Bill Gaytten heads up the creative team chez John Galliano, and although he doesn’t have John’s outsized personality (or his singular personal style), he’s obviously a smart designer who knows how to build a men’s collection that can move from runway to reality. To that end, his Fall 2012 show was an ode to America in the 30s—an era preserved forever in classic motion pictures, as well as on the illustrated covers of the Saturday Evening Post.

This theme gave Bill plenty of masculine tropes to play with, including the gangster, the newsboy, the serviceman, the football hero (back when players wore less padding and smaller helmets), and the white-collar businessman. Rendered in a strict palette of black, white, grey, olive and blue, these types stalked the runway in updated costumes that looked wearable (especially the great outerwear pieces) and kept in step with many of the season’s trends.

Despite the history lesson, the label’s most devoted fans–all those night owls and club kids–weren’t forgotten. Black or blue beaded tops, velvet jackets and sexy tuxedo looks made for a seamless finale (aided, of course, by their movie-star swagger). And with that, another Bill Gaytten show for the house of John Galliano came to an end. Perhaps he’s settling in for the long run?

––Mark Grischke

Photographs by Stéphane Israël