Jean Paul Gaultier adores women. This one sentence fully defines his approach to fashion, to the designs and styles he creates. Raised near Paris, he loved rummaging through his grandmother's wardrobe and "tormenting" his teddy bear, who served as his first model. Sailor stripes and women's corsets are his hallmark today, cleverly smuggled into every collection. From the beginning of his career, which gained momentum in the mid-80s, Gaultier placed great importance on the sculpture of the female body. It continues to be his greatest inspiration and also became the inspiration for Jean Paul Gaultier's perfume bottle. Perfume is another field in which the Parisian designer feels like a fish in water. For years, he has created stunning scents that women all over the world wear.
Jean Paul Gaultier - from assistant to master tailor
What path did he take before he reached the top? A tough and painful one, as is usually the case with great creators. Gaultier early on felt that his greatest passion was fashion. As a young boy, he bravely went to the studio of the renowned Pierre Cardin and without any diploma from tailoring school under his arm announced that he wanted to become his assistant. Cardin, not deterred by the boy's declaration, took him in and for almost a year successively taught him the secrets of tailoring.
However, the luck of the young creator did not last long, as Cardin had to let go of some staff. Being one of the youngest, Gaultier was unsurprisingly first on the list. This did not curb his ambitions and the budding designer went on another internship, this time to the studio of Jean Patou. Although he did not stay long at any studio, Jean Paul today openly admits that he learned the most about experience, learning, and the right approach to tailoring from these two internships as an assistant.
In the mid-70s, Gaultier opened his own boutique and in 1976 showed his first collection in Paris, which immediately won the favor of the most important fashion critics. In later years, the haute couture collections of the designer became what fully showcases his creativity and precise tailoring in one. In his collections, Gaultier draws inspiration from everything that surrounds him: the East, African cultures, the toreador, and pop culture icons. The famous cone-shaped bra Madonna wore during her Blond Ambition tour was a design by none other than Jean Paul Gaultier. Madonna as one of the first fell in love with the designs of the French master and manifested her love by wearing his creations, often made to special order.
Jean Paul Gaultier - perfumes that the world fell in love with
Today, Jean Paul Gaultier has nothing to prove to anyone and does not need famous names for his star to shine brightly. He himself has become a star that brings joy, optimism, eccentricity, and projects to fashion, which are still the focus of every retrospective exhibition. Equally tempting are the fragrances created by Jean Paul Gaultier. Perfumes signed with his name, enclosed in characteristic bottles in the shape of a female and male torso, turned out to be a great success, just like every collection of this great fashion creator.
