Jean Paul Gaultier put on his last ready-to-wear show ever at Le Grand Rex, signaling the end of a forty year-long run doing so and the beginning of a new focus on his perfume and haute couture businesses. Anyone who mattered in Paris was there to celebrate, as well as a slew of designers who showed their support including Jeremy Scott, Alexander Wang, Pierre Cardin, Alber Elbaz, and Gareth Pugh.
In true Gaultier fashion, the actual show was by no means conventional: how else could an icon go out with a bang? Catwalk capers and antics are elemental to the brand’s makeup, thus it was no surprise that he staged the “Miss Jean Paul Gaultier” beauty pageant — eclipsing even his past runway feats with Spanish actress Rossy de Palma imitating the former president of the Committees Miss France and Miss Europe, Genevieve de Fontenay. The first vignette of looks was also an ode to her with oversized hats and suited ensembles in the classic palette of black and white.
The “Miss Smoking” segment showed that Gaultier will always be a master of menswear-inspired tailoring. A black double-breasted suit cutout out on the left bodice to reveal a silver perforated halter crop top was beyond cool and was true proof of his incendiary, yet innovative skill.
Shimmering embellishment and bejeweled denim were on the menu for the “Miss Femme de Footballeur” scene. Hair was va-va voom and swept to the side, lips were red and sultry, and soccer balls were made wearable by way of handbags.
A slew of grey-haired models graced the catwalk with bare-chested lads as their arm candy: a relic (no pun intended) of the way the brand continuously pushed the industry’s approach and canons pertaining to aging forward.
One of the most notable moments in the offerings was the “Miss Redactrice du Mode” installment which was dedicated to world-renowned editors and their trademark ensembles. Grace Coddington, Carine Roitfeld, Suzy Menkes, Babeth Dijan, Emmanuelle Alt, and Franca Sozzani were all given a tribute.
The fashion house totally missed the mark with an array of Mexican wrestling getups, titled the “Miss Lucha Libre” sketch. Strangely enough, I could definitely see Lady Gaga sporting one or two of these pairings onstage or traipsing to and from the airport.
It was truly a bittersweet farewell, though Jean Paul Gaultier took his bow with a beaming grin. Thankfully, we all won’t have to wait too long for another helping of JPG as the fashion house will be showing its next Couture collection in January.
Thoughts on the last RTW show from JPG?
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