L’enfant terrible has grown to be one of the most respected creative geniuses of our time.
With a career spanning 40 years (more, if you include his teddy bear Nana, his first creation sporting a conical/i-conical bra), Gaultier is a master of upcycling, cross-fertilising and cross-dressing.
Fascinating Facts about Jean Paul Gaultier
I mentioned Nana, the symbolic teddy bear that was Gaultier’s first epiphany into his future career as a fashion designer.
Gaultier has not only collaborated with global pop stars like Madonna and Prince, but he designed costumes for films, most notably dressing the divine Helen Mirren in Peter Greenaway’s 1989 The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, and creating a sparkling, sensational bodycon dress for Gael Garcia Bernal in Pedro Almodovar’s 2004 film Bad Education.
Inspired by the punk movement and Vivienne Westwood in the 1970s, Gaultier has explored all facets of fashion and left no stone unturned.
As a body therapist I could not help myself being hypnotised by his revolving mannequins wearing skin-tight leotards depicting blood vessels, muscles and bones.
The scary mannequins speaking directly to you via a projection were equally hypnotising.
Here’s a short video with the highlights from the Barbican show From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk.