THE FASHION WORLD OF JEAN PAUL GAULTIER: FROM THE SIDEWALK TO THE CATWALK
It was the week I had been involved in a car accident. Whiplash, damaged chest and a chauffeur’s fracture, where on collision, the steering wheel spins your hands around and snaps your wrist. Of course, I was put in a cast. And perhaps this was Fate’s way of doing things as this was also the week I had major interviews lined up – Arman, the sculptor who broke and burned objects, the designer and perfume supremo, Paco Rabanne, and one gentleman by the name of Jean Paul Gaultier. All of them signed my cast and Gaultier added a little sketch of a sailor-esque face.
So, it was wonderful to meet this charming man again after so many years – 25 to be precise – and at a more than sparkling 62, celebrating 40 years in the business. This exhibition is an absolute triumph of creative display – a paean to certainly one of the most talented designers of all time. That might seem a mite too much to say, but rest assured it is not. Extraordinary, magnificent, unexpected, humorous, thought-provoking and provocative, his earliest moniker was the ‘enfant terrible’.
On entry, you encounter a drawing – white lines on a black ground – a constant motif along with the familiar Breton stripe. The first thing one notices is the mannequins themselves, with expressive human faces projected onto the heads, smiling, pouting, with eyes that seem to return your gaze. One stutters and splutters, reminiscent of Billie Whitelaw in Samuel Beckett’s Not I. Inspiration is everywhere and nothing is chronologically presented but instead divided into sections such as Urban Jungle, Metropolis, Skin Deep and The Boudoir. Gaultier’s love of punk dazzles with its edgy audacity, featuring mannequins with three-foot-high Mohicans, the perfect foil to his beautifully constructed gowns in anything from silk to denim. Purposefully darkened ‘cells’ display his yen for a bit of S&M where whips abound, and his glorious hats and other accessories are truly delightful. It is almost impossible to fathom the man’s breadth of inspiration and delivery.
Genius maverick, intelligent beyond words, Gaultier is in the truest sense of the word a star. His first employer, Pierre Cardin, said: ‘You are a true designer when people recognise your work without even looking at the label. This is the case for Jean Paul Gaultier.’
And that is the pointe finale.
Until 25 August at Barbican Centre, London EC2: 020-7638 8891, www.barbican.org.uk
So, it was wonderful to meet this charming man again after so many years – 25 to be precise – and at a more than sparkling 62, celebrating 40 years in the business. This exhibition is an absolute triumph of creative display – a paean to certainly one of the most talented designers of all time. That might seem a mite too much to say, but rest assured it is not. Extraordinary, magnificent, unexpected, humorous, thought-provoking and provocative, his earliest moniker was the ‘enfant terrible’.
On entry, you encounter a drawing – white lines on a black ground – a constant motif along with the familiar Breton stripe. The first thing one notices is the mannequins themselves, with expressive human faces projected onto the heads, smiling, pouting, with eyes that seem to return your gaze. One stutters and splutters, reminiscent of Billie Whitelaw in Samuel Beckett’s Not I. Inspiration is everywhere and nothing is chronologically presented but instead divided into sections such as Urban Jungle, Metropolis, Skin Deep and The Boudoir. Gaultier’s love of punk dazzles with its edgy audacity, featuring mannequins with three-foot-high Mohicans, the perfect foil to his beautifully constructed gowns in anything from silk to denim. Purposefully darkened ‘cells’ display his yen for a bit of S&M where whips abound, and his glorious hats and other accessories are truly delightful. It is almost impossible to fathom the man’s breadth of inspiration and delivery.
Genius maverick, intelligent beyond words, Gaultier is in the truest sense of the word a star. His first employer, Pierre Cardin, said: ‘You are a true designer when people recognise your work without even looking at the label. This is the case for Jean Paul Gaultier.’
And that is the pointe finale.
Until 25 August at Barbican Centre, London EC2: 020-7638 8891, www.barbican.org.uk