The one time I saw Jean-Paul Gaultier in the flesh was about three years ago in a queue for the Eurostar baggage hold in Gare du Nord. I was overwhelmed by his physical presence and the mundane activity we were both sharing. There was nothing incognito about his look — he was decked in a huge fur coat while waiting patiently to store his bag. Not a single person, aside from myself, was gawping at him. This was a man I had admired for years, the man who convinced Madonna to walk down the catwalk topless, whose beautiful clothes I longed for when I could only afford the magazine pages on which they were printed. In spite of maintaining a surprisingly low personal profile, the French designer has dominated the runway for over 42 years. Fashion’s original enfant terrible, his playful approach to design has always set him apart from the pack, allowing him to forge new creative paths that have been as much a cause for celebration as they have for controversy. His first show in 1976 was the result of many favours, dodgy market materials and the little cash Gaultier had to his name, but this seemingly haphazard, DIY introduction to dressmaking and showmanship put the designer in good stead for a career where his relentless passion has proven key to overcoming the odds.
Experimentation has been central to Gaultier’s enduring success — he has proven himself a true innovator of his craft as well as in methods of presentation. Gaultier has never been a designer to compromise his vision, instead he’s been a trailblazer for change in the industry, setting countless fashion firsts. Here, on his 66th birthday, we chart six of his many forward-thinking feats, from championing diversity to rejecting the fashion cycle.
Being too cool for school
The fashion industry is a dog-eat-dog world from the second you step your foot on the ladder — and while school days might be the time of many people’s lives, in fashion, they can also make or break your future. Higher education fees, the cost of living, not to mention rigorous interview processes and gruelling tutorials, are all part and parcel of the fashion design journey, but not for Gaultier. The renegade designer never received any formal fashion training, instead sending his fashion sketches straight to the most famous couture houses in Paris. These caught the attention of legendary ’60s designer, Pierre Cardin, who took Gaultier under his wing. Under Cardin’s mentorship, the young designer quickly perfected his craft, and went on to work under two other notable couturiers, Jacques Esterel and Jean Patou. His first solo show, in 1976, comprised a collection of hastily made ballerina tutus, paired with leather jackets and trainers. Martin Margiela, who was just a student at the time, told Vogue of the show, “I was seized by an excitement I had never felt before.” In 1985, Gaultier would make Margiela his assistant, the Belgian designer going on to found his own house two years later.
Rejecting the fashion cycle
The frequency of fashion shows has long been a hot topic, with designers pushed to their limits to produce more and more clothing in less and less time. Smaller labels are at the mercy of the fashion week schedule and anyone seen lagging behind is forgotten by the media in place of the next “one-to-watch”. SS15 marked the end of an era for Jean-Paul Gaultier’s ready-to-wear days, allowing the designer to focus on his real passion: couture. By showing only twice a year (just like the good old days), Gaultier has been able to regain control of his brand, proving that there is value in quality over quantity. In the years since, other designers have followed suit in an effort to fight fashion burnout. Vetements has altered the way it shows collections, while Gosha Rubchinskiy has abandoned the schedule all together. The decision by a title weight brand such as Gaultier’s to cut back on its collections, served as the first push-back against the impossible industry standards.
Championing diversity and inclusivity
It’s hard to believe that certain designers are still struggling to create inclusive runways. Gaultier, on the other hand, has been championing diversity for decades. For his SS91 show, the designer sent a troupe of men and women down the runway – old and young, black and white – down the catwalk, including New York ballroom stars José Overall Father Xtravaganza and Kevin Stea. The models walked arm in arm, some dancing, others swapping clothing, in a true celebration of style that ended with Gaultier running out to give Madonna a kiss in the front row. His shows since have seen him cast heavily tattooed models, trans models, models of colour and plus size models; he even designed a very special pair of JPG crutches for Coco Rocha for his Spring Couture 2008 show. For Gaultier, inclusion and diversity are integral to his design philosophy; his clothes are fun, fabulous and made for everyone.
Lending his talents to the silver screen
Designers have a long history of dressing celebrities both on and off screen, but as Hollywood expanded and film production soared, the trend became a red carpet affair. Miuccia Prada caused quite a stir when it was revealed she would design the costumes for Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 remake of The Great Gatsby. While Prada’s costumes were spectacular, they were only worn by main cast members, and the film felt disjointed, with clothing becoming a divisive way of singling out Hollywood talent from lesser-paid extras. But when Gaultier first lent his talents to the silver screen for Peter Greenaway’s The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989), each character looked as darkly glamorous as the next. His pièce de résistance, however, was Luc Besson’s cult classic The Fifth Element, where Gaultier decked out a cast of cyborgs, aliens and a muscular Bruce Willis in an all-out sci-fi spectacle. His futuristic fashions were a heady mix of kitsch and camp with a bare-all attitude – particularly in the case of Milla Jovovich’s character, Leeloo Dallas.
Flying the flag for genderless fashion
Gaultier’s fearless attitude has set the standard for the gender neutral fashion phenomenon we see today. With no formal training, Gaultier was able to break from fashion convention, influenced by the street, the club scene and Paris culture in the late ’70s and ’80s. The subcultural penchant for androgyny was something that Gaultier took to its sartorial limits, sending “macho” muscle men down the runway in beautiful floor-length silk skirts — something that’s become a staple of his career. He’s also responsible for dressing women in oversized power suits, famously asking, “what is masculine and feminine anyway?” Amen JPG. The new generation of brands such as Charles Jeffrey, Hood by Air and Palomo all have Gaultier to credit for paving the way for greater fluidity in the fashion world.
Taking cues from fashion history long before Gucci
Alessandro Michele has made waves at Gucci with his historically influenced designs and “culture clash” approach to styling his runway looks. But garments that draw on bygone eras are ancient history by Gaultier standards: the designer has been creating classically inspired garments since he first started out. His most notable throwback is the corset, which has become synonymous with the brand — especially as sported by JPG’s enduring muse, Madonna. The famously constricting garment was given an ultra-modern revival by the designer, who proclaimed that underwear could now be outerwear. He manipulated the proportions to give the female figure a distinctly pointed 1950s shape, which he has continued to riff on with increasingly acute styles and fabrics. For SS95, Gaultier presented a collection that paid tribute to the kind of bricolage styling that Gucci has now come to embody. Victorian lace was left sheer on the body and paired with turn-of-the-century-style fetish footwear; Edwardian style silk blouses were teamed with pinstripe harem pants, and 1930s evening gowns, made from plastic sheeting, were worn with plastic market stall beads. By mixing fantastical elements of the past with the gritty reality of the present, Gaultier helped to shape the future of fashion in a pre-millennial age, and for that we should be eternally grateful.