JEAN PAUL GAULTIER - brand history. Jean-Paul Gaultier Biography, Information, Personal Life Jean Paul Gaultier Show

(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 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. Little Gauthier drew his first design inspiration from what he saw, which resulted in stylish suits 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, film and just in the looks of random 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 (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 Maison Jean Patou, then went to Angelo Tarlazzi.

1974-1975 – Gaultier is developing PIERRE CARDIN collections for the US market.

1976 - Jean-Paul opens his own clothing company. His partners are two school friends. Francis Menuge was appointed director of the company, a position he held until 1990, the year he died of AIDS. The second companion was Donald Potar. He took over the business after the death of a friend.

Start-up entrepreneurs at that time had almost no money. They created the first collection from "improvised materials". It consisted, for example, of small dresses made of napkins or tea strainers and batteries. From this collection, Gauthier's signature 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, Gauthier decided never to go unnoticed again. And he was great at it. He sought, by all means, to shock the public. Gautier 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 men or fat women.

“I strive to avoid the sclerotic cliché, the 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 cinema. The first project for him was the film by Peter Greenaway (Peter Greenaway) "The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover." It was followed by a picture of the Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar (Pedro Almodóvar) "Kika". In 1997, Gaultier designed the clothing for Luc Besson's The Fifth Element.

First youth collection of the brand "Junior Gauthier" was released in 1988. And the first collection of denim - in 1992.

The beginning of the 90s was marked by a special rampage of the grotesque in the collections of Gauthier. He beat the cowboy style in a parodic way, created headdresses in the form of kitchen utensils and musical instruments. Jean-Paul invented transparent bodysuits, and released alien women with shaved heads and on a huge platform onto the catwalk.

The fashion designer has always paid great attention to his own. It was another tool to attract attention. He was easily recognizable by his bleached hair, vest and boots. Not only he walked in a vest, men's perfume was “dressed” in it, 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 CDs and was fond of photography.

Since 1993, the designer's passion for ethnic themes begins. The Rabbi Chic collection was inspired by images of Hasidic rabbis he happened to see on the streets of New York. So in his arsenal appeared dark clothes to the floor, loose, and small hats. The 1994 collection "Tatu" had a huge impact on the youth fashion of the last decade of the century, and the costumes of Africa and Southeast Asia were taken as its basis. On the clothes there were drawings in the form of tattoos, reminiscent of banknotes and graffiti motifs. Insanely popular in the 90s were ethnic-style silver jewelry and piercings - these ideas also belonged to Gaultier.

The Mongols collection of 1994-1995 continued the theme of the 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 stated 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 men's and women's clothing, which parodied the traditions of high fashion with extraordinary talent.

In 1999, the Gautier company sells 35% of its shares to the company "". This gives the fashion designer a material basis for the subsequent expansion of his business.

Jean-Paul Gaultier entered the 2000s no longer as a rebel, but as a classic of French fashion. The designer said that the main thing in clothes for him is the timeliness and democracy. Both features were characteristic of all the creations of Gauthier: from jeans to evening dresses.

Today, the experience and knowledge of the master have been added to the originality of the ideas of the fashion genius. His products are distinguished by their perfect cut and virtuoso handling of materials.

Jean-Paul Gaultier was often called "the most ingenious 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.

Amanda Lear interview with Jean-Paul Gaultier for Interview magazine (2012)

A.L.: You recently turned 60. Of course, I don’t know what it is, but they say it’s wonderful. What advice would you give to your 25 year old self?
J-P.G.: I wouldn't give myself any advice. I'm happy with how it all turned out.

A.L.:And you don't miss your youth at all?
J-P.G.: I started at 18 with Pierre Cardin. Everything was great with him, because he, like me, loves to experiment, and he doesn’t care about any rules. He could easily say, "I want boots 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, this was a very important moment in men's fashion. Then the guys were no longer embarrassed to look feminine: they wore shirts with frills and painted. And I was close to all this. So, with Carden, we worked together.

A.L.:Was it so easy for you to work with everyone?
J-P.G.: I wouldn't say. With my next boss, Jean Patou, things were much more complicated. I think he traumatized my psyche. I wore riding boots and my employees laughed at me asking where I left my horse. Almost every day they tried to convince me that beige is the most luxurious color, and it is absolutely impossible to hire dark-skinned models for the show. All this did not coincide with my own ideas about fashion. I do love to mix. But at my first show, I went all out. I remember that the French newspapers then wrote that I was doing “hell knows what”, but in England, on the contrary, they understood me. During my trip to London, I felt free. Why am I telling you, you yourself know everything, you lived there.

Interview of Jean-Paul Gaultier for the Internet portal Hybebeast.com (June 2011)


H:
Please accept my belated birthday wishes! How was the celebration?
J-PG:- Thank you. I'm on a special cleansing diet at the moment, so I didn't even have to try the birthday cake, just a tiny bit.

H:What is your most memorable birthday?
J-PG: I usually don't make a big fuss about my birthday. It's too personal and intimate. However, on my 50th birthday, I threw a real party and came to it in a woman's dress.

H:This year you are also celebrating 35 years since your first show. You have been in the profession for the fourth decade, however, despite this, each of your shows looks very fresh. How do you do it?
J-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 everywhere: from cinema, music or theater.

H:You've built your brand, Jean Paul Gaultier, in a way that no one else has looked at before: you've explored the standards of the ready-to-wear market with a different approach to life. You have looked at fashion from a 360-degree angle, turning to household items, children's clothing and cosmetics at one time. Did you learn about this method at the age of 18 from your teacher Pierre Cardin?
J-PG:— No, I learned about freedom from M. Cardin. Absolute freedom reigned in his studio. I could bring him a sketch of a suit, and he would say in response: “Fine, now make furniture out of this for me.” I worked with him in 1970 and he had just opened a theater where he also did his shows. He had helpers from all over the world. It was there, thanks to colleagues from the Land of the Rising Sun, that I first got acquainted with Japanese cuisine. It was a great time that taught me that if you want to succeed in 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 of ​​the tapered bra?
J-PG:- For the first time I saw Madonna when she was already at the peak of 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 was already live at the MTV awards in New York on the stage of Radio City. It was probably 1984. She sang the song "Like A Virgin" while wearing a wedding dress. In the course of the song, Madonna imitated, let's call it a euphemism, self-satisfaction. The audience in the hall, consisting mainly of business people, was simply shocked. There were only a few young fans of the singer among those who came, and I am among them, who really appreciated this spectacle. That's when I realized how little she cares what other people think of her, and how strong this woman is. I became her real fan: 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 contact me for a stage costume. It seemed to me that I could do it much better than her current designer. So when, right before the prêt-a-porter show two years later, my PR manager told me I should call Madonna, I thought he was playing a prank on me. However, three days later, I finally decided to check it out and called the number that was given to me. Madonna herself picked up the phone. “Hi, Gauthier,” she said. The Blonde "Ambition" tour was a real platform for fruitful cooperation and friendship for us. She was not at all intimidated by my ideas, so our vision was quite harmonious and boasted a rare symbiosis.

H:You've often made costumes for movies from The Fifth Element to City of Lost Children. Is this work different from preparing regular prêt-a-porter collections?
J-PG:- When I prepare for my own show, I am my own director, and I do it the way I want. My opinion remains decisive in absolutely everything. When I work for films, the director is someone else, so I have to adapt to his requests. I have just returned from Cannes, where I attended the premiere of Pedro Almodóvar's new film The Skin I Live In. This is our third joint project, and I really enjoy working with him. He always knows exactly what he wants. I love working with cinema as it's a good way to express myself in a different way.

Official site: www.jeanpaulgaultier.com

Jean-Paul Gaultier is our l "enfant terrible in the fashion world: he made a real revolution, brought street fashion to haute couture and relied on non-standard models at a time when ideal beauties Cindy Crawford and Linda Evangelista walked the catwalk. He dressed men in skirts, suggested wearing linen over clothes, and popularized the simple vest.During his long career, he created many iconic pieces that still inspire young designers to this day.Gaultier sees beauty everywhere and finds inspiration in the things that surround him: these are childhood memories, related to grandma, movies, people, pop culture, household items like a tin can We congratulate the maestro on his 66th birthday.

Gaultier grew up in a family of bank workers, and it would seem that nothing could connect him with fashion. As a child, he spent a lot of time with his grandmother, who adored him and, unlike strict parents, allowed her beloved grandson to watch TV as much as he wanted. In addition to films and various TV shows, the designer loved to watch broadcasts from the cult Parisian variety show and the Folies Bergère cabaret.

Gaultier never studied to be a designer, he sent his sketches to various fashion houses, until his work conquered Pierre Cardin - so at the age of 18 he was hired by the famous Frenchman. In 1976, Gauthier released his first collection, which gave him the nickname l'enfant terrible. Thus began the rise of Jean-Paul in the fashion world.

Cult things

“I always thought that beauty is not some kind of absolute, it exists in very different forms. It can be found where you did not expect to see it, ”Jean-Paul Gaultier said in an interview. The iconic vest appeared in the very first collection of the designer in 1973, but became popular only ten years later - after the show in 1983, when Gaultier was inspired by the image of a sailor from the movie Querelle. Many used it in their collections before him, but Gaultier elevated the simple print to an absolute in his striped dresses and skirts - she became his trademark.

In 1985, as part of the And God Created Man collection, Gaultier dresses his male models in skirts. Despite the fact that it was primarily a peculiar variation on the kilt theme, the designer was not afraid to break the stereotype associated with the gender of some part of the wardrobe.

Gauthier's women are always strong and powerful. So, over time, the boudoir theme appears in his collections, which he never ceases to develop from different angles. The designer also refers to his childhood memories - as a little boy, Gauthier saw his grandmother's delicate salmon corset and was amazed by this item of women's wardrobe. Impressed, he began to create corset dresses - he added them to his daily wardrobe. In 1983, he showed his famous cone bra, which became iconic thanks to Madonna - she wore it during her Blond Ambition World Tour in 1990.

Gautier surprised not only by design, but also by the choice of models. At his shows, you could see people who did not meet the usual standards of beauty.

Celebrity biographies

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His costumes were worn by the heroes of Besson's sci-fi film The Fifth Element and the tragicomedy The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, he created provocative outfits for the French stage star Mylène Farmer and for the pop queen Madonna. In the biography of Jean-Paul Gaultier, not everything immediately went smoothly, he did not receive a special education, but this does not in the least interfere with the inspiration of the couturier.

Biography of Jean-Paul Gaultier

Bear... dressed as a bride

The biography of Jean-Paul Gaultier began in the Parisian suburbs on April 24, 1952. He was looked after by his grandmother, who encouraged his little grandson in his drawing lessons, he could leaf through fashion magazines or watch TV for hours - from there, from the magical world of the blue screen, he drew his first inspiration. The boy began to make clothes for toys - from improvised material. So his teddy bear dressed in futuristic costumes, and sometimes “tried on” ... a wedding outfit.

In his youth, he thought that he would become a hairdresser or stylist, but, daring to send his sketches to Cardin, he received an invitation to work. Becoming an assistant to a famous fashion designer is a good start, but this community did not last very long. After working for other fashion houses, Jean-Paul went back to basics and moved to Manila in the mid-1970s. The young master worked on the line of Pierre Cardin, which was intended for the Americans. A year later, Gauthier dared to present his collection. He set up a company with a few friends, but became too futuristic: his napkin outfits and scrap jewelry were not outstanding. Although even then the Frenchman boldly experimented with styles.

Infant Terible

After the failure, Jean-Paul decided that he would still not follow the “trodden paths”, but some kind of high-profile scandal was needed to attract the attention of the public and the press. He decided to shock his compatriots by inviting ladies with a non-standard figure, punks, and elderly people instead of slender beauties-models. And the fashion shows themselves took place in incredible places: from the ring to museums and depots. He was quickly dubbed a “hooligan”, and was also called “l’enfant terrible” (in Russian it sounds familiar: “infant teribl”, “terrible or too spoiled child”) for his “garbage design” and not very aesthetic models. He himself preferred a "hooligan" style, wearing kilts and vests.

Related in spirit: Madonna, Farmer, Manson

In the late 1980s, the designer found a kindred spirit - the singer Madonna, who also aspired to outrageous and went on stage in front of thousands of spectators almost in her underwear. Gaultier contributed to the image of the “beautiful sinner”, it was he who created the legendary star performance bra with cone cups.

Cooperation with the brightest, adoring provocation, performers continued. So, stage costumes from Gauthier were preferred by another "infan terible", Marilyn Manson. Later, Mylene Farmer joined the army of couturier fans (the master made outfits for her for the tours of 2009 and 2013).

Eurovision stars and gothic bride

Twice, Jean-Paul Gaultier somehow guessed the success of the Eurovision participants with some sixth sense, and the singers twice dressed in his luxurious dresses won. Both times these were not “ordinary” girls. In 1998, the Israeli transgender Dana International. And in 2014 - Austrian Conchita Wurst.

Favorite movie characters

Do you remember the unimaginable outfit of the incessantly chattering hero Chris Tucker from The Fifth Element?

This, too, is the work of a "hooligan fashion designer", like all costumes for the tape. Jean-Paul dressed the characters of film directors Peter Greenaway and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, as well as Pedro Almodovar.

worldwide fame

In his mature years, the biography of Jean-Paul Gaultier was more than successful. He led a popular program on British TV, was friends with the stars, created mind-blowing collections and managed. For almost 7 years he was the creative director of the Hermès fashion house, during which time the legendary French corporation became a major shareholder of Jean Paul Gaultier S.A (45% of the shares). But in the spring of 2010, the couturier resigned as director to become president of his fashion house.

Since 1993, under the auspices of the brand, the perfume "from Gauthier" has been produced (this line is handled by the Spanish company "Puig", another shareholder of the fashion designer's company).

Personal life of Jean-Paul Gaultier

This wound will never heal

Couturier, like many of his colleagues, is openly gay. In 1990, a tragedy occurred in the personal life of Jean-Paul Gaultier: his lover Francis Menuge died from complications of AIDS. The fashion designer fell into despair and, as he himself admits, was close to suicide. But he did not leave the world of high fashion, saying: "One day, Francis came to me and said that I should continue to live ...".

No one has been able to heal this wound. The only thing that Jean-Paul can do for such sufferers of the immunodeficiency virus is to transfer money to the accounts of funds to fight this terrible disease.

Jean-Paul Gaultier is a wonderful artist who creates sophisticated, refined models with a touch of shocking and bright sensuality. At the same time, his work is distinguished by subtle self-irony, some hooliganism and artistry, making clothes "from Gauthier" 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 the fact that I became a fashion designer," says Jean-Paul Gaultier. A strong impression on the young Jean-Paul was made by the French film of 1944 "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 film was set in the atelier of Marcel Rocha, where they filmed the fashion house where the protagonist works. It opened up a whole fairy world in front of me. Of course, there were also my grandmother's corsets, but "Falbalas" was really a trigger. It incredibly accurately describes the world of Parisian couturiers. So when I started working for Cardin and Patou in 1970, I knew I hit Falbalas!”

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

Marcel Rocha

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

M. Rocha model


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


In our country, his name is well known thanks to the spirits. He released his first perfume in 1944 as a wedding gift for his wife. He called them simply - "Femme" (Woman). The Lalique company designed the bottle in the form of a fragment of a female figure with a thin waist and rounded hips, it is said that Mae West inspired this design. The number of spirits was very limited, because there was a war, so they were enrolled in a queue.

obstinate clients,


The work of Jean-Paul Gaultier himself also features a certain moment of exaggeration. However, in my opinion, he does it quite interestingly. Later, fate gave a chance to Gauthier himself to work as a costume designer in the cinema. 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' characters and the essence of the picture itself.

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

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

This is Jean-Paul Gaultier's first film in which he acted as costume designer. Despite the rigid plot, the film is very picturesque and incredibly imaginative. It has been called "a masterpiece of triumphant pictorial spectacle".

This film brought together a wonderful team of excellent professionals: director - Peter Greenaway, a man with a non-standard view of the world (by the way, an artist by education), production designer Ben van os (who does not remember his "Girl with a Pearl Earring" ?!), my favorite composer - Michael Nyman ("Piano", "Drafter'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 still known to fans of the series on "Lie to Me"). And the costumes in this film played a big role.


The motto of the film is "food, sex and death." Gaultier's 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 of order takes on the image of a food factory: food is prepared in the kitchen, eaten in a restaurant, thrown away in the toilet. Each of these objects has its own color: green, red and white. The color of the characters' costumes also changes depending on which room they are in. While the heroes are walking through the kitchen, their clothes are gray-green, they go into the restaurant hall - it turns black and red, they 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 in it looks like an outlandish bird entangled in a net.

Self-quoting.

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.
BLOODY GLAMOR

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

P. Almodovar, Victoria Abril and Jean-Paul Gaultier

costume designs for the film

frame from the movie "Kika"

This costume from the movie 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, host of Worst of the Day, the director asked Jean-Paul to imagine that she had just been a victim of a disaster, but at the same time she should 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 violent sexual temperament, the bloodthirstiness of bullfighting, the gracefulness of 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 this style "bloody glamour."

Hair wriggles like rubber wires

blood is dripping on his shoes in shiny red plastic appliqués.

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

"It's a reflection of the aesthetics of horror, junk design and post-punk fashion, resulting in aesthetic violence," said Almodóvar.

Catherine Deneuve in a Gaultier dress

Madonna's famous costume

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

Looking at the characters in the movie "City of Lost Children" you feel like a magic theater has been taken out of an old, dusty chest. Dwarfs, giants, identical people, Siamese twins, a talking brain ... and children on the other side of it all.

And they are all dressed by Gauthier. "The greatest talent of Jean-Paul Gaultier is that he brings his personal vision into the universe of the film. Yes, 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 weird. That same extreme is present in his fashion shows."


costume designs, scenes from the movie "City of Lost Children"

"City of Lost Children" is a very French picture, with a special national flavor. Gauthier tried to make costumes in the style of the first French films. “In old French films, the image is very important,” said the designer. "For example, in the films" L "Argent" ("Money") by Marcel L "Herbier and" Les Enfants du Paradis"("Children of Paradise") by Marcel Carnet. I saw these films as a child - my mother watched them on TV. They influenced me and my attitude towards fashion. The film "Money" is a kind of "Metropolis". These are all films in style art deco.

frame from the movie "Money"

Caro said that there is no specific time in the picture. It is clear that this is not happening now, but you don’t know exactly when,” Gauthier said. “He told me to watch Charlie Chaplin films, for example,“ kid" ("Baby").

Shot from the movie "Baby"

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

Frame from the movie "City of Lost Children"

“I felt,” Gauthier continued his story, “that elegance was a thing of the past, but I thought it would be great and modern to put together different eras to make a timeless period.”

A real sweater of the Breton sailors, which is so popularized by Gauthier. 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 connected in an unusual way - they did not let water through, they resisted wind and cold. The Britons kept this method of knitting such sweaters a secret. Since they were worn tightly dressed on 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 its 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, Gauthier was so fascinated by working with children that years later he made a children's collection.

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

One of the most notable paintings by J.-P. Gauthier, this, of course, is The Fifth Element. He designed 954 costumes for this film. ""I wanted the best designer, and that is Jean-Paul," said Besson. "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, performed by Bruce Willis, he came up with a suit with a neckline on the back, which is usually a detail of women's dresses.