BEAUTY: Clothing--Olivier Rousteing for Jean Paul Gaultier

Jean Paul Gaultier stopped showing on the Paris fashion calendar many years ago now but his house and brand are still in operation, despite the fact that he himself mounted a farewell show in 2020. In fact, Gaultier has embarked on a fun project to hand over a season's collection to another designer to interpret what the house has done in the past, to take elements from classic Gaultier designs and create a new mix, a mash-up as it were.

This high-profile collaboration (which obliquely recalls Warhol and Basquiat working together) is still fairly new: Sacai’s Chitose Abe (previously here) created a womenswear collection for Fall 2021 and Glenn Martens (previously here) created a Spring 2022 collection, also for women. And for this third outing, Gaultier chose Olivier Rousteing who currently heads Balmain (previously here) to whip up something from the archives. And he did not disappoint. The runway presentation was divided into halves which began with a small menswear collection and moved on to a more extensive women's collection. His take on both men's and women's was supremely imaginative. But he used Gaultier's 1994 tattoo collection, appropriately entitled "Les Tatouages" as a springboard for his men (see photos from the mind-boggling original JPG runway show at Vogue's designer archives here).

Check out Rousteing's mash up of the tattoo motifs which also feature curlicues and baroque graphics from world currency layered on top of the classic white and navy blue striped Breton sweater celebrated by JPG. Sections of denim jackets, shorts, and trousers get cut up and appliquéd to other garments for a trompe l'oeil effect. Accessories feature huge, chunky silver necklaces and bracelets that recall the tribal, Berber-inspired jewelry from the original collection. And the incredible platform boots feature a sole of metal that references a familiar element in the JPG universe: the revolutionary packing and bottle of his Le Male fragrance!

In fact, his women's section opened with a truly stunning art piece: an outfit that is a direct representation of the Le Male perfume bottle. The bodice is a mold of actual glass made by the expert responsible for the stained glass windows of Notre Dame while the skirt is metal. Just incredible!

Watch the show below and you can see how Rousteing combined the Gaultier motifs with the intricately braided rope detail he is known for at Balmain.

https://fashion.jeanpaulgaultier.com/