After 50 years in fashion, legendary designer Jean-Paul Gaultier has retired. The designer announced his retirement via Instagram on January 17 , in which he said that his couture show during Paris Fashion Week would be his last. Goodbye, the brand-new; hello, the brand old. What I did at the beginning with no resources, I do today with my inheritance to give life to new creations. Over the course of his career, he became known as the " enfant terrible " or, in other words, the "bad boy" of fashion.
He caught international attention after designing over costumes for Madonna's Blond Ambition Tour, including a pink corset which she wore over men's trousers. Gaultier was also known for his lingerie-inspired designs and pushing gender norms. Keep reading to learn more about one of the most notable haute couture designers in fashion history. His final show commemorated his 50th anniversary in the fashion industry.
A post on the couture legend's Instagram read: "This show celebrating 50 years of Jean Paul Gaultier's career, will also be his last. But rest assured, Haute Couture will continue with a new concept. In an interview with The New Yorker , Gaultier described his home life as "modest. He was an only child. Source: Biography. He said that his grandmother was more "interesting" than his mother, and was someone whom he always admired.
According to Gaultier's profile in The New Yorker, his grandmother provided wellness counselling to the locals, and let him sit in on the sessions. Specifically, toward the women who were facing relationship problems, she would tell them to try and spice up their wardrobe, introducing Gaultier to the potential power fashion could have — especially in its ability to shape, form, and repair relationships.
Gaultier would draw before and after photos of the women, showing what they looked like when they came in and then what they looked like after they took the advice.
From his grandmother, Gaultier also was introduced to corsets — something that would come in handy when he would start to design some of Madonna's most iconic looks in the s. Source: New Yorker. One of the designers he sent his work to, Italian fashion designer, Pierre Cardin, loved the sketches that the young Gaultier did.
As result, when Gaultier was just 18 years old, in , he left high school early to work as a studio assistant to Cardin. Gaultier told the New Yorker that one of the best about working with Patou was that it matched his expectations of working in fashion. He also told the outlet that the film " Falbalas " by Jacques Becker made him want to go into fashion. The film provided a detailed look at the fashion industry of the time, and shaped Gaultier's ideas of what that world would be like.
He told the New Yorker that his boyfriend a the time, Francis Menuge, was the one who encouraged him to start his own line, something he did two years later. According to Vogue Australia, Gaultier began to dress the first lady of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos, who was known for her style and spending. The outlet said that the young designer was so popular in the country that he had trouble obtaining an exit visa from the government.
He used his own money, and the money of his friends and family to help fund the collection, as reported by the New Yorker. His cousin helped knit sweaters, the concierge of his apartment sewed, and Menuge designed the accessories and handled business arrangements. There were nine journalists at his first show.
In his first collection, he became the first person to mix motorcycle jackets with dresses, putting a model in a tulle skirt, which created a look that has now become one of his most famous.
His work became so popular that, within two years, his pieces were sold in some of the most popular boutiques in Paris. Rather than focusing on luxury and opulence, his work was about what he saw on the streets around him. Throughout his earlier years, he was known as the enfant terrible a French expression which roughly translates to being an "unruly child" in English.
In , he released a collection designed around the idea of " throwaway beauty. To open his fashion house, he received an investment from Japanese company Kashiyama. Source: The New Yorker. He was known for wearing kilts with Breton striped sweaters and for having runway shows with spectacle. He was known for using a diverse set of models to show his work, the most notable being Farida Khelfa who, at the time, became one of the first models of North African decent to have prominence in the fashion industry, as reported by the New Yorker.
A year prior, he designed a collection of skirts for men, further pushing the boundaries of what was deemed "traditional" at the time in the fashion industry.
So I thought, why not? In , Gaultier hired Martin Margiela as a design assistant. Margiela stayed until , when he expressed interests in opening his own line. Margiela went on to open Maison Margiela , one of the most famous French fashion houses of the modern era. Gaultier called Margiela one of the best assistants he's ever had. Source: I-D. The two had been mutual fans of one another's work. Gaultier loved her music, and Madonna had previously worn one of his outfits to the American Music Awards.
Only a few years before they met, Gaultier was working on corset dresses. As a child, he once made a bra for one of his stuffed bears. Corsets and lingerie had always been an inspiration for the designer, now Madonna would put his ambition to the test.
Gaultier's designs received acclaim and launched the designer into the international fashion spotlight. Having used unconventional models, Jean Paul Gaultier has repeatedly shocked audiences.
With his collections constantly pushing the boundaries of androgyny, Gaultier continues to mix the sexes, playing with the traditional gender roles. Opposing his styles; masculine and feminine, tailoring and sports casual, tradition and modernism, Gaultier once claimed he never intended to shock.
A contemporary master, Jean Paul Gaultier is a king of Parisian couture. Saxony Dudbridge was one of the first contributors to the Catwalk Yourself project, Saxony studies International Fashion Marketing and she is responsible for our great History and Designers Biographies sections. Your email address will not be published. Jean Paul Gaultier. Written by Saxony Dudbridge Saxony Dudbridge was one of the first contributors to the Catwalk Yourself project, Saxony studies International Fashion Marketing and she is responsible for our great History and Designers Biographies sections.
Around this time, Gaultier was also influenced by the work of Yves Saint Laurent. Gaultier eventually returned to Cardin, before working as a designer in the Philippines. In , Gaultier established his own fashion label and held his first runway show in Paris. He opened his business with the assistance of his significant other, Francis Menuge, and together they helped establish the Jean Paul Gaultier brand.
Gaultier received later financial backing from Kashiyama, a Japanese clothing company. Before long, Gaultier became known as the bad boy of the fashion world. He challenged popular notions of gender and drew from edgy street and punk influences. One early look he created for women involved mixing a tough leather jacket with a crinoline skirt with sneakers. Gaultier put undergarments front center with his corset dresses, which debuted in Two years later unveiled his skirts for men, another effort by the designer to subvert gender stereotypes.
He also defied expectations with his runway shows, developing a reputation for over-the-top spectacles. Often wearing his trademark kilt and Breton striped-sweater, Gaultier quickly became one of fashion's most high-profile figures. Gaultier didn't succumb to the setback, though. That same year he created one of his signature looks that the same year as the costume designer for Madonna's Blond Ambition Tour. She appeared on stage wearing a cone-shaped bra under a men's style suit with strategic slashes in the front.
The cone bra, which seemed to be a fusion of antique and futuristic lingerie, earned Gaultier new levels of attention from the fashion world.
A few years later, Gaultier launched his first perfume and hosted his own television show Eurotrash.
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