As French fashion’s enfant terrible moves into the next stage of his life, he talks with Bazaar Arabia about the past, present and future of his legacy
Spending time with Jean Paul Gaultier is an exercise in understanding the mind of a creative genius.
It’s a mental sprint to keep up, you’ll break a sweat, and you don’t realise how fast you’re going until you stop – simply because he has so much to share. Stories about his greatest influences, his most famous collections and the celebrities that brought it all to life, combined with endless anecdotes about his best-loved pieces – the ones that continue to inspire generations of creatives to come.
The 70-year-old French fashion designer has donned many chapeaux throughout his lifetime – from television presenter and costume designer to creative director at Hermès; but despite stepping down from his eponymous high-fashion label back in 2020, after 50 years in the industry, he doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. Retirement for Jean Paul looks very different, especially so when compared to the average resident of Palm Beach, Florida.
This past spring, a selection of his work travelled to Dubai for the Jean Paul Gaultier A to Z exhibition at Expo 2020, one of the last attractions housed at the French Pavilion before the world fair ended on March 31st. It included notable pieces such as The Butterfly corset, modelled by burlesque performer Dita Von Teese in his spring/summer 2014 haute couture show, and dresses worn by the likes of Sarah Jessica Parker, Nicole Kidman and Spanish model Georgina Rodríguez. A visual story of his life’s work, visitors could wander through a carefully curated journey as they experienced the metamorphosis of Jean Paul Gaultier – or, as the designer described it, a little “aperçu [look] of what I did.”
“I have maybe 500 more somewhere else,” he says, laughing. It’s clearly a conservative estimate. Does he have a favourite? It would only seem natural to reference a piece made famous by an award-winning performer or, perhaps, one that has made a red-carpet appearance at the Oscars, but no. Jean Paul points to a puffy bustier dress in fuchsia, paired with a matching handbag and bonnet-like headpiece – his interpretation of a vintage home-beauty ritual which has collided with glamour on-the-go.
“That one is funny, because it was… the story of my grandmother and when she was having to dry her hair,” he says, gesturing towards the zany turban on the mannequin’s head connected to what appears to be a hair blow-dryer. “It was a kind of system, so… [here] it’s matching with the dress, you know? Which is quite ironic.”
Silhouettes Jean Paul first introduced to the mainstream decades ago – most notably the cone bra, worn by Madonna during her Blond Ambition tour – have re-emerged in the past year, as young designers like Christopher John Rogers and Schiaparelli’s Daniel Roseberry take a page from Gaultier’s playbook, looking to one of pop culture’s most famous garments for inspiration. But how exactly does Jean Paul feel about the re-interpretation of his hallmark style?
“It’s a nice homage. I feel proud, honestly, because it touches me,” he says, with a smile on his face. He appears to be genuinely happy to see his work play muse to the next generation of creatives. “I take it as a compliment, that they are excited to do it. When I was also younger, I was influenced by… the work at Pierre Cardin – and I loved what Saint Laurent was doing – so I have been influenced. Not copying, not [plagiarism] at all, but influenced… It’s quite nice that some people can still enjoy it now.”
Second only to Nana (a childhood teddy bear famous for being the fit model of the cone bra’s precursor) Jean Paul’s grandmother has played a large role in influencing the designer’s aesthetic, especially so when it came to championing corsetry and lingerie as outerwear.
“When I was a child, I saw inside one of my grandmother’s plackards (cupboard), [that there was] something… beautiful, [made from] satin and with lace,” he recounts. When he asked her what is was, she explained that is was a corset, something she wore at the beginning of the century to alter one’s figure or provide physical support. As a child growing up in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s – when A-line dresses were at the height of style – Jean Paul began taking notice of advertisements for brassieres with defined, pointed cups.
“The fashion was [back then], with courage, so flat,” he recalls, but “there was still a little advertising for bras with a ‘point.’”
Those advertisements were a key influence on the young designer, who began incorporating the similar shapes into his work years later, experimenting and exaggerating the prominence of the bust to eventually become one of the defining feature of his famed corsets. “It was not sensual,” he firmly notes, explaining the ethos behind the iconic silhouette that made him a household name. “In reality, it was kind of protection or power. It was not to make the woman an object, it was more like ‘Okay, I am woman’ and that’s it – but a little provocative. It’s an armour.”
In many ways Jean Paul was decades ahead of his time, championing body positivity, inclusivity, and feminism well before the terms evolved into marketing buzzwords. He understood how personality could convey a collection’s story far better than a troupe of lithe clones marching down a catwalk – which was what led him to look outside the box when casting models for his shows – often outliers perched on the outskirts of traditional beauty standards.
Street scouting was part of the creative process when casting his early shows. From glamazonian Supers to pregnant models, silver-haired vixens and plus-sized celebrities, Jean Paul has sent just about every body type, race and age group down his catwalks.
“In fashion shows you can express attitude,” Jean Paul says, explaining how he has always allowed for his models to leave their own mark on the collections through the energy they bring to the runway. “That is why I always [cast] my models… I don’t take a girl and try to change her. If I choose her it’s because I think she gives me inspiration,” he notes, citing one particular model who has played muse to him time and time again since the beginning of his career.
“I was inspired by [French-Algerian model] Farida Khelfa because she has attitude… It was an honour that she accepted [to work with me]. She was 18 and me, I was starting out, I was 24 or something like that. I was happy that she did it. Sometimes the ‘classical’ model, they move all the same way [when they walk]. Farida was walking… in a very modern way. I loved that. I wanted to have that attitude.”
So, what’s next? While he may no longer be dreaming up couture collections, Jean Paul confesses he has plans to continue curating fashionable artefacts into extraordinary experiences for the public to enjoy, while also producing a cabaret-style show this summer.
“Now, I prefer to make exhibitions, to make my Fashion Freak Show,” he says, referring to Cine y Moda (Cinema and Fashion) by Jean Paul Gaultier, a showing that celebrates the storied relationship between style and film on now at CaixaForum in Madrid, along with an autobiographical production which will make its London debut in July – because if anyone has lived a life worthy of a musical showcase, it’s certainly Jean Paul – complete with a star-studded cast.
What’s the one thing that surprised the designer the most when working with some of the most famous people in the world, especially when casting them in his runway shows?
“Even for a big star, who knows the public and their audience… it’s not so easy,” he says, hinting that even award-winning performers feel a bit intimated before stepping out onto the runway. Did a pro like Madonna get the jitters? “She was nervous too, you know, I think everyone is a little bit [nervous] before shows in general.”
Any advice? “What is important is what you bring from yourself. You impose yourself,” he says, touching on how confidence is key.
Seems to be the JPG winning formula indeed.
Images: Getty, Catwalkpix, Supplied
From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s May 2022 issue.