Skip to main content

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.










Comments

Popular posts from this blog

2016 update on Rike Park, Tbilisi: from construction to busy park

From a flat patch of uninteresting dirt, Rike Park in Tbilisi, Georgia, has transformed in four years (from 2014-2016) into a busy park full of trees, flower beds, sculptures, fountains, and events. Rike (Rikhe) Park is on the left bank of the Mt’k’vari River (the Kura River) near the Old City of Tbilisi. The Peace Bridge links the right bank to Rike Park. Rike Park is below the hillside Presidential Palace and, via cable car, it is the starting point for the ride to Sololaki Ridge (with the Narikala Fortress and the Mother of Georgia statue). The glass box-shaped cable car terminus was opened on 23 June 2012, and since then the park has continually developed into a ‘people’s park’ where people can walk around, eat at the nearby restaurants, sit next to the statue of American president Ronald Reagan, climb the steps to Avlabari district, and access the sights of Meidan Square, the Peace Bridge, the Metekhi Church, the Old City, the waterfall, the sulphur baths, and t...

The acacia thorn trees of Kenya

There are nearly 800 species of acacia trees in the world, and most don’t have thorns. The famous "whistling thorn tree" and the Umbrella Thorn tree of Kenya are species of acacia that do have thorns, or spines. Giraffes and other herbivores normally eat thorny acacia foliage, but leave the whistling thorn alone. Usually spines are no deterrent to giraffes. Their long tongues are adapted to strip the leaves from the branches despite the thorns. The thorny acacia like dry and hot conditions. The thorns typically occur in pairs and are 5-8 centimetres (2-3 inches) long. Spines can be straight or curved depending on the species. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Suda...

Hop on hop off bus tourism comes to Tbilisi, Georgia

City Sightseeing buses have arrived in Tbilisi. The iconic red double-decker buses, a feature of many cities around the world since the company was established in Seville, Spain in 1999, is now in six continents and almost 100 cities. The company established its Tbilisi business in November 2013, with its operations commencing in February 2014. The 90-minute tour stops at 11 major locations in Tbilisi (with 2 to 5 minute waiting times at each location): the Old City (where it commences), Freedom Square, Rose Revolution Square, Marjanishvili Square, the Dry Bridge, Konka, Avlabari, Metekhi, Akhundov Museum, the Sulfur Baths, and European Square. Passengers can hop off at any stop and see the sights, hopping back onto the next bus at any time. Alternatively, passengers can remain on the bus for the whole tour and take photographs when the bus stops at each location. There are one day (24-hour) passes (for 35 lari – about $20) and 48-hour passes for 55 lari, with family d...