Jean-Paul Gaultier

Jean Paul Gaultier (; born 24 June 1952)

As a costume designer, Gaultier created Madonna's cone bra for the 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour, and the costumes for the movies The City of Lost Children (1995), The Fifth Element (1997), Bad Education (2004) and The Skin I Live In (2011).

Early life Gaultier grew up in a suburb of Paris. His mother was a clerk and his father an accountant. It was his maternal grandmother, Marie Garrabe, who introduced him to the world of fashion.

He never received formal training as a designer. Instead, he began to send sketches to famous couture stylists at an early age. Pierre Cardin was impressed by his talent and hired him as an assistant in 1970.

Career Fashion career

Gaultier's first individual collection was released in 1976. In 1980, he designed women's dresses out of plastic rubbish bags. Gaultier founded his eponymous fashion label in 1982. His garments were on sale at Bergdorf Goodman in New York as soon as 1984, and already lauded by Dawn Mello and Polly Allen Mellen. The term "Gaultiered" was coined to describe the classic pieces that were reinterpreted by the designer. During the 1984 Fall London and Paris shows, Jean Paul Gaultier introduced his line of skirts for men (actually kilts), a breakthrough in men's fashion that stirred a bit of controversy. In 1984, he also introduced the iconic women's corset with cone bra. Gaultier has also worked in close collaboration with Wolford Hosiery.

By 1985, his company made $50 million in sales worldwide. For the premiere of the 1985 movie Desperately Seeking Susan, Madonna wore a skirt with men's suspenders she had bought from Gaultier. The Junior Gaultier outfit was selected by Jeff Banks as the Dress of the Year. In 1988, he also recorded the music video How to do that. At the end of the 1980s he invented a new look for the French accordionist Yvette Horner which relaunched her career. In 1989, he was tailoring a costume for Prince when the singer walked away, offended, thinking Gaultier had told him "fuck you" where the couturier with a heavy French accent had said "faux cul" (false bottom).

At the end of the 1980s, Gaultier suffered some personal losses, and in 1990 his boyfriend and business partner, Francis Menuge, died of AIDS-related causes.

Gaultier launched a line of fragrances (Classique) in 1993. In 2002, Gaultier's label opened its first fully-fledged stand-alone store. Then, from 2003 to 2010, Gaultier was the creative director of Hermès where he succeeded Martin Margiela. Hermès later increased its stake in Jean Paul Gaultier to 45%. He also designed some furniture for the French furniture brand Roche Bobois and an Evian bottle in 2008. Gaultier's spring 2009 couture was influenced by the visual style of singer Klaus Nomi, and he used Nomi's recording of "Cold Song" in his runway show.

In 2011, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in collaboration with the Maison Jean Paul Gaultier organized a retrospective exhibit, "The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk." That exhibit is on tour with venues at the Swedish Centre for Architecture and Design (Arkitektur- och designcentrum, ArkDes) in Stockholm, the Brooklyn Museum in New York City, the Barbican Centre in London, the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, and the Grand Palais in Paris. The exhibition in Paris, which took place from April to August 2015, was the subject of a documentary called Jean Paul Gaultier at the Grand Palais aired exclusively on Eurochannel. In 2012, he participated in the Cali ExpoShow in Cali (Colombia), showing his extensive collection of perfumes and all classic clothes.

Up until 2014, he designed for three collections: his own couture and ready-to-wear lines, for both men and women. At the spring/summer 2015 show he announced that he was closing the ready-to-wear labels to focus on haute couture. In 2016, he designed more than 500 costumes for the revue THE ONE Grand Show at Friedrichstadt-Palast Berlin.

In 2018, he staged a cabaret show that was loosely based on his life called "Fashion Freak Show" which took place at the Folies Bergere theater in Paris. In 2019, Gaultier collaborated with the New York streetwear brand Supreme.

He announced on 17 January 2020 that his next Paris haute couture fashion show would be his last and that he was retiring from the runway.

Music and television

In 1988, Gaultier released a dance single titled "How To Do That" on Fontana Records, from which came one of the first ever "single title" remix albums, Aow Tou Dou Zat, on Mercury Records. The album includes mixes by Norman Cook, J. J. Jeczalik, George Shilling, Mark Saunders, Latin Rascals, David Dorrell, Tim Atkins, Carl Atkins, and Kurtis Mantronik. It was co-written and produced by Tony Mansfield, and video directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino. The album also featured a collaboration with accordion player Yvette Horner.

Gaultier is known as Eurovision enthusiast, and since 1991, he's dressed several of France's entrants. For the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, he dressed Greek entrant Anna Vissi, where she performed on homesoil. He commentated on the final of the 2008 contest with Julien Lepers on France Télévisions. He designed the dress that Anggun wore as she represented France during the grand-finals of the 2012 edition held in Baku, Azerbaijan. In Eurovision Song Contest 2013 he dressed the host Petra Mede.

Starting in 1993, he co-hosted the Channel 4 programme Eurotrash with Antoine de Caunes. Gaultier hosted the show until 1997.

In 2022, he appeared with Iris Mittenaere as a guest judge on Drag Race France.

Products

+TypeBrandsFashion labelsJean Paul GaultierGaultier PARIS (couture collection)former JEAN'S Paul Gaultierformer Eyewear Jean Paul Gaultierformer Jean Paul Gaultier ArgentFragranceWomenClassique (1993) -List of flanker fragrancesFragile (2000)Fragile Eau de Toilette (2001)Ma Dame (2008)Ma Dame Eau Fraiche (2009)Ma Dame Rose 'n Roll (2009)Ma Dame Eau de Parfum (2010)Ma Dame Eau Fraiche Summer 2010; Ma Dame It (2011)Scandal (2017)Scandal by Night (2018)Scandal a Paris (2019)So Scandal! (2020)MenLe Male (1995) - List of flanker fragrancesMonsieur (2008)Kokorico (2011)Kokorico by Night (2012)Scandal Pour Homme (2021)UnisexGaultier² (2005)Gaultier² Eau d'Amour (2008) Jean Paul Gaultier fragrances have been licensed by Puig since 1 January 2016, and were previously licensed by Shiseido subsidiary Beauté Prestige International from 1991 through 31 December 2015. The BPI license was originally negotiated through 30 June 2016; however, Puig acquired the license for $79.2 million and paid $22.6 million for the early termination of the license. With this purchase, Puig now holds control of both the fashion and fragrance divisions of the Jean Paul Gaultier brand. The 1993 women's oriental floral Classique and the 1995 men's oriental fougere Le Male have been described by the brand as "flagship" products that "represent all the Jean Paul Gaultier values". Le Male was the top-selling men's fragrance in the European Union in 2012, and holds a strong market position in Australia and the United States.

, the Classique, Le Male, and Scandal lines are in production.

Style Jean Paul Gaultier's characteristic irreverent style dating from 1981 has led to his being known as the enfant terrible of French fashion.

Many of Gaultier's subsequent collections have been based on street wear, focusing on popular culture, whereas others, particularly his haute couture collections, are very formal, yet at the same time unusual and playful. Jean Paul Gaultier says he is inspired by the baby boomers' TV culture,

The advent of his haute couture line brought him massive success in 1997. Through this collection, he was able to freely express the scope and range of his aesthetic, drawing inspiration from radically divergent cultures, from Imperial India to Hasidic Judaism.

Gaultier caused shock by using unconventional models for his exhibitions, like older men and fat women, pierced and heavily tattooed models, and by playing with traditional gender roles in the shows. This earned him both criticism and enormous popularity.

Notable designs Madonna: Gaultier produced sculptured costumes during the nineties, starting with her infamous cone bra for her 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour, the wardrobe for her 2006 Confessions Tour, the corset worn during the 2012 MDNA Tour, and one worn during the 2023 Celebration Tour. Björk: The Icelandic artist modeled for him in 1994, and appeared on this occasion in Robert Altman's film Prêt à Porter. Marilyn Manson: Gaultier has designed some of the costumes and outfits, including for The Golden Age of Grotesque album. Mylène Farmer: In spring 2008 he signed a contract to be the fashion designer for her tour in 2009. Kerry Washington: Dress worn at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. Marion Cotillard: He designed the white and silver mermaid dress she wore at the 80th Academy Awards in 2008 (Oscar for her performance in La Vie en Rose). Lady Gaga: VMAs red carpet in 2009. Beyoncé: In the "Run The World (Girls)" music video in 2011. Kylie Minogue: He designed the costumes for the international KylieX2008 tour. Leslie Cheung: Gaultier designed eight costumes for his last concert tour in 2000. Nik Thakkar: Gaultier created a digital first working with the artist and activist in 2013. Tupac Shakur: Wore a leather utility vest designed by Gaultier for the cover shot of "All Eyez on Me" (1996). Kim Kardashian: Grammys red carpet in 2015. Katy Perry: Vanity Fair after-party in early 2017. Solange Knowles: 2017 Glamour Women of the Year Awards in New York City.

Gallery

Filmography alt=In 2012, Gaultier was a member of the jury for the main competition at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, the first time a fashion designer was called to sit on a jury at the festival.

In 2024, he announced the production and imminent launch of his first feature animation film.

Actor

Costume designer