Fashion File - Jean Paul Gaultier

Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture - Spring/Summer 2007

It's not often that the fashion faithful are rewarded with a truly religious experience, but such was the case at Jean Paul Gaultier's couture collection for spring summer 2007. Known for dressing Madonna - Gaultier traded in the material girl for the original. With starburst halos in a range of saintly motifs and clothing framed in Christian iconography, this was a show that inspired pure devotion.

Jean Paul Gaultier - Spring/Summer 2007

Paris’s enfant terrible has been plying his trade for 30 years now and if his latest collection is anything to go by, he has more energy than ever.

Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture - Fall/Winter 2006

Jean Paul Gaultier’s Haute Couture collection for Fall/Winter 2006 was a fantastical mixture of the real and surreal. Referencing the works of Cocteau, Schiaparelli and Dali, Gaultier played with this dream-like notion cleverly. His cheekiness has blossomed into a chic approach to couture. He always takes you on a ride, by going in one direction and then changing gears when you least expect it.

Jean Paul Gaultier - Fall/Winter 2006

Fashion’s bad boy is at it again. Jean Paul Gaultier
has made his reputation on doing his own thing. In a
season noted for its somber outlook, Gaultier is
punching up the fantasy factor for Fall. He’s offering new proportions, like egg and balloonshapes. And he never misses a moment to throw in his own sense of humour and a few four-legged friends too.

Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture - Spring/Summer 2006

Madonna was Jean Paul Gaultier’s muse during the 80’s and 90’s. When she showed up at the designer’s Haute Couture show for Spring Summer 2006, the speculation began: would she be walking in the show, as she had done for him in the past? Will she be wearing Gaultier-designed costumes on her upcoming tour as she had on her Blonde Ambition tour? To find out the answers to these and other burning questions, click here.

Jean Paul Gaultier - Spring/Summer 2006

There’s no designer who does decadent French sophistication quite like Jean-Paul Gaultier, but this season, he’s celebrating country folk dressing in their Sunday best. It’s all très bucolique.

Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture - Fall/Winter 2005

The richness of Russian culture is a key trend from fall’s ready to wear collections, but Jean Paul Gaultier’s couture treatment of the Ukraine’s classic costumes show an lovely balance of ethnic exuberance and the refined elegance of his atelier.

Jean Paul Gaultier - Fall/Winter 2005

Jean Paul Gaultier's fall show was laced with glam rock styling in the spirit of David Bowie and Mick Jagger during the 70’s. But take away the turquoise glitter eye shadow and monkey fur trimmed coats to reveal classic designs from the 30s & 40s.

Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture - Spring/Summer 2005

The spirit of Africa has been following Gaultier for several seasons. As recently as a year ago, he drew on her cultures for inspiration, and he rarely shows anything without a little ethnic flair. This season, however, he has been working to temper the embellishment with the polish of haute couture.

Jean Paul Gaultier - Spring/Summer 2005

Jean Paul Gaultier has a new atelier, which he filled with fashion followers this season to show his latest variation of the gypsy. A frequent Gaultier muse, in his hands, she is the perfect mix of urban sophistication and an enviable free will.

Jean Paul Gaultier - Fall/Winter 2004

Jean Paul Gaultier has a long history of breaking fashion conventions, particularly when it comes to his shows. In the past, he has turned to old friends, unusual-looking models, and a sprinkling of the top girls. This season, however, he’s done away with models altogether,… or has he?

Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture - Spring/Summer 2004

Jean Paul Gaultier took his audience on a journey to the land of the last Samurai at his Haute Couture show for Spring 2004. What did that entail? How did it all work out? Watch the segment to find out, honourable fashion warrior!

Jean Paul Gaultier - Spring/Summer 2004

Jean Paul Gaultier clearly caught the body conscious fever for spring. Just look at his latest collection which is laced with corsets, girdles and garter belts.

Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture - Fall/Winter 2003

The theme of Jean Paul Gaultier’s new couture collection is ‘morphology’ and it’s all about ‘shapeshifting’ - the changing of one thing to another. It’s much too tough to describe with mere words, though. Have a look at how he ‘shapeshifts’ all of his models – one of whom, incidentally, is the fresh-out-of-retirement supermodel Linda Evangelista.

Jean Paul Gaultier - Fall/Winter 2003

From the base of the catwalk to the tips of the models’ heads, Jean Paul Gaultier toyed with infantile dressing for his fall/winter 2003 collections. Dolls held up the glass catwalk while models romped the runway in knitted booties, frilly panties, smocked tops and Peter Pan collars. It is a whole new look for the young at heart.

Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture - Spring/Summer 2003

Jean-Paul Gaultier’s Spring 2003 Haute Couture collection demonstrates perfectly why the ex-bad boy of French fashion is the undisputed heir to the recently retired master Yves Saint Laurent’s couture crown . Gaultier’s mix of themes, produced a subversively chic show that sent even those hardened show biz celebs into ecstasy. Gaultier tapped into surreal fantasy through the use of surprise shirts and jackets which hung on hidden hangers, in front, as in a vaudeville show. And his inventive imagination mixed Degas’ ballerinas with little ethereal mermaids.

Jean Paul Gaultier - Spring/Summer 2003

Jean Paul Gaultier created his own magical wonderland this season. Models decked out in exquisite 19th century hats, soft draping and Asian inspired wraps looked like they had stepped right out of a fairy tale. This sweetly surreal story all unfolded against a backdrop of swinging acrobats.

Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture - Fall/Winter 2002

To the naysayers that believe haute couture is a doomed institution, Jean Paul Gaultier says NON! Mixing two seemingly disparate reference points - the Austro-Hungarian empire and the Gay Hazars - Gaultier used his Fall 2002 haute couture collection as a showcase for his formidable skills and creativity.

Jean Paul Gaultier - Fall/Winter 2002

With this collection Jean Paul Gaultier seemed to be celebrating the art of invention and re-invention. Like a remix of his career, he referenced his own innovations but rendered them new and modern with ingenious touches of the imagination. The joy in this collection was the element of surprise Gaultier managed to achieve by the wrapping and unwrapping of his models as they added or subtracted items of clothing from the rotating hangers that spun around them. Illusions were made rather than broken as layers of clothing were shed, bringing the audience, and ultimately the customer, that much closer to Gaultier's creative process.

Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture - Spring/Summer 2002

The uncrowned king of Parisian Haute Couture Jean Paul Gaultier dedicated his spring/summer collection to the streets of Paris. Playing with masculinity, femininity and a patchwork of ties, Gaultier proved that he's a force to be reckoned with in the world of haute couture.

Jean Paul Gaultier - Spring/Summer 2002

Throughout his career, Jean Paul Gaultier has always been all about PLU - Peace, Love and Understanding. His Spring 2002 collection, which was based around a central theme of buddhism, took on a special meaning when it was presented less than a month after the September 11th terror attacks.