Britain's John Galliano does Napoleon of France

For his spring-summer 2010 menswear display, Galliano -- a master director whose opulent runway shows verge on theatrical performances -- conjured a cast of Napoleonic characters, including the emperor himself, looking pallid but proud in flowing black- and jewel-toned sashes, and Bonaparte's soldiers, in desert-ready military uniforms embellished with Oriental details from their North African campaigns.

Other characters that peopled Galliano's world Friday were latter-day Middle Eastern explorers modeled on Lawrence of Arabia and proto-hippies clad in only briefs and flower crowns.

Star pieces included a pair of low rise harem shorts covered in disco ball mirrorwork, a smart, three-piece suit topped with a swath of ripped tulle -- as if the model had just torn through the mother of all cobwebs -- and a muscle-bound model in underwear and a leopard-skin headdress.

In a backstage interview with Associated Press Television News, Galliano listed the elements of the raucous collection, which was -- as always with him -- over the top: "Napoleon and his trip to Egypt ... Orientalism, the colors of painters like Delacroix, the 'homme fleur' or mountain guy."

Silhouettes were wildly romantic, with military-inspired coats cut amply and fitted with a layer of gauzy silk that fluttered as the models walked. Button-down shirts did double-duty, cinched around the waist in guise of cummerbunds or ingeniously wrapped around the models legs in lieu of shorts.

Applause echoed loud off the concrete walls of the abandoned, graffiti-covered swimming pool where the show was held when Galliano swooped down upon the catwalk for a final spin.

His chest puffed out in his trademark pigeon pose, Galliano was the spitting image of a modern-day Napoleon.