Fashion Legend Jean-Paul Gaultier Bows Out In Style
Muhammad Rameez Published January 23, 2020 | 09:21 AM
Paris, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Jan, 2020 ) :Jean-Paul Gaultier has bowed out of fashion with all the cheek and showmanship with which he has lit it up over the last half century.
The legendary French provocateur bid farewell Wednesday with an hour-long feelgood musical spectacular with an orchestra and a cast of hundreds to celebrate the friends and the often outrageous looks that helped make him a star.
With what seemed like the entire fashion world gathered to pay tribute, the mammoth production began with a black coffin with two conical breasts sticking out of it being carried down a set worthy of Cecil B DeMille.
It was Gaultier's knowing joke that the conical bra he famously put on Madonna will probably end up on his tombstone.
British singer Boy George closed the show, with fashionistas on their feet as the designer emerged in the same blue work overalls as his studio staff when the curtain lifted to reveal the backstage.
Raised onto the shoulders of some of the 220 models who had sashayed down the runway, he threw kisses as the audience chanted his name to the strains of the Culture Club hit "Church of the Poison Mind".
The ode to freaks and outsiders echoed the way the maverick designer pioneered body positive thinking and gender fluidity long before they became fashionable.
American singer Beth Ditto and the bearded Austrian drag queen Conchita Wurst were among the atypical models he managed to charm onto the catwalk.
While Madonna herself did not make it to the show, the "French Madonna" Mylene Farmer did, along with a galaxy of Gallic stars including "Betty Blue" actress Beatrice Dalle.
In a touching message before the curtain lifted, Gaultier gave the world a lesson in sustainability and making do.
"There are too many clothes and too many that are never worn. Don't throw them away, recycle them," he said, declaring his final collection was his first "upcycled haute couture" one.
"When I was a child my mother told me how she would turn my father's old worn trousers into skirts. That marked me. You can love a garment again by transforming it," Gaultier said.
"I have been doing that since... In my first show and in this my last there are creations made with the jeans I've worn," he said.
"It's the most beautiful of materials. Like a lot of humans, it becomes even more beautiful as it gets older." The flamboyant creator stunned fans on Friday by announcing that the haute couture show in the French capital would be his last.
- 'Laughing and crying' - Many believe the 67-year-old showman may now throw himself into showbiz.
His "Fashion Freak Show", a cheeky cabaret revue based on his life has been a popular and critical hit.
With its catchphrase "Tout le monde est beau!" ("Everybody looks so good!"), it was a feel-good smash when he premiered it at the Folies Bergere in Paris in 2018.
It is now touring Russia after an acclaimed London run.
Gaultier's perfume range and high-end haute couture business, Gaultier Paris, will live on, the brand told AFP.
"For years now Jean Paul-Gaultier has been saying, 'I am going to have to make a decision (about the future)'," said fashion historian Olivier Saillard.
"I think the success of the show has shown him a way," he added.
"It has been wonderful for him to see the public laughing and crying with him," the historian told AFP.
"It is so much more joyful than a fashion show, which lasts 11 minutes and where people are always on their phones taking photos." The impish creator had previously carved out a cult following as a presenter of the late-night 1990s television show "Eurotrash".
Gaultier stopped designing ready-to-wear clothes in 2015 to concentrate on haute couture -- extravagant handmade clothes which only the world's richest women can afford.
- Body-positive pioneer - Never less than flamboyant, Gaultier was a fashion prodigy.
From the start he challenged gender stereotypes and conventional ideas of beauty, once placing an advert for "atypical" models.
"The facially disfigured should not refrain from applying," he added.
Saillard said the couturier was "like a father" to many top designers he had mentored over the years, but "he feels fashion has changed terribly".
Nor was it a secret that Gaultier was unhappy with the Catalan luxury conglomerate Puig, who bought his brand in 2011.
"He will be back, but in a different way," said Saillard.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Robinson, bowlers help New Zealand go 2-1 up against Pakistan
Shahzeb Chachar to hold khuli kachehri on April 26
Heatwave amid Israel's aggression in Gaza brings new misery, disease risk
Tourism must change, mayor says as Venice launches entry fee
Court adjourns Judicial Complex attack case till May 17
Nasreen Noori’s book ‘Popatan Jahra Khwab’ launched
Wafaqi Mohtasib inspection team visits Excise and taxation office
AJLAC announces 5th Conference titled ‘People’s Mandate: Safeguarding Civil ..
Pak-US officials engage to enhance trade, investment ties
IBCC to promote educational excellence, expand regional presence
Pakistani 'Blue Helmets' serving UN Peacekeeping Mission in DR Congo set to leav ..
Putin says plans to visit China in May
More Stories From Sports
-
Robinson, bowlers help New Zealand go 2-1 up against Pakistan
4 hours ago -
National Hockey camp to be organized for Azlan Shah tournament
5 hours ago -
Islamabad Tennis Club demolished by CDA amid anti-encroachment action at public park: Tarar
7 hours ago -
Shayan, Rashid, Junaid to represent Pakistan in U12 Regional Qualifying Jrs
7 hours ago -
Olympic Games Paris 2024: How teams qualified
8 hours ago -
ICC T20 World Cup 2024 trophy unveiled in Islamabad
7 hours ago
-
Pakistan to tour New Zealand for 3 ODIs, 5 T20Is next March
7 hours ago -
Xavi and Barca remain tied in marriage of convenience
7 hours ago -
Pakistan Master Tenpin Bowling C'ship postponed
7 hours ago -
Tennis: ATP/WTA Madrid Open results
7 hours ago -
1st-ever National Sports Revival conference starts next month
9 hours ago -
Usain Bolt named ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Ambassador
9 hours ago