The first thing you need to know about the black taffeta Givenchy spring 1996 haute couture dress Zendaya wore to make a late (re)entrance at the Met Gala is that it was the second John Galliano design she wore for the event. The first was a custom Maison Margiela couture dress he created specifically for her, which she wore at the start of the evening.
The second thing you need to know about that second Galliano dress is that she bought it.
The third thing you need to know about the dress is that it was originally Look No. 8 of Mr. Galliano’s first Givenchy couture collection, back when the appointment of the upstart Brit at the venerable Parisian house had set all of French fashion into an affronted tizzy.
And the last thing you need to know is that all those things, added together at a peak eyeball moment, amount to a major declaration of independence by Zendaya, and perhaps the next step in Mr. Galliano’s return to the bosom of fashion following the documentary “High & Low: John Galliano” and his much lauded January Maison Margiela couture show.
For Zendaya, the look, which was designed the year she was born, nods to the evening’s dress code in being vintage, rare and, with its full skirt and laced-up bodice, recalls the aristocracy of the ancien régime. It also represents “an investment in herself,” said Rita Watnick, the founder of Lily et Cie, the vintage clothing dealer in Los Angeles who sold the dress to Zendaya and Law Roach, her “image architect.”
“It says, ‘I am not an emissary for a brand,’” Ms. Watnick went on. “‘I am my own emissary.’” That’s quite a news bulletin at a party that has become, for many brands and celebrities, a quasi-advertising moment.
As for Mr. Galliano, his dresses have reappeared on red carpets before, but never under quite as big a spotlight. (Zendaya also wore vintage Galliano — a look from his spring 1998 collection — to Anna Wintour’s pre-Met dinner.) And while he may not have been granted the retrospective exhibition that the Met was rumored to have considered, being worn by an extremely high-profile co-host of the party of the year may be the next best thing.
