Among the many invites we received for this seasons menswear shows in Paris, the most exciting one to land on our desks was from one of Paris’ greats; Jean Paul Gaultier.
Legendary in many circles stemming from his 90’s ‘enfant terrible’ days of pushing the boundaries of conformity in both men’s and women’s fashion, Jean Paul Gaultier has become somewhat of a designer that this generation has wrongly forgot, shocking in reality given that this is the man who first put men in skirts and had Madonna flashing a pointed cone bra at billions. Aside from his heritage, and trust, his legacy to fashion is up there with the greats, Gaultier remains a fashion forward, directional designer who consistently wows fans and fashion press alike with his collections.
His menswear in particular, due to his very specific aesthetic that mixes hyper masculinity and androgyny flawlessly, is what makes him relevant today. His self taught take on Parisian tailoring and chic matched with a new found interest in the deconstructed ‘street’ or ‘neo goth’ style (a natural evolution given the androgynous silhouette) which is shown through his matching leggings with elongated shirts and tops or his infamous ‘manskirts’, and a heavy injection of black and monchrome, mark Gaultier out and also keep him on trend. Taking iconic menswear staples then applying his own signature rebellious spin, his French flair, heritage (in influences such as the breton stripes) and taste for the androgyny (borrowing such items and skirts and fishnetting from the female wardrobe and applying to the male) the designer pushes the concepts of what is the norm in menswear creating classic yet subverted men’s clothing that is also very of the now.
Jean Paul is a designer whose creations always warrant further inspection; from a distance they can appear as ordinary, gaudy to some tastes maybe with the prodigious use of florals and prints, but up close or on further inspection, that rebellious subversion is evident, perhaps shown in punk influenced zippers, cut away techniques or in the use of sheer fabrics exposing the body beneath.
We hope to see more from Gaultier in this direction, for surely the street goth sub culture was in part inspired by him for was it not Gaultier himself who first pushed the idea that men could borrow at will from the female wardrobe, just as women have done in vice versa ever since Gabrielle Chanel first donned a pair of trousers. The French, always at the forefront and avant garde of fashion.
Photography; Stephanie Bapes © CHASSEUR MAGAZINE