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After presenting his masterful final haute couture show in January 2020, Jean Paul Gaultier<\/strong> unveiled an innovative concept designed to keep his legacy alive. Twice a year, he entrusts the keys to his couture ateliers to a guest fashion designer whose goal is to revisit his archives through the lens of their own stylistic codes.<\/p> <\/p> On Monday 18th of March, 2024, as Jean Paul Gaultier appointed Nicolas di Felice<\/strong>, artistic director of Courre\u0300ges<\/strong>, as the designer of his next haute couture show, Nume\u0301ro <\/em>looked back at the six past collaborations.<\/p>\n <\/p> In early 2020, shortly after unveiling his last haute couture show, Jean Paul Gaultier revealed the name of the first fashion designer invited to take over his legacy for a show scheduled in 2021: Chitose Abe<\/strong>, the founder of the Japanese label Sacai<\/strong>. From the very first look, the navy-blue, tennis striped suit – one of Jean Paul Gaultier\u2019s signature pieces – gave birth to a baroque dress, as well as oversized, high-waisted pants and asymmetrical, unstructured blazers. Used to distorting wardrobe basics, just like the French couturier, Chitose Abe confirms her talent by turning trench coats, bombers and down jackets into dresses with surprising proportions, while denim shorts are multiplied tenfold and superimposed to form the pleats of a tone-on-tone skirt. A collection that testifies to Chitose Abe\u2019s love of punk fashion, but also to the art of deconstruction, a legacy of her elders Rei Kawakubo<\/strong> and Yohji Yamamoto<\/strong> passed down to her.<\/p> <\/p> \u201cThe way Chitose Abe tears clothes down matches my idea of recuperation, just like when women would sometimes take their husbands\u2019 pants and turn them into skirts during World War II. (…) She took up techniques I had already used and improved them. I was very moved to see the result, and I also loved the models, the presentation… It was me without being me<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p> Among extravagance, maximalism and opulence, Glenn Martens<\/strong>\u2019 couture collection for Jean Paul Gaultier leaves no one indifferent. With about thirty pieces, the avant-garde designer, artistic director of the label Y\/Project<\/strong> and of Diesel<\/strong>, pushes the French couturier\u2019s DNA to the another level. For starters, the stripes: he uses both vertically and horizontally this pattern so dear to Jean Paul Gaultier to cover all ensembles and dresses in order to accentuate the feminine curves. Then, the corset: in each piece, Glenn Martens creates a wide range of lacings from this iconic accessory, sometimes spectacular on a section of a dress, at times following the length of a dress from shoulder to foot, while satin ribbons intertwine to circle the bust. The Belgian fashion designer also enhances the sensuality of the body with a series of sheer, skin-tight sheath dresses, for a bodycon effect. As a result of great technical prowess, the collection also pays tribute to the origins of haute couture, with voluminous taffetas reminiscent of creations by Charles James or Charles Frederik Worth.<\/p> <\/p> \u201cKnowing my archives and seeing what Glenn Martens was offering with his label Y\/Project, I could already picture what he would be interested in and what direction he would take. I have always loved and followed his work. I remember a pair of incredible thigh-high boots in organza or organdie in particular. What strikes my attention is his wildness combined with his Flemish discipline<\/em>.\u201d<\/p> <\/p> See all the photos from the Jean Paul Gaultier haute couture show by Glenn Martens.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p> Conceived as a love letter to Jean Paul Gaultier<\/strong>, Olivier Rousteing<\/strong>\u2019s collection revamps five monuments of the French designer\u2019s legacy. As Jean Paul Gaultier was one of the precursors of discovering models outside the agencies, this show was stage with an inclusive cast and echoes the 1994 collection \u201cLes Tatouages\u201d<\/strong>, with cone bras as a tribute to Madonna<\/a> and the offbeat tailoring dear to the French \u201cenfant terrible <\/em>of fashion\u201d. More astonishingly, the collection features sculptural metal creations inspired by the perfume \u201cLe Ma\u0302le\u201d.<\/p> <\/p> \u201cI was sure of my choice when I invited him, but when I saw the result, I was very moved. He even went further than I did, outdoing some of my ideas, so there was something exhilarating about his show. And I was in awe when I saw the clothes up close, because Olivier really knew how to use the techniques of haute couture<\/em>,\u201d Jean Paul Gaultier<\/strong> shared in an exclusive interview with Nume\u0301ro<\/em>.<\/p> <\/p> See all photos of the Jean Paul Gaultier haute couture show by Olivier Rousteing.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p> After the extravagance of Glenn Martens\u2019 and Olivier Rousteing\u2019s collections, Haider Ackermann<\/strong>\u2019s vision stands out from its predecessors for its apparent sobriety. For this new series of pieces, the French designer has decided to emphasize a less flamboyant, yet nonetheless relevant aspect of the house of Jean Paul Gaultier, which is tailoring<\/strong>. Among blazers, tailcoats, and sharp carrot pants, the designer\u2019s minimalist creations play with lines – the famous cone bra worn by Madonna now turns into a bustier with almost pyramidal breasts. As a response to the prevailing dark, deep, monochrome tones of these pared-down pieces, Haider Ackermann offers tangy hues, from sky blue to orange and aniseed green, in the lining or details of a piece, and even extends them to a whole dress. Sequins, fur, Lurex dresses, and white feather pants for an immaculate bride complete this highly sophisticated wardrobe.<\/p> <\/p> \u201cHaider hasn\u2019t taken on the most obvious, best-known or most talked-about features of my universe, like the sailor striped top for instance. Regarding the corset, he instilled a personal inspiration into the piece: he superimposed two of them, a tighter one holding back a wider one, all tucked into a pair of pants. I thought it was a splendid way of diverting my codes by imagining a corset that was itself corseted. When I discovered the collection designed by Haider, I saw a beautiful couture collection above all. I pictured myself wearing it, with beauty and rigor, not with ease. It is quintessential couture to some extent<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p> While his predecessors have revisited some of Jean Paul Gaultier<\/strong>\u2019s most memorable collections and designs, Julien Dossena<\/strong> explores a theme dear to the designer\u2019s heart: Paris and its population. Each of the 33 looks pays tribute to a specific Parisian neighborhood, in a more or less literal way. Abandoning the subversive aspect of Jean Paul Gaultier<\/strong>\u2019s legacy, the vision of the artistic director of Rabanne<\/strong> unfolds in a myriad of metal chains and chain mails, the Spanish designer\u2019s signature.<\/p> <\/p> \u201cI didn\u2019t come here to do a couture collection that would resemble what I would do in haute couture. I see my work as an interpretation, like any artist would do with a musical repertoire. It is a bit like conducting a recital. It is about giving a different tempo to already existing pieces<\/em>,\u201d Julien Dossena<\/strong> told Le Monde <\/em>in an interview.<\/p>\n <\/p> It was Simone Rocha<\/strong>\u2019s turn to present her collection for Jean Paul Gaultier<\/strong> during the Paris haute couture Fashion Week, last January. The Irish designer, who founded her label in 2010, delivers a poetic and provocative interpretation of the French couturier\u2019s universe. Throughout her couture collection, Simone Rocha<\/strong> cross-references the collections \u201cLes Tatouages\u201d<\/strong> and its trompe-l\u2019\u0153il, \u201cDadaism\u201d<\/strong> and its infamous cone bras, \u201cBarbe\u0300s\u201d<\/strong> and its gathered satin, and the sailor stripes<\/strong>. She injects her own codes inspired by her native Ireland with humor and sensitivity, but also byhistorical costumes, such as the crinoline hoop skirt, and romantic details like satin bows and ribbons, translucent tulle and nude tones.<\/p> <\/p>
<\/div>\n Jean Paul Gaultier by Sacai: hybridization and experimentation<\/h2>
<\/div>\n Jean Paul Gaultier by Glenn Martens: maximalism and sensuality<\/h2>
<\/div>\n Jean Paul Gaultier by Olivier Rousteing: cone bra and perfume bottle<\/h2>
<\/div>\n Jean Paul Gaultier by Haider Ackermann: masterful tailoring<\/h2>
<\/div>\n Jean Paul Gaultier by Julien Dossena: a phantasmagorical Paris<\/h2>
<\/div>\n Jean Paul Gaultier couture collection by Simone Rocha<\/h2>