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Eight themes of the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibition in Paris: April to August 2015



Jean Paul Gaultier’s haute couture and pret-a-porter fashions from 1970 to 2013 are on display at the Grand Palais in Paris from 1 April to 3 August 2015.

Jean Paul Gaultier (1952-) is an avant-gardist, eclectically inspired by multiculturalism, the evocative, the aesthetic, humour, and in challenging social norms. As a teenager he designed two collections a year. On his 18th birthday Pierre Cardin offered him employment as an assistant. He presented his first official collection in October 1976.

The exhibit is displayed in eight themes: (1) Les Falbalas de Gaultier (2) L’Odyssee, (3) Punk CanCan (4) Muses (5) Le Salon (6) A Fleur de Peau - A Flower of Skin, X-Rated (7) Metropolis and (8) Urban Jungle.

The first theme displays photographs of the young Gaultier with his family, especially his grandmother, along with the exhibit of his famous teddy bear that he used to dress and cover with make-up.

L’Odyssee displays influences from Coco Chanel and Pablo Picasso, but also Popeye and Tom of Finland. The result is the iconic sailor period – striped tops and sailor pants in a variety of ways.



Punk Can Can displays fashion influenced by the Parisienne dance, the can can, with it flurry of layered skirts (froufrou), fish net stockings, feather boas, and French symbols, especially the Eiffel Tower. Other French symbols used in his fashions include the beret and the trench coat. In addition to the Paris theme—he was born in a suburb of Paris—the British fashion scene also fascinated him, especially punk fashion. His fashions during this period include jeans, denim, slashed fabric, pins, skulls, the British flag, and tartan.







The Muses section showcases Gaultier’s transgender, transvestite, and androgynous influences and his muses, such as Beth Ditto, the American group Gossip, Boy George, and recently the 2014 Eurovision winner, singer Conchita Wurst.



Le Salon shows his love of corsets and the Fleur de Peau section displays fashion with influences in the illusion of nudity, eroticism, sheer fabrics, and exposed skin.




Metropolis is an exhibition dedicated to the cinema, television, music, and dance, as well as costumes for movies. He created costumes for several movies and entertainers, such as Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Tina Turner, and Lady Gaga.


The exhibition finishes with the Urban Jungle theme in which he explores various cultures, geographic regions, ethnicities, religions, and linguistical themes. Hybrid fashions, animal prints and fabrics, and mix-and-match styles are prominent during this period.










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