Jean-Paul Gaultier is born in April 1952Bad boy of fashion otherwise known as L'Enfant terrible is introduced to the worldHe had not taken any fashion or art related course, his sketches were sent off to many couture houses.In 1970 Jean-paulgaultier is hired to work as Pierre Cardin’s assistant.In1971 he started working for Jean Patou .In 1974 he returned to Pierre Cardin , he was sent off to manage a store in Manila. He started creating collections intended for the U.S.A.
In October 1976 Jean-Paul Gaultier launched his own line, a collection for women.As a fashion designer Jean-Paul visited England in many occasions. He enjoyed the grungy and rock look of the English people living in areas such as ;Camden town. Which inspired him in creating the corset dress.As a child Jean-Paul lived with his grandmother whom was a tarot reader, listening to her clients come by and talk about their problems and happiness made him understand women and being feminine, which is why he became interested in designing for women.In 1983 he started designing clothes for men. He also attempted to dismantle the clichés of masculine styling, creating a skirt for men in 1988.He popularized the navy-and-white stripy Breton fisherman shirt
In 1989 launched the record “How to do that”. The video clip is a fashion inspired clip where he is sketching models. He also started his first cinematographic costumes foe the film, ’Le Cuisenaire, le voleur , sa femme et son Amant”, from Peter Greenaway.In 1990, he recreated underwear as outerwear, with a series of designs which culminated in the corset dress and black studded bra made famous by Madonna in her Blonde Ambition tour of 1990. (In 2001, the bra fetched £14,000 at auction.)
In 1993 he launched his first perfume for women named “Classique”In 1995 he launched the perfume for men called “Le Mâle”Both were highly successful, and Le Mâle is now the number-one men's fragrance in the European Union based on sales; it also holds a strong market position in Australia and the United States
In 1997 his first Haute couture collection named” Gaultier Paris” was launched.In 1998 his first fur collection ‘Jean-Paul GaultierFourrure” was launched, also “ The third millennium will be LOVE” collection that is more international than ethnic, modeled by couples illustrating crossbreeding.
Jean-Paul has collaborated with French water , Evian. They created limited edition bottles for collectors.He has made a collection for target, at affordable prices. Leggings were sold out after minutes of being left on the shelves.His signature look of navy-blue and white strips(very southern France look) helped him in developing furniture with French company Roche de Bois.
Gaultier received one of France's highest honors, being awarded the title of Chevalier in the Bastille Day honors list.Hermès invested $15 million in his business ,Gaultier described as "a dream marriage". In return, he awarded the company 35 per cent of all his future royalties, plus "preferential rights" over many of his new designs
Celebrities including the first lady of the U.S.A love wearing Gaultier.
The image above shows the collection for Spring 209, clothes look very fresh and flirty, sophisticated and the shoes have a balerina twist to them for a touch of femininity.
Men look fresh, the hats look like they have been inspired by cowboy hats (they are bended of course) which shoes the edginess he gave to them. A mix of casual and sophisticated looks have been seen in this collection.
Overall, L'Enfant terrible, has a big influence the fashion world. A master of mixing styles often from the streets of London and Paris his clothes break down the barriers between beauty and ugliness, elegance and vulgarity, yet have undoubtedly earned him a place in the mainstream of haute couture.