Jean Paul Gaultier Fashion Retrospective 2015

An enfant terrible means literally, “terrible child.” An enfant terrible in less literal terms refers to a young and successful person who is sometimes shocking and does things in a way that is very different from normal. The enfant terrible of fashion, as Jean Paul Gaultier was nicknamed by the press when he first began his career in the 1970s, refers to the boldness and inventiveness of his avant-garde fashion.  

The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk was an exhibition of Jean Paul Gaultier’s haute couture and prêt-à-porter ensembles designed between 1970 and 2013. The exhibition was organized by the Musée des beaux-arts de Montreal and the Réunion des musées nationaux-Grand Palais in collaboration with the Maison Jean Paul Gaultier, Paris. Before reaching Paris, its tenth stop on an international tour, the exhibition was seen in Montreal, Dallas, San Francisco, Madrid, Rotterdam, Stockholm, Brooklyn, London and Australia. 

An entrance to the Grand Palais for the Jean Paul Gaultier fashion retrospective

One of two quadrigas (a chariot drawn by 4 horses) mounted above the Grand Palais. This quadriga, on the Champs-Elysées side, is titled “Immortality Outstripping Time” by Georges Récipon. The Grand Palais was built for the 1900 Universal Exposition (World’s Fair) and continues to be the premier venue for world-class exhibitions in Paris.

Charles de Gaulle 

In 2000, thirty years after his death, De Gaulle was immortalized by a monumental bronze statue across from the Grand Palais, and close-by the Métro Champs-Elysées Clemenceau. The striding pose of the statue, standing 25 feet above the Champs-Elysées,  recalls the general marching down the Champs-Elysées and leading French troops into Paris after the German retreat. The words inscribed on the base of the statue are, “Paris outraged, Paris crushed, Paris martyred, but Paris liberated”

In the exhibit, which ran from April 1 to August 3, 2015, in the Grand Palais in Paris, there were more than 300 ready-to-wear and haute couture pieces displayed by theme. It took 100 people working for 2 years to mount this exhibit, using 182 mannequins.Each of the seven galleries of Gaultier’s fashions had a different theme. 

THE ODYSSEY

After an introductory exhibit, “The Odyssey” gallery dealt with fashions related to recurring figures in Jean Paul Gaultier’s collections, that of the sailor and the siren. In keeping with the maritime theme, the only lighting in the whole gallery was a striking blue, which gave the room a surrealistic quality. For the first time in an exhibition, mannequins (30 of them) had animated faces, made possible by innovative technology.

In Gaultier’s own words: “I have always loved the graphic, architectural appearance of stripes. My mother used to dress me in marine sweaters, as they go with everything.”

A sailor-striped sweater silk knit gown extending into a skirt with ostrich feathers arranged in stripes

The “Bal de Sirenes” gown from the “Mermaids” collection 

A siren is a woman whose singing lured unwary sailors onto rocks, and in this photo, the siren’s eyes are closed.

Siren, eyes open 

At first, I couldn’t decide if this was a real person or a mannequin. Her face was not a typical mannequin’s face, and her positioning was very lifelike.

A mermaid-inspired gown 

A handicapped siren of the sea with one of Gaultier’s cone bras

A jump suit done in gold fish scales

The mannequin in the middle has on a white lace design combining a halo and mask similar to bondage-wear. Kylie Minogue, an Australian pop singer, wore this design during her worldwide tour.

A close-up of the mask and halo

Sirens of the sea

PUNK CANCAN

The next gallery was “Punk Cancan.” Gaultier’s fashions combined Parisian elegance with the mixture of British tradition and avant-garde non-conformism. The mannequins were mounted on a long, narrow moving platform, so viewers saw them as if they were on a runway or catwalk. Along one side of the runway were fashionable ladies viewing the runway show, and on the other side of the platform were the British-influenced punk designs.

Eiffel Tower gown

Pink dress with black net coat. Very wearable for any fashionista 

Cancan front

Surprise, cancan back

Parisian street walker chic

In 1985 Gaultier introduced man-skirts and promoted their use, especially kilts in men's wardrobe. 

A tuxedo with a man-skirt

Half tuxedo, half cancan

Watchers admiring fashions on the catwalk

I wish I could wear this gown--if only I had some place to wear it! 

A punk-inspired gown

The redingote

Punk kilts

MUSES

In the “Muses” gallery, Gaultier’s fashions illustrate his attraction to unconventional beauties, no matter the build, skin color, age, gender or sexual orientation.

 One of Gaultier’s multi-ethnic fashions

A man’s redingote over vinyl trousers with top hat 

Gaultier produced sculptured costumes for Madonna  during the nineties, starting with her infamous cone bra for her 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour. 

Gaultier on Madonna: “Madonna represents the essence of the American dream, American professionalism, American perfection, American obsession, and American business ambition. But she’s open to the whole world.”

The exhibit continued up the steps to the next floor. 

“Muses” continued on the next floor

A redingote outfit

SALON

As a little boy, Gaultier’s maternal grandmother introduced him at a very young age to women’s fashion. He was fascinated by the old-fashioned charm of corsets. Brought up by strong women, Gaultier does not subscribe to the myth of the weaker sex. He  reinterprets corsets, in earlier times symbols of the incarcerated female body, as an emblem of women’s liberation and sexual power.

A corset gown

A corset torso with tulle bell bottoms

In the middle of the photo is a bustier-style dress made of grass that is woven to resemble feathers. (These corsets revolved.)

A corset gown with train tacked to the wall

A demure corset dress

This looks like it was designed for one of Gaultier's muses, Marion Cotillard, but that is only my guess.

METROPOLIS

In the “Metropolis” gallery, the world of futuristic fashion meets entertainment fields--film, television, music and dance. Gautier created many costumes for films, contemporary dance companies and international pop stars such as Boy George, Tina Turner and Lady Gaga. 

Futuristic fashion on a flashy background

The mannequin has on a bodysuit and long tutu of flesh-colored, pleated tulle.

A traveling outfit with newsboy cap, embroidered torso and pleated bell bottom trousers

Futuristic costumes on a shiny background

A short bolero jacket adorned with parrot plumes over a black body suit

URBAN JUNGLE

The “Urban Jungle” was the last gallery of the exhibition. Gautier created fashion hybrids, halfway between the urban and the wild, between tradition and modernity, between the crude and the refined. Gaultier’s superbly crafted and detailed garments are inspired by the beauty and diversity of global cultures.

The third gown from the left is haute couture “Camouflage” with khaki, cinnamon and papaya tulle ruffles 

Gaultier used nontraditional  fabrics and juxtaposed elements of different fashion trends. 

An ethnic mix of fashions

A leopard-lined evening gown

An Indian-influenced wedding gown

The groom’s gauzy wedding wear

Jean Paul Gaultier

By the end of the show, I was on sensory overload--the glitz and glamour as well as the sheer number of Gaultier’s fashions had become overwhelming. Nevertheless, I thought it was a fantastic exhibition of  a fearless and unconventional fashion designer; furthermore, I felt that I knew a little bit about the man from the way he expressed himself in fashion.