 |
One of France's most famous exports, Jean Paul
Gaultier is much more than just a fashion figure. In the UK, he is
arguably best known for his kitsch TV series, Eurotrash, which he
presented with fellow Frenchman Antoine de Caunes, in the mid-Nineties.
Born on 24 April 1952 in Acueil, France, Gaultier started his
career in 1970 as a design assistant at Pierre Cardin. Following a
stint at Jean Patou (working under Michel Gomez) and a brief return to
Cardin, he set up his own label in 1976, rejecting his training in
favour of a style which drew more from the London street scene than
Parisian couture.
Though technically brilliant, Gaultier has
always taken great delight in parodying the fashion establishment. In
fact, he is credited with redefining many fashion conventions. In the
Eighties, he recreated underwear as outerwear, with a series of designs
which culminated in thecorset 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.) He also attempted to dismantle the clichés
of masculine styling, creating a skirt for men in 1988.
Besides
his men's and womenswear lines and the haute couture collection he
launched (to great reviews) in January 1997, Gaultier has introduced
JPG, a younger and sportier line for both sexes, and a range of
eponymous fragrances, starring in some of the campaigns himself. In
July 1999, Hermès invested $15 million in his business as part of a
deal which 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.As a designer and an
entertainer, Gaultier is tirelessly talented. In 1989, he released a
record, Aow Tou Dou Zat (or "How To Do That") in collaboration with
Tony Mansfield, though fortunately he did not give up the day job. He
has also designed the costumes for many films including Peter
Greenaway's The Cook, The Thief, his Wife and her Lover (1989), Pedro
Almodóvar's Kika (1994) and Luc Besson's The Fifth Element (1997). He
also won the chance to play himself in the French film version of the
TV series Absolutely Fabulous (Absolument Fabuleux), alongside Jennifer
Saunders and Catherine Deneuve, in 2001.
That same year,
Gaultier received one of France's highest honours, being awarded the
title of Chevalier in the Bastille Day honours list. |
Flat Panel TVs
Shop by Brand
Your cart
Your Quotes
Recently Viewed
Help
Yahoo RSS
