and also bewilderment - when do we perceive something beautiful as such? Everyone is talking about it even now because it is still not really accepted."
John Galliano Margiela Pubic Hair/Screenshot, Instagram
So now is it allowed?
Without a shadow of a doubt it can be declared that John Galliano (who more than a decade ago made terrible anti-Semitic statements until in 2013 he apologized to Vanity Fair and Vanity Fair magazine), he and no one else, brought haute couture fashion back to us in all its glory and in a way we have never seen before a lot of time.
He succeeded because the eccentric designer went all the way and beyond, while enshrining the value of creativity and authenticity above all, at a time when true daring or inspiring originality is the lot of only a few fashion houses.
But to be honest, we were quite surprised that almost overwhelmingly, everyone - from the fashion industry, social networks to the various media platforms - only praised and praised the spectacular fashion-art show.
But where are all the feminists?
After all, it is at the foundation of the movement to oppose the sexist exploitation of women.
We really expected it to happen, but it didn't.
There was not a shout or a determined objection to this blatant artistic-feminine display of Galliano.
Maybe only very little and marginally.
So how is it that female pubic hair became (or became) legitimate in fashion?
And why now?
- and more on the couture runway in Paris, no less.
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Feminism: from the second wave to the present
In the Western world, the 1960s were known as a stormy and exciting period, in which citizen movements arose and worked for various issues: civil rights movements, the sexual revolution, student revolutions, and more.
Under these optimal conditions, the women's movement was re-awakened and became a mass movement again.
The beginning of the 80s, known as the second wave, brought sex-positive feminism (Pro-sex feminism) to the front.
Meanwhile, the advocates of the movement began to act in response to the anti-pornographic position of some of the leaders of radical feminism.
They expressed direct criticism of what was perceived as patriarchal control and suppression of women's sexuality.
In the 1990s, the third wave arose as a response to the failures of the previous wave and against its initiatives and movements.
At the center of the ideology of this wave was an interpretation of gender and sexuality, and it challenged the paradigms of its predecessor (the second) regarding what is good, or not good, for women.
And here we are at the fourth wave of feminism, which began around 2012 and continues to this day;
This wave is characterized by a focus on empowering women and using the internet as a tool to convey messages - an environment where the fashion world also thrives.
At its center is a call for social justice in cases of assault and harassment, alongside a fight for equal pay and bodily autonomy, meaning: women's right to their bodies and privacy.
While feminists continue to work to free women from the shackles of patriarchy, others have decided to express or challenge the "liberation" part in practice as well.
Therefore, everything that is considered "too sexual" - out, and the release of the physical body (from underwear to all clothes) - is not.
Against this background, plus the fact that on a cultural and social level our eyes have already become quite "accustomed" to the sight of images in which partial or full nudity appears, it is not surprising that there are fashion designers who would like to stretch this rope a little more.
And that's exactly what Galliano did.
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Pubic hair in the mirror of history
Kidar, who among other things investigates the changes in women's status through the lens of fashion history, believes that pubic hair was never really acceptable, but hidden and hidden.
This is how she explains: "Even in 1866, when Gustave Courbet painted "The Origin of the World" which focuses on the female genital organ - it was a complete taboo. Also in 1899 when Gustave Klimt painted pubic hair in the work "The Naked Truth" it was received with shock. Although painters painted women In the nude with an exposed genital organ, it was rare to see hair. Accordingly, in the world of fashion we can see a number of isolated cases of such exposure in the early years. In 1989, when Vivienne Westwood sent a model down the runway in body-colored tights with a fig leaf stitched on it, it was a sensation. Five years later Then Carla Bruni, who was a model at the time, walked in the Westwood show wearing a pubic covering made of fur, and a huge fur coat. There is also Giucci who in 2003, during the Tom Ford era, came out in a campaign where you see a model with shaved pubic hair in the form of the brand's monogram/logo . All these examples aroused astonishment, without exception."
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But in practice, despite the astonishment and shock, the phenomenon refused to fade.
Campaigns or fashion anchors and networks continued to insist on putting pubic hair on the front (both men and women), especially whenever they wanted to provoke provocation and media buzz, meaning marketing and advertising at any cost.
For example, in 2005, the knotted group of models who graced the Dolce & Gabbana men's runway for the Fall/Winter season, came out one after another in hot skinny jeans with an extra low waist, which were nicknamed "The pubic pants" ).
Famous fashion photographer Steven Meisel, who shot the campaign for the same collection, took it one step further (or down if you will);
Maisel framed muscular shirtless models, just as he appeared on the original runway and which emphasized how low the waistline was, only this time the pubic hairs also popped out and starred unobtrusively.
Another example: in one of the peak moments (and some would say the lowest) of Amber Rose, the provocative model and Kanye West's ex, in 2017 she published a half-naked photo on her social networks while sitting on a chair and revealing her nudity with genius.
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The posts were later deleted by Instagram and X due to reports from surfers, and today only "censored" screenshots can be found on the network.
But if you dive into Rose's story, you find that she was actually just presenting another kind of feminism - one that includes an unapologetically explosive femininity that isn't ready to be tamed or conditioned.
In fact, it was all for a good cause overall, if you ask her, and as part of her work with the "SlutWalk" movement, which we also know in our districts.
The global movement was founded in Canada in 2011, amid a scandalous statement by a police officer that women "should stop dressing like sluts" if they don't want to be raped.
Although the movement's activities have expanded since then, it obviously still works to protest against the widespread perception that women who dress or behave in a "sexual" way bring rape and sexual violence upon themselves.
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Pubic hair on full display is suddenly legitimate again - is it related to the status of women who have not finished their struggle, and the fact that blatant female exposure is acceptable nowadays is on the contrary a kind of challenge?
Or is the subtext of this bold new-old trend a defiance against social/economic phenomena?
And maybe it's the current bubbling climate of war and conflict in the world, which makes it clear how fragile life is?
As far as women are concerned, they will continue to challenge social and gender dictates and work (consciously or not) to break free from the shackles of patriarchy - each in her own little piece of God, which of course includes her body.
This is rooted in the fact that women's rights have been trampled on throughout history.
Meanwhile, there are women who will choose to express and present this through physical signs that make it clear that "women's liberation is here", while they adopt routines that challenge the impossible ideal of beauty: whether it's letting the armpit hair grow wild (even though we've been taught that it's "unacceptable" ), loosen the nipple here and there, or stop shaving/permanently removing pubic hair (a culture rooted for years in porn movies, and spilled over into the background and beauty worlds).
The choice and decision is yours ladies.
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