Jean paul gautier short biography. Jean-Paul Gaultier with models and friends

08.05.2019

(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 the very early age... As a child, he could leaf through magazines for hours on end, while carefully peering into 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 suits for 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 look for 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 left for 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 named director of the company, a position he held 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, Gauthier's corporate style began to take shape, based on a mixture of genres and bold experiments with materials. In his subsequent work, he 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, which brought together 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 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 strive 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.

Since 1989 Jean-Paul Gaultier has been designing costumes for cinematography. His first project was Peter Greenaway's The Chef, 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 the collections of Gaultier. He played in a parody manner cowboy style, created hats in the form of kitchen utensils and musical instruments. Jean-Paul invented transparent bodysuits, and brought female aliens with shaved heads to the catwalk 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 bleached hair, vest and boots. Not only he himself wore a vest, he was "dressed" in it men's perfume and many haute couture collections repeated this motif.

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, worn out, and small hats. The 1994 collection "Tatu" had a huge impact on youth fashion of the last decade of the century, and it was based on the costumes of Africa and Southeast Asia. On clothes, drawings appeared in the form of tattoos, reminiscent of banknotes and graffiti motifs. Insanely popular in the 90s were silver jewelry v ethnic style and piercings - these ideas also belonged to Gaultier.

The collection "Mongols" from 1994-1995 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 outgoing century.

1997 - Jean-Paul Gaultier begins to develop full-fledged collections "". Although earlier he spoke negatively about high fashion, and declared that she did not interest him. In his opinion, it was a fashion that "smelled of mothballs." However, his collection "Gaultier-Paris" is released. It was masculine and women's clothing who 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 was no longer a rebel, but 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. Surrounding reality as if 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’s great. 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, it was very important point v 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. I think he hurt 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 color- the most luxurious, 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 real blast. 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. But 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'm currently on a special cleansing diet so I didn't even have to try birthday cake, perhaps the very drop.

H: — What is your most memorable birthday?
W-PG:- Usually I do not make a big hype around 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 have 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 film, music or theater.

H:— You built your brand, Jean Paul Gaultier, in a way that no one else had paid attention to: you researched market standards ready-made clothes using a special life approach. You looked at fashion from a 360-degree perspective, turning back to household items, baby clothes 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, but 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 country The rising sun, I first met Japanese cuisine... It was a great time that 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 for a 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 Wedding Dress... In the course of the song, Madonna imitated, let's call it a euphemism, self-satisfaction. Auditorium in the hall, consisting mainly of business people, was just 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. It seemed to me that 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 out and called the number that was 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 frightened by my ideas, so that 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 any 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 common project and I really enjoy working with him. He always knows exactly what he wants. I love working with cinema, as it is good way express yourself differently.

Official site: www.jeanpaulgaultier.com

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 created 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" in the Fall / Winter 2014-2015 show).

Gaultier designed costumes for films, collaborating with directors such as Pedro Almodovar (Kika), Peter Greenway (Chef, 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 Hermès Gaultier left this fashion house in May 2010, deciding to focus on his own business. On leadership position he was succeeded 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 Moscow boutique Jean Paul Gaultier 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.

Perfumes under the name of the designer are 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 created designs for more than 500 costumes for THE ONE Grand Show in Berlin's Friedrichstadt-Palast.

Recognition and awards

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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, despite 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 the point of cruelty with his subordinates, and he himself went to the smallest details of the case. Princess Marya had already ceased to take mathematics lessons from her father, and only in the morning, accompanied by a 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 was slightly raised upper lip as if he was about to smile, and one day 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 what 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 Andrey, 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 Bald Hills, 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 have changed 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 secretly 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 had gone to the nursery.
“Please, your Excellency, Petrusha has come with the papers,” said one of the girls of the nanny’s assistants, addressing Prince Andrei, 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 on 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 at, “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 embittered whisper, apparently wanting to prick his sister.
“My friend, it’s better not to wake him up, 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 his home doctor and while awaiting the one for which they had been sent into the city, they tried this and that means. Exhausted by sleeplessness 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 spent his childhood 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, painting for hours instead. The house was full of fashion magazines attracting 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 luxury 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 from 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.

The failure forced Jean-Paul to seek 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: along 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 has shown an individuality based on a mixture of styles and materials. The couturier experimented with might and main with improvised materials, models took to the catwalk in clothes made of tea strainers, napkins, and batteries. Soon, the new star in the Fashion industry was named "the enfant terrible", which means "obnoxious child", and the "fashion bully." He never ceased to amaze critics and connoisseurs of art, especially the collection "High-tech" (1981) was struck - trash cans, cans, boxes of cat food were used.

Gaultier managed to make the sailor's uniform - the striped 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 collection "And God Created Man" was full of details on the Scottish kilt, breaking gender stereotypes.

The fashion designer gave women corset dresses as part of 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 fair half humanity, an invention in the form of a cone-shaped bra, which was to the taste - 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 a tender female beauty.

Madonna became a loyal 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 covered by 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. No wonder 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 would stop producing ready-to-wear collections, but retained the right to make haute couture, perfume and accessories. Jean-Paul Gaultier has his own website where visitors can learn about fashion news, ideas and achievements of the idol.

Personal life

Gaultier experienced a tragedy in personal life... The fashion maestro is an open homosexual, at the same time a monogamous person. There is only one in his biography real love... 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 drastic 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 the fall 2017 fashion show, Jean-Paul has mixed cultures: jewelry Indian women suddenly found themselves next to the hijabs and motives of the Jewish national dress. Fitted jackets sit alongside sweaters and one-shoulder dresses.

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

Gaultier is currently preparing a production for the Folies Bergère 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 she was born men's skirt... Celebrities with whom the paths crossed 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

Jean-Paul Gaultier had revenues of € 23 million in 2009.
Approximate fortune - € 100 million.
An apartment in Paris worth $ 800,000 million.
Villa in a palm grove in Marrakech.

Jean-Paul Gaultier (French Jean-Paul Gaultier) is a French designer. Founder and head of his own fashion house Jean Paul Gaultier S.A. His work defined the look of haute couture throughout the 80s and 90s of the last century.

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 peering into 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 look for 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 left for 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 named director of the company, a position he held 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 jewelry made of tea strainers and batteries. From this collection, Gauthier's corporate style began to take shape, based on a mixture of genres and bold experiments with materials. In his subsequent work, he 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 strive 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.

And indeed the most ordinary women not at all model appearance.
1978 Gaultier begins to work with the Japanese company Kashiyama, which agreed to sponsor his work.

The public noticed the new designer after the 1980 James Bond collection. Its creation was commissioned by Japanese sponsors. Leather shorts and the miniskirts that dominated her were seen as a parody of the 60s.

V next year the "High-tech" collection was released, which brought its creator the status of "fashion hooligan". Garbage-style clothes were presented here. Garbage buckets, cans - these are the main elements of the decor. The electronic circuit boards and packaging of cat food turned out to be wonderful bracelets. This is how Gaultier discovered the topic of recycling waste in fashion. This idea will very soon capture the whole of Europe, preoccupied with environmental problems.

1993 Jean-Paul launched the first fragrance of his brand. He borrowed the idea of the bottle from Elsa Schiaparelli. True, the glass female torso, belonging to the singer Madonna (Madonna), in Gauthier's version was in a tin can.

1983 - a sensational collection was published, which had the loud name "Dadaism". She further solidified Gaultier's fame as an avant-garde designer. Jean-Paul and in further work, after this collection, continued to return to the traditions of art of the early twentieth century. They became the designer's creative credo. It was here that his signature "corset style" was born. The cut of the dress matched the cut of the corset with underwire and cups. In the eyes of people of that time, these clothes looked too vulgar.

In 1984-1985. the topic of corsets was continued and exaggerated. This is reflected in the collection "Beards" or "Culture Shock". Indeed, there was something to be shocked by. Huge hairpieces and horns on the chest were just in abundance. Gaultier thus tried to destroy stereotypes and expand the framework of the usual reality. He was constantly in search of new images. Critics of his style accused the designer of deliberately disfiguring a woman.

In the same 1984, Jean-Paul Gaultier again shocked the audience, this time with the men's collection "Man-Object". Mannequins, dressed in vests and skirts, walked on the catwalk.

The designer owns a huge number of unexpected design inventions, such as corsets for men, jackets with open back and much more. Gaultier is a true adherent of postmodernism, in his work he sought to erase the boundaries between man and woman. This idea even included the names of his collections: "And God Created Man", "Wardrobe for Two", "History of a Man", "French Gigolo", "Indiscreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" and "Dear Monsignor". The latter was an allusion to the collection of the famous couturier of the 50s Pierre Balmain, she was called "Sweet Madame".

In 1986, Gaultier decided to play the image of a prostitute in his new collection"Dolls". The female models then appeared on the catwalk in black satin underwear and stockings.

1986 - Perestroika began in the Soviet Union, which brought a fascination with Russian motives and Soviet symbols to the world of fashion. Jean-Paul Gaultier does not stand aside, and creates his "Russian collection", the models of which are decorated with inscriptions in Cyrillic.

The "Concierge" collection of 1988 became a harbinger of 90s fashion with its tendency towards fashionable oxymoron, the designer combined the most seemingly incongruous elements.

By the end of the 80s, Jean-Paul Gaultier had become the recognized leader of all French fashion. Madonna, who had an incredible flair for new trends, in 1987 met with the designer in Paris. Gaultier begins to design all the stage costumes for the singer. Thanks to this alliance, the French fashion designer soon gained worldwide fame.
1990 - for Madonna's world tour, which was called "Blond Ambition", the designer creates golden leather corsets, men's suits with a bust and sailor flared trousers.

Since 1989 Jean-Paul Gaultier has been designing costumes for cinematography. His first project was Peter Greenaway's The Chef, 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 collection of the Junior Gaultier brand 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 the collections of Gaultier. He played the cowboy style in a parody manner, created hats in the form of kitchen utensils and musical instruments. Jean-Paul invented transparent bodysuits, and brought female aliens with shaved heads and shoes on a huge platform onto the catwalk.

The designer has always paid great attention to his own image. It was another attention grabber. He was easily recognizable by his bleached hair, vest and boots. Not only he himself wore a vest, he was wearing a men's perfume 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, release shirts, vests and little hats. The 1994 collection "Tatu" had a huge impact on youth fashion of the last decade of the century, and it was based on the costumes of Africa and Southeast Asia. On clothes, drawings appeared 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 collection "Mongols" from 1994-1995 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 outgoing century.

1997 - Jean-Paul Gaultier begins to develop full-fledged haute couture collections. Although earlier he spoke negatively about high fashion, and stated 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 Gaultier sells 35% of its shares to Hermès. This gives the fashion designer a material basis for further expansion of his business.

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.

Jean-Paul Gaultier is a wonderful artist who creates sophisticated, sophisticated models with a slight touch of shocking and vivid sensuality. At the same time, his work is distinguished by subtle self-irony, some hooliganism and artistry, making clothes "from Gaultier" devoid of bourgeois pathos. Therefore, his models are so in demand among pop and film stars, and his work as a costume designer is incredibly interesting.

Film 1. "Falbalas" by Jacques Becker. Childhood impression.

“I owe cinema to being a fashion designer,” says Jean-Paul Gaultier. The young Jean-Paul was greatly impressed by the 1944 French film "Falbalas" (we translate it as "Ladies' Rags"). “When I was nine or ten years old I first saw Falbalas, a film directed by Jacques Becker with Micheline Prel.

The action of the film took place in the studio of Marcel Rocha, where they filmed the Fashion House, in which he works the main character... This opened up a whole fairy-tale world in front of me. Of course, there were also my grandmother's corsets, but the Falbalas was really the trigger. It describes the world of Parisian couturiers with incredible accuracy. So when I started working for Cardin and Patou in 1970, I realized that I had hit the "Falbalas"! "

Interestingly, not only was M. Roche filmed at the Fashion House, but he was also a costume designer in this film.

Marcel Rocha

Marcel Rocha opened his home in 1924. He was friends with Jean Cocteau and Paul Poiret, and he was influential designer with a worldwide reputation. His clients included Hollywood stars such as Carol Lombard, Marlene Dietrich and others.

M. Roche's model

For actress Mae West, Marcel Rocha created a black wasp-waisted corset with chantilly lace. He generally paid great attention lingerie. In the 40s, when the thin waist was popular, he brought into fashion a semi-corset, which tightened the waist and had garters for stockings. And it was called "guepiere" (translated from French "wasp").

We know his name well thanks to the perfume. He released his first perfume in 1944 as a wedding present for his wife. He called them simply - "Femme" (Woman). Firm "Lalik" has developed a bottle in the form of a fragment female figure with a slender waist and rounded hips, he is said to have been inspired by Mae West's design. The number of spirits was very limited, because there was a war, so people were signed up for them in a queue.

obstinate clients,

Creativity of Jean-Paul Gaultier himself is also distinguished by a certain moment of exaggeration. However, in my opinion, he does it quite interestingly. Later, fate gave Gaultier a chance to work as a costume designer in films. Of all the designers who provided their costumes for filming, Jean-Paul, in my opinion, really added bright, important accents to the films, helped to more accurately reveal the characters of the characters and the essence of the picture itself.

Film 2. 1989 "A COOK, A THIEF, HIS WIFE AND HER LOVER"
PETER GREENWAY. SEXUAL AGGRESSION.

Jean Paul Gaultier, Peter Greenaway - Party 1993, Theater des Champs Elysees

This is the first film by Jean-Paul Gaultier in which he acted as a costume designer. Despite the tough plot, the film is very picturesque and incredibly imaginative. It is called "a masterpiece of triumphant scenic spectacle."

This film brought together a wonderful team of excellent professionals: director - Peter Greenway, a man with an unconventional view of the world (by the way, an artist by training), production designer Ben van Os (who does not remember his "Girl with a Pearl Earring" ?!), mine favorite composer - Michael Nyman ("The Piano", "The Draftsman's Contract" and much more). Actors - Michael Gabon (whose face, thanks to "Harry Potter" is now known to the whole world), Helena Mirren (the beautiful "Queen" Frears, an actress with Russian roots) and Tim Roth (a thin, beautiful actor, Tarantino's favorite, now known to fans of TV series on "Lie to Me"). And the costumes played a big role in this film.

The film's motto is "food, sex and death." Gaultier style, with its sexually aggressive dresses, corsets, tight skirts, high heels fits perfectly into this concept. Greenway loves to structure everything. So in this film, his love for order takes on the image of a food factory: food is prepared in the kitchen, eaten in a restaurant, and thrown away in the toilet. Each of these objects has a different color: green, red, and white. The color of the heroes' costumes also changes depending on which room they are in. While the heroes walk through the kitchen, their clothes are gray-green, go into the restaurant hall - they turn black and red, go to the toilet - black and white. Moreover, this was not done on a computer, but new suits of a different color were sewn.

Well, the final, demonic dress of Helena Mirren accurately and figuratively emphasizes the tension of the scene. The heroine looks like an outlandish bird entangled in a net.

Self-citation.

A similar dress, but in a different color from the couturier collection

Collection 2009 - 2010 and Lady Gaga

Film 3. 1993 "KIKA" by P. ALMODOVAR.
BLOOD GLAMOR

In the kitsch picture of the absurd "Kika", Gaultier no longer acts as a costume designer, but only as the designer of one star - Victoria Abril. It seems to me that this character, in terms of his aesthetics, is the closest thing to a designer, his artistic self. Other characters were dressed by Gianni Versace.

P. Almodovar, Victoria Abril and Jean-Paul Gaultier

sketches of costumes for the film

still from the film "Kika"

This costume from the film is in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Part of the "Cyberpunk" outfit designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier for Victoria Abril in the 1994 film "Kika" directed by Pedro Almodovar. Victoria Abril "s character, Andrea" Scarface "Caracortada is shown riding her motorcycle around Madrid wearing futuristic combat clothes such as these with electronically controlled lights and elements.

As for the dresses for Andrea, the host of Worst of the Day, the director asked Jean-Paul to pretend that she had just been the victim of a disaster, but that she still had to look glamorous.

The choice of the range of these dresses is not accidental. There is not only a direct association: red is blood, black is death. Here and following the Spanish traditions with a fierce sexual temperament, bloodthirsty bullfighting, graceful flamenco.

In this shot, the hem of the dress looks like streams of blood that flood the screen. A spectacular metaphor conveyed through the costume. "Her costumes reflect the character of the heroine," says Almodovar, and Gaultier calls the style "bloody glamor."

Hair wiggles with rubber wires

blood drips onto the shoes with shiny red plastic appliqués.

“It's a reflection of the aesthetics of horror, trash design and post-punk in fashion, and the result is aesthetic violence,” said Almodovar.The costumes fit perfectly into the style of the film, adding some visual acuity and grotesque to it.

“It's a reflection of the aesthetics of horror, junk design and post-punk fashion, and the result is aesthetic violence,” said Almodovar. The costumes fit perfectly into the film's style, adding some visual acuity and grotesque to it.

Catherine Deneuve in a dress by Gaultier

The famous Madonna costume

Film 4. 1995 "CITY OF LOST CHILDREN"
MARK CARO, JEAN-PIERRE GENET.
FORWARD TO THE PAST

Looking at the characters of the movie "City of Lost Children" you feel as if they got out of an old, dusty chest magic theater... Dwarfs, giants, identical people, Siamese twins, the talking brain ... and the kids on the other side of it all.

And they are all dressed by Gaultier. "The greatest talent of Jean-Paul Gaultier is that he brings his personal vision into the universe of the film. But how!" - said about the designer Caro, one of the directors of the film.

"We both believe in an extreme of beauty that many people would find strange. The same extreme is present in his fashion shows."

costume sketches, shots from the movie "City of Lost Children"

"City of Lost Children" is a very French painting, with a special national flavor. Gautier tried to make costumes in the style of the first French films. “In old French films, the image has a very great importance"Said the designer. "For example, in the films" L "Argent" ("Money") Marcel L "Herbier and" Les Enfants du Paradis"(Children of Rayk) by Marcel Carne. I saw these films as a child - my mother watched them on TV. They influenced me and my attitude to fashion. The film" Money "is a kind of" Metropolis ". These are all films in style Art Deco.

still from the movie "Money"

Karo said that there is no specific time in the picture. It is clear that this is not happening now, but you do not know exactly when, "- said Gaultier." He told me to watch Charlie Chaplin's films, for example, " Kid" ("Baby").

Shot from the movie "Kid"

He wanted the children to look something like this, in the same spirit. In time - somewhere from the beginning of the century to the 40s. "

still from the movie "City of Lost Children"

“I felt,” Gaultier continued his story, “that elegance is a thing of the past, but I thought it would be cool and modern to put together different eras to create a timeless period. "

The real Breton sailor sweater that Gaultier so popularized. In the 18th century, the inhabitants of Brittany (a region in northwestern France) sailed to England to sell onions. These merchants wore sweaters that made them recognizable from afar. They were very tightly bound in an unusual way- did not let water through, resisted wind and cold. The British kept this method of knitting such sweaters a secret. Since they were worn tightly over the body, they were called the "second skin of sailors".

Jean-Paul himself in his "signature" jumper and haute couture models from his collections

I love that my costumes in this film are part of the atmosphere. They play a decisive role in cinema, but they are also made for cinema, and not as an advertisement for Jean-Paul Gaultier. "
Apparently, working with children captivated Gaultier so much that years later he made a children's collection.

1997 "FIFTH ELEMENT" LUKE BESSON.
UNISEX OF THE FUTURE

One of the most notable paintings by J.-P. Gaultier, this is, of course, the Fifth Element. He designed 954 costumes for this movie. “I wanted the very best designer, and that is Jean-Paul,” Besson said. "He feels the color, he knows the taste of New York." The space of the film, which takes place in the future, allowed Gaultier to embody all his fantasies in costumes. So, even for the brutal Korben Dallas, played by Bruce Willis, he came up with a suit with a neckline on the back, which is usually a part of women's dresses.