On September 27, 2014, crowds packed the streets outside Paris’s Le Grand Rex Cinema. It seemed as if all of Paris was there to pay homage to Jean Paul Gaultier and end the fashion era. Inside the Grand Rex the scene closely resembles models, celebrities and fashion insiders congregating at the concession stand to buy champagne and popcorn while photographers chase after them for snaps from fellow Gaultiers. After approximately four decades of shifting, boundary-pushing, prêt-à-porter fashion, Jean Paul Gaultier is about to debut his final ready-to-wear line.
Her last show ‘Election de Miss Jean Paul Gaultier 2015’ consisted of an unexpectedly flamboyant fashion show that surprised and delighted her 2,800 guests. The beauty pageant-themed runway show consists of 76 designs that will take guests down “memory lane” including the corset made popular by Madonna. The show or “contest” ends with a shower of golden confetti as Gaultier gives his last bow.
As a ready-to-wear designer, little is conventional about the 62-year-old Gaultier. Although she had no prior formal training in fashion design, she was determined from a young age to work in the fashion industry. At the age of 18, Gaultier began his career as an assistant to Pierre Cardin as his first experience with formal design and structure. He also worked with Jean Patou and Jacques Esterel before launching his own ready-to-wear design in 1976.
The irreverent designer soon earned the label “enfant bad”, regularly flouting the rules of French fashion with her innovative designs and unconventional styles, sparking conversation about culture. She challenged popular notions of gender as she drew on edgy punk and street influences. Gaultier celebrates variety, peppering the runway with large women, men in skirts, the elderly, and folks who are considered unattractive by today’s standards of society. He performed body art long before tattoos became mainstream and sometimes used models he found walking down the street or in bars or coffee shops. Her design sparked conversation about sex, religion, and politics.
In 1990, Gaultier caught the world’s attention when he created his most famous design. Fitted under a structured menswear suit, Madonna rocked a Gaultiers conical bra on stage for her Blonde ambition tour. In 2006 he designed a costume for her Confession tour.
His creative designs are used for costumes in movies, incl The City of the Lost Children And Fifth Element for which she was nominated for a Best Costume Saturn Award. Gaultier also dressed celebrities such as Marilyn Manson, Mylene Farmer, Kylie Minogue and Nicole Kidman.
In 1997, Jean Paul debuted his first high fashion line stating, “We are in a world where a lot of people are staying at home on the Internet, doing nothing. I think the moment now for couture is just right because it’s a little fantasy. It’s special, and only for one customer at a time.” He became one of the first designers to create a line including men’s couture. Many consider its men’s line to be too feminine, but like its women’s line, it designs with gender equality in mind. Her couture inspiration comes from past walks. Couture is mostly considered to be in the realm of the elite and he seeks to honor couture traditions with fabrics that aren’t usually used in couture. In 2000, Jean Paul was awarded the International Award at the American Fashion Awards, presented by the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
Although Gaultier’s designs are sometimes seen as over the top, there isn’t any doubt that his many talents greatly influenced the work of other designers. So when Gaultier recently decided to devote his time to high fashion and its perfume business, the fashion industry knew we were ending an era. Gaultier stated to WWD “For some time, I had found true satisfaction in working on haute couture and it allowed me to express my creativity and taste for research and experimentation” Given commercial constraints and the frenetic pace of collections, Gaultier felt it was working out.” leaving the freedom or time needed to find fresh ideas and innovate.”
Renowned as perhaps the most avant-garde fashion designer of her time, she was not sad to say “goodbye” to ready-to-wear. After all, a man with his talent shouldn’t be tied to the “constraints” of the commercial world of fashion. Imagine what he will create when his creativity can run wild.
