Gaultier style. JEAN PAUL GAULTIER - brand story

One of the most shocking creations of Gaultier was a corset with a pointed bra, created for the world tour of the singer Madonna in 1990. The designer has also designed stage costumes for singer Marilyn Manson, 1998 and 2014 Eurovision Song Contest winners Dana International and Conchita Wurst (the latter also wore a "bridesmaid dress" at the Fall / Winter 2014-2015 show).

Gaultier designed costumes for films, collaborating with directors such as Pedro Almodovar (Kika), Peter Greenway (Cook, Thief, His Wife and Her Lover), Luc Besson (The Fifth Element), Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Mark Caro (City of Lost Children).

In 1993 he launched his own perfume line. In 2003 he became the creative director of the Parisian fashion house Hermès... In the same year Hermès acquired 30% of the company Jean Paul Gaultier S.A., and a few years later increased its share in the Gaultier firm to 45%. After seven years of work in HermèsGaultier left this fashion house in May 2010, deciding to focus on his own business. In the leadership position, he was replaced by Christophe Lemaire, who had previously developed a line of women's clothing in Hermès, and even earlier - who held the post of chief designer of the company Lacoste.

In March 2005, the Jean Paul Gaultier Moscow boutique was opened in Petrovsky Passage.

On July 21, 2010 Jean-Paul Gaultier was named president of his own fashion house and company Jean Paul Gaultier S.A.

Perfumery under the name of the designer is produced by a Spanish company Puig, the majority shareholder of the Gaultier fashion house.

Charity

In 2003, he sponsored the Men in Skirts exhibition at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. (unavailable link)

In 2016, he designed over 500 costumes for THE ONE Grand Show in Berlin's Friedrichstadt-Palast.

Recognition and awards

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Notes

Links

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Excerpt from Gaultier, Jean-Paul

The war was flaring up, and its theater was approaching the Russian borders. The curses to the enemy of the human race, Bonaparte, were heard everywhere; warriors and recruits gathered in the villages, and contradictory news came from the theater of war, as always false and therefore differently interpreted.
The life of the old prince Bolkonsky, prince Andrei and princess Marya has changed in many ways since 1805.
In 1806, the old prince was appointed one of the eight commander-in-chief of the militia, then appointed throughout Russia. The old prince, in spite of his senile weakness, which became especially noticeable at the time when he considered his son killed, did not consider himself entitled to resign from the position to which he had been determined by the sovereign himself, and this activity, which was newly revealed to him, excited and strengthened him. He constantly traveled to the three provinces entrusted to him; he was meticulous in his duties, strict to cruelty with his subordinates, and he himself went to the smallest details of the case. Princess Marya had already stopped taking mathematics lessons from her father, and only in the morning, accompanied by a wet nurse, with little Prince Nikolai (as his grandfather called him) entered his father's study when he was at home. Chest Prince Nikolai lived with the nurse and nanny Savishna in the half of the late princess, and Princess Marya spent most of the day in the nursery, replacing, as best she could, her mother for her little nephew. M lle Bourienne, too, seemed to be passionately in love with the boy, and Princess Mary, often depriving herself, yielded to her friend the pleasure of nursing the little angel (as she called her nephew) and playing with him.
At the altar of the Lysogorsk church there was a chapel over the grave of the little princess, and a marble monument brought from Italy was erected in the chapel depicting an angel spreading his wings and preparing to rise to heaven. The angel's upper lip was slightly raised, as if he was about to smile, and once Prince Andrey and Princess Marya, leaving the chapel, confessed to each other that it was strange, the face of this angel reminded them of the face of the deceased. But what was even stranger, and which Prince Andrew did not tell his sister, was that in the expression that the artist accidentally gave to the face of an angel, Prince Andrew read the same words of meek reproach that he read then on the face of his dead wife: “Oh, why did you do this to me? ... "
Soon after the return of Prince Andrei, the old prince separated his son and gave him Bogucharovo, a large estate located 40 miles from the Bald Mountains. Partly because of the difficult memories associated with the Bald Mountains, partly because Prince Andrey did not always feel able to endure his father's character, partly because he needed solitude, Prince Andrey took advantage of Bogucharov, built there and spent most of time.
Prince Andrew, after the Austerlitz campaign, firmly decided never to serve again in military service; and when the war began, and everyone had to serve, he, in order to get rid of active service, took a position under the command of his father in collecting the militia. The old prince and his son seemed to change roles after the 1805 campaign. The old prince, excited by activity, expected all the best from this campaign; Prince Andrew, on the contrary, not participating in the war and in secret of his soul regretting that, saw one bad thing.
On February 26, 1807, the old prince left for the district. Prince Andrew, as for the most part during his father's absences, remained in Bald Hills. Little Nikolushka was unwell for the 4th day. The coachmen who drove the old prince returned from the city and brought papers and letters to Prince Andrei.
The valet with letters, not finding the young prince in his study, walked halfway through Princess Marya; but he was not there either. The valet was told that the prince went to the nursery.
`` Please, your Excellency, Petrusha has come with the papers, '' said one of the girls of the nanny's assistants, addressing Prince Andrey, who was sitting on a small children's chair and, with trembling hands, frowning, dripped medicine from a bottle into a glass half-filled with water.
- What? - he said angrily, and inadvertently trembling with his hand, poured an extra amount of drops from the glass into the glass. He threw the medicine out of the glass onto the floor and again asked for water. The girl handed it to him.
In the room there was a cot, two chests, two armchairs, a table and a children's table and a high chair, the one on which Prince Andrey was sitting. The windows were hung, and a single candle burned on the table, filled with a bound music book so that no light fell on the crib.
“My friend,” Princess Marya said, addressing her brother from the crib she was standing by, “it's better to wait ... after ...
“Oh, please, you’re still talking nonsense, you’ve been waiting for everything, so you’ve waited,” said Prince Andrei in an angry whisper, apparently wanting to prick his sister.
“My friend, it’s better not to wake him, he fell asleep,” the princess said in an imploring voice.
Prince Andrey got up and, on tiptoe, with a glass went to the bed.
- Or definitely not wake up? He said hesitantly.
“As you wish - right… I think… but as you wish,” said Princess Marya, apparently shy and ashamed that her opinion had triumphed. She pointed out to her brother the girl who had summoned him in a whisper.
It was the second night that they both did not sleep, caring for the boy who was burning in the heat. All these days, not trusting their home doctor and waiting for the one for whom they were sent to the city, they tried this or that remedy. Exhausted by insomnia and anxious, they dumped their grief on each other, reproached each other and quarreled.

Fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier is a true fashion revolutionary. The couturier dressed men in skirts, taught women to wear underwear over clothes, and released models of all stripes and sizes on the catwalk.

Childhood and youth

Jean-Paul Gaultier's childhood was spent in the cozy Parisian suburb of Arkuel. The boy often visited his grandmother, who indulged the future fashion designer in everything. Jean-Paul skipped school and instead painted for hours. The house was full of fashion magazines that attracted beautiful life and luxurious outfits. Gaultier enthusiastically studied the photo, noticed the stylistic features of the images.

Watching TV was also not forbidden, and he could enjoy TV shows and feature films all day, in which the stars shone in luxurious dresses and suits. Especially fascinating were the broadcasts from the Parisian variety show and the "Folies-Bergere" cabaret. The boy began to implement the spied ideas, and the teddy bear became the first model - Jean sewed clothes for the animal. In the bear's wardrobe, there was even a place for a wedding dress and an astronaut's costume.

Gaultier is one of the few home-grown designers who have not received a professional education. Lady Luck, and so she was pleased. In search of a place in the sun, Jean-Paul began to send letters with a questionnaire and sketches to the capital's Fashion Houses. And one day, quite unexpectedly, an answer came from himself. The owner of the famous House not only praised the novice fashion designer, but invited him to work as a personal assistant. The young man went to conquer the French capital and fashionistas.

Fashion

For a year, Jean-Paul was gaining experience with the genius couturier, and then decided to go free swimming. In 1976, Gaultier founded his own company, in which he put school friends Francis Menuage and Donald Potard in the main management positions. In the same year, the designer created the first line of clothes, but the show was not honored with the presence of the press and celebrities, on that day another designer presented his work.

Failure made Jean-Paul look for his own methods of attracting attention, and the best way to achieve success is always scandal and shocking. Gaultier staged shows in the most unexpected places - in the tram depot, the carousel museum and even the former prison, and in 2010 the defile took place at the Kazansky railway station in Moscow.

The designer's models are also not ordinary ones: together with standard thin girls of tall stature, full beauties, short or age models appeared on the stage. Gaultier seemed to declare to the world that his fashion is for everyone.

From the first works, the couturier showed individuality based on a mixture of styles and materials. The fashion designer experimented with might and main with improvised materials, models went to the catwalk in clothes made of tea strainers, napkins, and batteries. Soon, a new star in the Fashion industry was named "the enfant terrible", which means "obnoxious child", and "a fashion bully." He never ceased to amaze critics and connoisseurs of art, especially the collection "Hi-tech" (1981) was struck - trash cans, cans, boxes of cat food were used.

Gaultier managed to make sailors' uniforms - a vest popular with fashionistas. She flaunted on models even in the first collection and only 10 years later she firmly established herself in the wardrobe of people thanks to the show in 1983, when the strip settled on skirts and dresses.

The mischievous Gaultier distinguished himself in 1985 by dressing men in skirts. The And God Created Man collection was full of details on the Scottish kilt, breaking gender stereotypes.

The fashion designer presented women with corset dresses as part of their everyday wardrobe. Jean-Paul was inspired to create them by a pink corset seen in his grandmother's closet in childhood. And in 1983 he presented to the beautiful half of humanity an invention in the form of a cone-shaped bra, which was to their liking - much later the singer went on a world tour in it. However, not everyone turned out to be so loyal, some critics accused the fashionable bully of disfiguring the delicate female beauty.

Madonna became a faithful client of Gaultier, the man sewed a heap of stage outfits for her. The fashion designer became a favorite for singers and. The designer was attracted to cooperation by eminent directors: the French couturier worked on the creation of costumes for the characters of the films "The Fifth Element", "Kika", "City of Lost Children" and others.

In the mid-90s, European youth was caught up in the fashion for tattoos, and all thanks to the Tatu collection, in which Gaultier generously presented tattoos, piercings and ethnic jewelry.

In the 2000s, Jean-Paul remained faithful to the tradition of bold experiments, continued, without looking back and fear of being booed, to create clothing lines with a touch of avant-garde, but at the same time not devoid of sophistication. It was not in vain that he tried - in 2007 the couturier won the Fashion Group International award as a designer who managed to break clichés and eliminate fashion boundaries.

Jean-Paul Gaultier did not limit himself to clothing. In 1993, the designer's brand introduced a perfume that is also extravagant and challenging the classic notions of perfume. Stores under the name Jean Paul Gaultier adorn every capital of the world, in the spring of 2005 a French couturier boutique opened its doors in Moscow.

In 2014, the designer announced that he was stopping the production of ready-to-wear collections, but he retained the right to make haute couture, perfume and accessories. Jean-Paul Gaultier has his own website, on the pages of which visitors can learn about fashion news, ideas and achievements of the idol.

Personal life

Gaultier experienced a tragedy in his personal life. The fashion maestro is an open homosexual, at the same time a monogamous person. There is only one true love in his biography. He lived and worked with former high school friend Francis Menuage. The union lasted 15 years, but in 1990, the lover died from complications caused by AIDS.

Jean-Paul barely survived the loss, was even going to leave the world of fashion and dissolve the company, which he created together with Menu. But when the pain calmed down, Gaultier again plunged headlong into work, realizing that the deceased friend would not approve of radical measures.

After the death of Francis, the designer lives alone, participates in actions to combat AIDS, and sends part of the proceeds to laboratories and scientific foundations, where they are trying to create a cure for the disease.

Gaultier is a public person, often appears on television, hosted a program on the MTV channel - a show called Eurotrash was incredibly popular.

Jean-Paul Gaultier now

In a new couture collection, presented at a fashion show in autumn 2017, Jean-Paul mixed cultures: the jewelry of Indian women suddenly appeared next to hijabs and motifs of Jewish national clothes. Fitted jackets sit alongside sweaters and one-shoulder dresses.

For spring-summer 2018, Gaultier invited fashionistas to return to the 60s with their fringes, graphic patterns and wide belts. This show of the inventor Jean-Paul won the audience again - a pregnant model Coco Rocha took the stage with her two-year-old daughter in identical outfits.

Now Gaultier is preparing a production for the Folies-Bergere cabaret, called the Fashion Freak Show. The plot includes the main milestones in the designer's life: the scenes will tell, for example, how little Jean-Paul found his grandmother's corset in the closet, how he got a job at the Cardin Fashion House, how the men's skirt was born. The celebrities who crossed paths will be played by circus performers and theater artists.

“This will be a parade about life in the field of fashion,” the maestro promises.

The freak show is set to premiere in October 2018.

Condition assessment

• In 2009, Jean-Paul Gaultier's revenues were € 23 million.
• Approximate fortune - € 100 million.
• An apartment in Paris worth $ 800,000 million.
• Villa in a palm grove in Marrakech.

Celebrity biographies

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15.10.15 09:50

His costumes were worn by the heroes of Besson's science fiction film The Fifth Element and the tragicomedy Chef, Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, he created provocative outfits for the French stage star Mylene Farmer and for the pop queen Madonna. In the biography of Jean-Paul Gaultier, not everything immediately went smoothly, he did not receive a special education, but this does not interfere with the couturier's inspiration.

Biography of Jean-Paul Gaultier

Bear ... in a newlywed costume

Biography of Jean-Paul Gaultier began in a Parisian suburb on April 24, 1952. He was looked after by his grandmother, who encouraged the little grandson in his drawing lessons, he could flip through fashion magazines or watch TV for hours - from there, from the magical world of the blue screen, he drew his first inspiration. The boy began to make clothes for toys - from the material at hand. So his teddy bear dressed in futuristic suits, and sometimes "tried on" ... a wedding dress.

In his youth, he thought that he would become a hairdresser or stylist, but, having dared to send his sketches to Cardin, he received an invitation to work. Becoming an assistant to a famous fashion designer is a good start, but this fellowship did not last very long. After working for other fashion houses, Jean-Paul went back to basics and went to Manila - this was in the mid-1970s. The young master worked on the Pierre Cardin line, which was intended for the Americans. A year later, Gauthier dared to present his collection. He organized a company with several friends, but was too carried away by futurism: his outfits from napkins and jewelry from scrap materials were not outstanding. Although even then the Frenchman boldly experimented with styles.

Infan terible

After the failure, Jean-Paul decided that he would still not follow the "trodden paths", but some loud scandal is needed to attract the attention of the public and the press. He decided to shock his compatriots, inviting ladies with a non-standard figure, punks, and elderly people instead of slender, beautiful fashion models. And the defiles themselves took place in incredible places: from the ring to museums and depots. He was quickly dubbed "a bully" and was also called "l'enfant terrible" (in Russian it sounds familiar: "infan teribl", "a terrible or too spoiled child") for "garbage design" and not very aesthetic models. He himself preferred the "hooligan" style, putting on kilts and vests.

Related in spirit: Madonna, Farmer, Manson

In the late 1980s, the designer found a kindred spirit - the singer Madonna, who also sought outrageousness and appeared on stage in front of thousands of spectators almost in underwear. Gaultier made his contribution to the image of the "beautiful sinner", it was he who created the legendary bra for the performances of the star with cups-cones.

Collaboration with the brightest, adoring provocation performers continued. So, stage costumes from Gauthier were preferred by another "Infan Teribl", Marilyn Manson. Later, Milen Farmer joined the army of couturier fans (the master made outfits for her for the 2009 and 2013 tours).

Eurovision stars and the gothic bride

Twice Jean-Paul Gaultier guessed the success of the Eurovision participants with some sixth sense, and twice dressed in his luxurious dresses, the singers won. Both times they were not "simple" girls. 1998 - transgender Israeli Dana International. And in 2014 - Austrian Conchita Wurst.

Favorite movie characters

Do you remember the unimaginable outfit of the incessantly chattering hero Chris Tucker from The Fifth Element?

This, too, is the work of the "hooligan fashion designer", like all the costumes for the ribbon. Jean-Paul has dressed the characters of filmmakers Peter Greenaway and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, as well as Pedro Almodovar.

World fame

In his mature years, the biography of Jean-Paul Gaultier developed more than successfully. He hosted a popular program on British TV, was friends with the stars, created mind-blowing collections and directed. For almost 7 years he was the creative director of the Hermès fashion house, during which time the legendary French corporation became a major shareholder of Jean Paul Gaultier S.A (45% of shares). But in the spring of 2010, the couturier resigned as director to become president of his fashion house.

Since 1993, under the auspices of the brand, perfume “from Gaultier” has been produced (this line is handled by the Spanish company “Puig”, another shareholder of the fashion designer's company).

Personal life of Jean-Paul Gaultier

This wound will never heal

The couturier, like many of his colleagues, is openly gay. In 1990, a tragedy occurred in Jean-Paul Gaultier's personal life: his lover Francis Menouge died from complications of AIDS. The designer was in despair and, as he himself admits, was close to suicide. But he did not leave the world of Haute Couture, saying: "Once Francis came to me and said that I must continue to live ...".

No one could heal this wound. The only thing that Jean-Paul can do for such sufferers of the immunodeficiency virus is to transfer money to the accounts of funds to fight this terrible disease.

The French call Jean-Paul Gaultier "enfant terrible" - "poor child, tomboy." He is proud of his reputation as the main bully of the fashion world and never ceases to amaze us with his crazy fantasies.

The man in the vest - the legend of world fashion Jean-Paul Gaultier - claims that he is very shy. But his fantasy never seems to run out. After all, fashion for Gaultier is not only art, it is a way of life.

“Fashion is, first of all, a reflection of society. The role and main task of the fashion designer is to reflect what is happening in society and create a supply that will generate demand ”(Jean-Paul Gaultier).

Jean-Paul Gaultier was born on April 24, 1952 in France, in the town of Arquel, near Paris.

Since childhood, Jean-Paul Gaultier has become accustomed to women's things and trinkets. Instead of chasing a ball with other boys from the southern suburbs of Paris, the future couturier closely followed the magic of his grandmother. She is a nurse who knows a lot about cosmetics and hypnosis, under the quiet talk of the TV she gave injections to her neighbors, dyed her hair or read fortune-telling on cards. So, in the company of friends of his mother, aunt and grandmother, young Jean-Paul learned women's secrets and secrets.

Later, Gauthier fondly recalled those days when he devoted all his free time to cutting outfits and designing makeup for his teddy bear Nana. Several years passed and all the best sensations and images - the color of peach and mustard, withered rose and rust, orange and salmon - were reflected in the master's collections. And the aroma of rice powder, the heavy smell of blush, a pair of makeup removers, “fairies with gray hair,” as the designer called his grandmother, appeared in the famous Gauthier eau de toilette.

The career of a famous fashion designer began when at the age of 13 he sewed a bra for ... a teddy bear. This toy later became a mannequin for the boy, on which he applied all his knowledge about fashion, gleaned from magazines and TV shows. Jean-Paul's grandmother, who owned a beauty salon and read fortune-telling in her free time, predicted a great future for her grandson. Young Gaultier, firmly believing in this prophecy, enthusiastically sent his drawings to all fashion houses. However, the first offer he received only 4 years later - Jean-Paul just turned 18 years old. The young man was delighted with the work. Yes, in the Patou house Gaultier was only an assistant, but after all, Pierre Cardin himself became his mentor! It was worth it to endure any humiliation, and Jean-Paul got a lot of them. Poverty did not allow him to dress beautifully, from his shoes he only had rubber boots. Because of this, the young man was not allowed out of the front door, and his wealthy colleagues gave him the nickname "boy from the farm."

After several years of work, during which Gaultier collaborated with various fashion houses, Jean-Paul meets Francis Menouge, his future business partner and lover. In 1976 they form their own company together and soon release their first collection. But the extravagant dresses made of napkins and jewelry made of tea strainers and batteries did not appeal to the fashion observers and were brutally ridiculed. On April 24, 1979, Jean-Paul turned 27 years old. It was at this age that fame came to him. In 1979, commissioned by the Japanese company Kashiyama, Gauthier created the James Bond collection. His style is provocative and shocking. Many of his collections are based on street style as well as pop culture.

Obviously, the style of the 60s was liked by journalists more than the avant-garde of household accessories, and since then the name of the designer has increasingly appeared on the pages of fashion magazines. In 1982-1984 Gaultier created the Paris. Gaultier "," Dadaism "," The Last Five Minutes ", introducing new shocking elements into them - bracelets from cans and sharp-breasted busts. But this time the irrepressible imagination of the fashion designer brings him not censure, but glory: already in 1985 the couturier was nominated for the Oscar of Fashion. Gauthier made the audience open their mouths in surprise: he created headdresses from musical instruments, sewed vests from mink fur and overalls from doodle. In the shows of the designer's collections, which took place in prison, then in the boxing ring, dwarfs and disabled people, bbws and giants took part.

In 1990, Jean-Paul Gaultier designed the costumes for Madonna's Blond Ambition Tour, which are the basis for trends in both lingerie and outerwear.

In 1997 Jean-Paul Gaultier creates his first haute couture collection. His haute couture collections are very formal but unusual at the same time.

His half-crazy ideas interested the bosses of the cinema, and film studios began to order costumes for films from the designer. Gaultier is the creator of the outfits for the heroes of such films as "The Chef, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover" (1989), "Kika", "City of Lost Children" (1994) and "The Fifth Element" (1997). Since 1987, the couturier has also been making costumes for Madonna. The designer developed a peculiar relationship with the pop diva: several times he even offered her to become Madame Gaultier. Madonna invariably answered “no” to all proposals, but nevertheless remained a good friend of Jean-Paul. She supported the fashion designer when Francis Menouge died of AIDS, even participated in a charity screening for the AIDS Research Foundation, during which she paraded the catwalk topless.

He is currently creating collections for his own Fashion House, as well as for Hermes.

In 2001, at a ceremony in the luxurious Parisian nightclub Chez Maxim's, the famous fashion designer Pierre Cardin presented his former student Jean-Paul Gaultier with the Legion of Honor. that there is a bad taste "- said Cardin in his speech.

Gaultier, in his response speech, did not go without an ambiguous compliment, reminding Cardin that he taught him to focus on silhouette, figure and leave worries about accessories to imitators - but now an accessory, the Order of the Legion of Honor, has brought together so many people.

Jean-Paul Gaultier is a classic. He is adored and adored by everyone: from "torn off" teenagers to society ladies. At his spring-summer 2005-2006 show, Gaultier again amazed everyone: the models walked on the hay spread out on the podium.

Someday the images created by the daring master Gaultier will line up for a parade. And in this parade, fairies with full lips and a fez shifted to one side, young sorcerers in fishnet stockings will parade; tattooed Indian women in tunics; painted geisha in long tight skirts; Tyroleans with white braids and fiery cheeks; ladies in leather and gentlemen in silk and muslin. And Gaultier himself will end the procession in his unchanging image - on his head is a silver hedgehog, a vest, a Scottish skirt, black knee-highs and Doc Martens shoes, in which he travels the fashion world.

Today Gaultier is a thriving designer who heads two fashion houses at once - Hermes and his own. He draws ideas from ordinary people - prostitutes, concierges, ladies of high society, which is why his style is extremely democratic. Gaultier creates what, first of all, young people like. He knows how to accurately guess the desires of young people, because at 54 he remains an unbearable child - enfant terrible.

(French Jean-Paul Gaultier) - French . Founder and head of his own fashion house Jean Paul Gaultier S.A. His work determined the image throughout the 80-90s of the last century.

Biography and creativity

Jean-Paul Gaultier was born in the suburbs of Paris on April 24, 1952.The world of fashion attracted him from an early age. As a child, he could leaf through magazines for hours on end, while carefully looking at each picture and trying to remember it. The boy was raised by his grandmother, who allowed him to watch TV all day. From what he saw, little Gaultier drew his first design inspiration, which poured into stylish costumes for a teddy bear. The child dressed the toy model either in a space suit or in a bride's dress. When Gaultier becomes a designer, he will continue to seek inspiration in visual images: television, painting, cinema, and simply in the guises of casual passers-by.

At first, Jean-Paul seriously decided to become a hairdresser. But, when he was 18 years old, he sent his sketches to the famous Pierre Cardin... The designer really liked the work of the newcomer, and he offered the young man the place of his assistant. This was in 1970. Just a year later, he became Michel Goma's assistant at the Jean Patou House, then went to Angelo Tarlazzi.

1974-1975 - Gaultier develops PIERRE CARDIN collections for the US market.

1976 - Jean-Paul opens his own clothing company.His partners are two school friends. Fransis Menuge was appointed director of the company, he held this position until 1990, this year he died of AIDS. The second companion was Donald Potar. He took over the business after a friend's death.

At that time, aspiring entrepreneurs had almost no money. They created the first collection from "scrap materials". It consisted, for example, of small dresses made of napkins or tea strainers and batteries. From this collection, Gaultier's signature style began to take shape, based on mixing genres and daring experiments with materials. He and in his subsequent work will often be engaged in the transformation of familiar things. During the demonstration of the first collection, the hall was almost empty. It turned out that at the same time there was a show of some famous designer who gathered the entire Parisian public.

Since then, Gaultier has decided never to go unnoticed again. And he did it superbly. He strove, by all means, to shock the audience. Gaultier chose the most unexpected places for his shows, for example, a boxing ring or a museum of old carousels, a former prison building or a tram depot. He also had different models: dwarfs, old people or fat women.

“I try to avoid sclerotic clichés, stereotypical behavior of professional fashion models. My models do not entertain the audience, but show clothes that anyone can wear, ”said the designer.

In 1989 Jean-Paul Gaultier began designing costumes for cinematography.The first project for him was the film by Peter Greenaway "The Chef, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover." It was followed by the film Kika by the Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar. In 1997, Gaultier designed the outfit for Luc Besson's The Fifth Element.

The first youth the collection of the brand "Junior Gaultier" was released in 1988... And the first denim collection was in 1992.

The beginning of the 90s was marked by a special riot of grotesque in Gaultier's collections. He played the cowboy style in a parody manner, created hats in the form of kitchen utensils and musical instruments. Jean-Paul invented sheer bodysuits and brought female aliens with shaved heads to the runway on a huge platform.

The designer has always paid great attention to his own. It was another attention grabber. He could easily be recognized by his bleached hair, vest and boots. He was not the only one who wore the vest, the men's perfume was “dressed” in it and many “haute couture” collections repeated this motive.

Jean-Paul Gaultier became a real pop star in the 90s. He was a presenter on television, recorded discs and was fond of photography.

Since 1993, the designer's passion for ethnic themes begins. The Rabbi Shik collection was inspired by images of Hasidic rabbis whom he accidentally saw on the streets of New York. So in his arsenal appeared dark clothes to the floor, outside, and small hats. The 1994 collection "Tatu" had a huge impact on the youth fashion of the last decade of the century, and it was based on the costumes of Africa and Southeast Asia. Drawings appeared on clothes in the form of tattoos, reminiscent of banknotes and graffiti motifs. Ethnic silver jewelry and piercings were insanely popular in the 90s - these ideas also belonged to Gaultier.

The 1994-1995 Mongols collection continued the theme of ethnic costume. In 1995, the “End of the Century” collection was released, in which Gaultier turned to the clothes of the past century.

1997 - Jean-Paul Gaultier begins to develop full-fledged collections "". Although earlier he spoke negatively about high fashion, and said that he was not interested in it. In his opinion, it was a fashion that "smelled of mothballs." However, his collection "Gaultier-Paris" is released. It was men's and women's clothing that parodied haute couture traditions with extraordinary talent.

In 1999 Gauthier's company sells 35% of its shares to the company ""... This gives the fashion designer a material basis for further expansion of his business.

In the 2000s, Jean-Paul Gaultier entered not as a rebel, but as a classic of French fashion. The designer said that the main thing in clothes for him is conformity to the times and democracy. Both features were characteristic of all of Gaultier's creations, from jeans to evening dresses.

Today, the experience and knowledge of the master have been added to the originality of the ideas of the genius of fashion. His products are distinguished by perfect cut and masterly handling of materials.

Jean-Paul Gaultier was often called "the most brilliant designer of the late twentieth century."His work ideally corresponded to the postmodern era. The surrounding reality seems to be mixed in his models into some unimaginable cocktail of style.

Amanda Lear's interview with Jean-Paul Gaultier for Interview magazine (2012)

A.L .: Not long ago you turned 60. Of course, I don't know how it feels, but they say that it is wonderful. What advice would you give yourself to a 25 year old?
Zh-P.G .: I wouldn't give myself any advice. I'm happy with the way things turned out.

A.L .:And don't you miss your youth at all?
Zh-P.G .:I started at 18 with Pierre Cardin. Everything was great with him, because he, like me, is a fan of experimenting, and he does not care about any rules. He could easily say: "I want a shoe, like this chair." I didn't study fashion, so I didn't follow any rules. My taste was influenced by fashion magazines and rock stars of my generation: David Bowie, Mick Jagger, the Beatles. By the way, this was a very important moment in men's fashion. Then the guys ceased to be ashamed to look feminine: they wore shirts with frills and painted themselves. And all this was close to me. So we worked well with Cardin.

A.L .:Was it so easy for you to work with everyone?
Zh-P.G .: I would not say. With my next boss, Jean Patou, it was much more complicated. It seems to me that he traumatized my psyche. I wore riding boots and my staff laughed at me asking where I left my horse. Almost every day they tried to convince me that beige is the most luxurious color, and it is categorically impossible to hire dark-skinned models for the show. All of this did not fit with my own ideas about fashion. I love mixing. But at my first show, I had a great time. I remember that the French newspapers then wrote that I was doing "God knows what", but in England, on the contrary, they understood me. During my trip to London, I felt free. What am I telling you, you yourself know everything, you lived there.

Jean-Paul Gaultier interview for Hybebeast.com (June 2011)

H: — Please accept my belated congratulations on your last birthday! How was the celebration?
W-PG: - Thanks. I am currently on a special cleansing diet, so I didn't even have to taste the birthday cake, just a tiny bit.

H: — What is your most memorable birthday?
W-PG: - Usually I don't make a big fuss about my birthday. This is too personal and intimate an event. However, on my 50th birthday, I threw a real party and came to it in a woman's dress.

H: — This year, you also celebrate 35 years since your first screening. You are in the profession for four decades, however, despite this, each of your shows looks very fresh. How do you do it?
W-PG: - I've never faced such a problem as lack of inspiration. On the contrary, sometimes I have too much of it. Sometimes I want everything at once. I can draw inspiration from anywhere: from cinema, music or theater.

H:— You built your brand, Jean Paul Gaultier, in a way that no one else had paid attention to: you explored the standards of the ready-to-wear market with a life-changing approach. You looked at fashion from a 360-degree perspective, turning at one time to household items, children's clothing and cosmetics. Did you learn about this method at the age of 18 from your teacher Pierre Cardin?
W-PG: - No, from Mr. Cardin I learned about freedom. Absolute freedom reigned in his studio. I could bring him a sketch of a costume, and he said in response: "Fine, now make me furniture out of this." I worked with him in 1970, and he had just opened a theater, where he also held his shows. He had assistants from all over the world. It was there, thanks to colleagues from the Land of the Rising Sun, that I first got acquainted with Japanese cuisine. It was a great time, which taught me that if you want to be successful at something, you must have a certain level of freedom.

H: — Tell us about your working relationship with Madonna in the 80s and 90s. How did you come up with the idea of \u200b\u200ba tapered bra?
W-PG:- For the first time I saw Madonna when she was already at the peak of her popularity. She sang the song "Holiday" and she had an incredible image (I even thought she was English, she was so elegant). She was wearing about the same things that I myself did at that time: crosses, large jewelry and fishing nets. The second time I saw her live at the MTV Awards in New York on the stage of Radio City. This was probably the year 1984. She sang the song "Like A Virgin" while wearing a wedding dress. As the song progressed, Madonna imitated, let's call it a euphemism, self-satisfaction. The audience in the hall, consisting mainly of business people, was simply shocked. Among those who came there were only a few young fans of the singer, and I am among them who really appreciated this spectacle. It was then that I realized how little she cares about what other people think of her, and how strong this woman is. I became a real fan of her: I liked her songs and the way she looks. I loved her because she herself chose where and how to appear.
When I saw her first concert in Paris, I decided that she simply had to turn to me for a stage costume. I felt like I could do it much better than her current designer. So when two years later, right before the prêt-a-porter show, my PR manager said that I should call Madonna, i thought he was kidding me. However, three days later, I still decided to check it and called the number given to me. Madonna herself answered the phone. “Hi Gaultier,” she said. The Blonde Ambition tour was a real platform for fruitful cooperation and friendship for us. She was not at all afraid of my ideas, so our vision was quite harmonious and could boast of a rare symbiosis.

H: — You have often made costumes for films ranging from The Fifth Element to City of Lost Children. Is this work different from the preparation of regular prêt-a-porter collections?
W-PG: - When I am preparing for my own show, I am my own director, and I do as I want. My opinion remains decisive in absolutely everything. When I work for cinema, someone else is the director, so I have to adapt to his needs. I have just returned from Cannes, where I attended the premiere of Pedro Almodovar's new film "The Skin I Live In". This is our third joint project and I really enjoy working with it. He always knows exactly what he wants. I love working with films as it's a good way to express myself in a different way.

Official site: www.jeanpaulgaultier.com