L’enfant Terrible

Jean Peaul Gaultier

“L’ENFANT TERRIBLE” After holding the fashion world in his palm for 50 years, the irreplaceable Jean-Paul Gaultier took his final bow at his show this year. By: Jacob Terrell

The Final Bow Titled “First Upcycling Haute Couture Collection,” Gaultier left a lasting message that stresses the necessity of recycling clothing and brings awareness to the colossal amount of fashion waste produced by big brands with frequent collections. At the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, his fabulous show featured over 200 looks with references from Gaultier’s most memorable designs, including his conical bras and consistently sharp silhouettes. With a combination of sophisticated, theatrical and camp styles, the range of this show is unparalleled to any other show this season. The runway was studded with supermodels as both Hadid sisters, Winnie Harlow and Jourdan Dunn strutted down in Gaultier garments. Even the audience was full of talented fashion designers from his former assistants: Nicholas Ghesquiere of Louis Vuitton and the very elusive Martin Margiela to Christian Lacroix and Dries Van Noten. As always, Gaultier puts the “show” in a fashion show as it was flooded with forms of entertainment from Boy George performing to Coco Rocha dancing an Irish number down the aisle. At one point, supermodel Karlie Kloss opened a custom Gaultier coffin adorned with two of his staple iconic cones that contained Issa Lish dressed in a pearly white tutu dress. Within the looks, Gaultier continued his signature theme of eliminating gender stereotypes. There was a male dressed in a masculine matador jacket who gracefully walked in pointe down the runway which juxtaposes the traditional ideals of sexuality. One of my favorite themes from the show was Gaultier’s deconstruction of the male suit into a body armor suit for women in 5 looks, each one slowly removing the traditional lapels and structure to reveal a sexy, yet empowering suit silhouette. Building Jean-Paul Gaultier Born in France on the April 24th, 1952, the young Gaultier’s interest in fashion was apparent in his elementary years. From rudimentary cloths, Gaultier made bras and corsets for his stuffed teddy bear that served as an early inspiration for future designs, and was featured at his art exhibitions. Eager to pursue a career in fashion, Gaultier sent sketches to many Parisian designers until he was hired to work at the house of Pierre Cardin. Known for his bubble designs and space-age inspired garments, Pierre Cardin introduced Gaultier to the French fashion industry. After Cardin, Gaultier ventured to the extravagant house of Jacques Esterel. Here, Gaultier began developing his signature style and honed his technique. Finally, he went to work for the couture house, Patou from 1971 to 1973. After acquiring his last bit of internship knowledge, Gaultier left Patou and debuted his own couture show in 1976 with financial backing from his lover and business partner, Francis Menuge. In this debut show, Gaultier manipulated the untraditional materials and rather inexpensive fabrics in such a romantic way that even pieces of braided straw matched the high-quality of other couture gown material. L’enfant Terrible After dabbling as assistants for major Parisian designers and debuting his own couture show, it was not until 1982 when Gaultier established his own design house with backing from Kashiyama, a Japanese consortium. Here is where Gaultier unapologetically expressed his now-signature style that refused to adopt the traditional French clothing style and conformed to no guidelines. Gaultier had a punk/street style that was influenced by gender fluidity, which challenged the fashion standard at

For a final time,

Gaultier produced garments that embody campy chic, unconventional innovation, and truly a beautiful way to memorialize his legacy.

the time. Gaultier wanted to create a juxtaposition to erase the concept of gender roles by masculinizing women with pants, and feminizing men with corsets, kilts, and dresses with train. As a result, the young Gaultier earned the nickname “L’enfant Terrible” of fashion. In fact, Gaultier mentioned specifically creating the kilt, or man-skirt, in response to the hypersexualization of male models and wanted to feminize them. Along the course of his design house, Gaultier hired Martin Margiela as a design assistant until he went to produce his own fashion house in 1987. Gaultier also hired former Balenciaga designer (and reviver), Nicholas Ghesquiere of Louis Vuitton to assist him before his departure. In 1996, Gaultier debuted his first haute couture collection where Gaultier’s true passion awakened. The house of Jean-Paul Gaultier is one of the eleven haute couture labels formally accredited by Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture that keeps the authenticity and culture of haute couture alive. After wowing the world with his talent, Hermes hired Gaultier as head womenswear design from 2002 to 2010. Customs a la Gaultier To own any Gaultier garment is an honor, but to have Gaultier custom-make your entire Blond Ambition World Tour in 1990 is a statement that only applies to Madonna. In these designs, Gaultier included his iconic conical bras (once inspired by his teddy bear), and basques. The hard cone bras push femininity to its peak that radiates divine confidence but is also whimsical. These sexy, yet liberating garments blew up and are known as one of Gaultier’s greatest works. His reinterpretation of the sailor uniform, and pulling inspiration from the nautical stripes into his own designs is now a signature of Gaultier. He has dressed A-listers from the likes of Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, and Solange. Along with other customs, Gaultier did costume design for “The Fifth Element” and was Diet Coke’s creative director where he redesigned their bottles. Diversifying his portfolio, Gaultier released iconic perfumes whose design was shaped as bodies: Classique as a woman and Le Male as a man. From world tours to indulgent scenes, Gaultier did it all well.

Legacy Successfully surviving 50 years in the fashion industry is a feat not all can conquer; however, the eccentric Jean-Paul Gaultier did. His unorthodox desire to be himself propelled him forward and helped modernize the industry. In his different collections, Gaultier’s garments are a melting pot of cultures that are seen through his Parisian view. From the nonconformist styles of Geisha to Rabbis and even Bollywood performers, Gaultier reinterpreted these influences to produce fabulous clothing. Original staples to the Gaultier brand are the present-day fashion conversations and challenges including diversity, gender fluidity, and sustainability. Gaultier always cast unique models from elderly, tattooed, hairy and even featured celebrities. He stressed the importance of inclusivity within his brand and stood by it. For his lifelong contributions to the fashion world and accompanying overarching messages, Jean-Paul Gaultier will be tremendously missed. The Haute Couture house of JeanPaul Gaultier is still continuing, however! From now on, Gaultier is appointing a designer to interpret the codes of his house. The first designer is Chitose Abe of Sacai who has experience with Commes des Garçons and Junya Watanabe. With this modern concept, Gaultier is still paving the way towards a new fashion world even from retirement.