Non-compliant stylist looks for atypical models,he begins thus the career of Jean-Paul Gaultier, who celebrated fifty years with a last fashion show-event. And he prepares for new projects and to follow his passion: cinema

50 years have passed since Jean-Paul Gaultier crossed the threshold of Pierre Cardin&#39;s atelier. 50 years of great fashion, of eccentric and disruptive collections, which have brought the street and rock to the catwalks of haute couture. To celebrate his latest collection, on January 22nd all the icons of the 1980s, the muses and friends of the designer, were invited to a 70-minute haute couture show, destined to reinterpret half a century of fashion history at the Chat&ecirc;let theater in Paris. But be careful, there is no room for tears, because at 68 (in April) Jean-Paul leaves the catwalk to start a new career made of cinema, theater and his greatest passion: the &quot;Fashion Freak Show&quot; , an autobiographical show launched in 2018 in the Parisian theater Folies Berg&egrave;re. &quot;Poorly dressed people are always the most interesting,&quot; says the designer. Nobody, not even he, would have thought that the boy born in 1952 in the Paris suburb in Arcueil would have subverted French fashion until he became Herm&egrave;s&#39;s artistic director in 2003. And nobody like Gaultier was able to reinvent the Parisian style, without never sin of chauvinism, using the Phrygian hat, the marini&egrave;re and the tricolor. Passionate about atypical, mediocre, extra-large, androgynous, bizarre and irregular physicists and morphologies, Gaultier inserts in 1980 an advertisement in the newspaper Lib&eacute;ration, which will remain the most beautiful description of his personality: &laquo;Non-compliant stylist looks for atypical models. Irregular faces are welcome . &quot; Thus was born the aesthetic of Jean-Paul Gaultier capable of reinforcing the myth of Madonna, inspiring British artists Pierre &amp; Gilles , sublimating the eighties of Kenzo and Boy George , who in this farewell parade sings Amy Winehouse , and of making smile even Anna Wintour , hidden behind the sunglasses, in the front row. While B&eacute;atrice Dalle on the catwalk parades by extinguishing a cigarette, Amanda Lear, Dita Von Teese, Farida Khelfa and Rossy de Palma enliven the scenography conceived by the Spanish choreographer Blanca Li. And Gaultier&#39;s collections parade, under the eyes of the Minister of Culture Franck Riester, Laetitia Casta, Christine &amp; the Queens, In&eacute;s de la Fressang and and of the master Pierre Cardin (age 97 years). A sentimental journey full of emotion that, once again, distorts the fashion labels.

Let&#39;s start from the beginning ... When did you start designing clothes? 
When I was a child, I understood that I could be loved through my drawings and, subsequently, my collections. I made this profession to be loved. 
 
You took the first step in fashion thanks to an Italian designer ... 
Yes, I was 18 when I started working in the Pierre Cardin atelier, the most innovative fashion house of the time. Cardin was the creative and financial director, he took care of everything. It was a wonderful teacher who taught me freedom.

How would you describe the parade organized on the occasion of your 50 years of career? 
It was a brothel full of happiness, all I love! I had never organized a fashion show with so many models and friends. The collection is giant sca and the result is the expression of everything I love. 
 
What was the main theme of the parade? 
First, recycling. My first school was the flea market. I like the idea of building models from a few elements. When one has little money, he arranges himself to find new ideas. At the time I went to buy work overalls that I turned into women&#39;s clothes, inspired by my mother who used my father&#39;s old trousers during the war to make skirts. 
 
Was the parade on 22 January 2020 an au revoir or a farewell? 
This is not the end, but the beginning of something new. A new phase of life. Tomorrow the brand and the collections will continue, but without me. I studied a new concept for Jean-Paul Gaultier, but I will deal with other projects and collaborations, with a particular interest in a passion that has always been: cinema. As at the beginning of the parade, the image of the tomb that opens up and gives life to something new represents exactly this phase of my life. I will never stop creating! Catholic culture has taught us that death has a negative and sad meaning, but in other countries it is also experienced as a joyful and festive moment.

Why leave the world of fashion today? 
Life is made up of stages. I think of the one that ended with the death of Francis Menuge (his companion, who died in 1990, ed.), Following which I had asked myself the question of whether to continue or not. Then there was Madonna, cinema and theater ... In 50 years I have made many collections and it is time to leave room for young talents. Furthermore, society and the fashion system have changed. Since the launch of the &quot;Fashion Freak Show&quot;, I have begun to think about leaving the collections. 
&nbsp;

Where do your ideas come from? 
I have not done fashion studies or large schools ... My education begins with Falbalas (Jacques Becker film of 1945 with the costumes of Marcel Rochas). In the film there is a muse, illuminated by a wonderful light, capable of inspiring the protagonist. In the creative process, the same thing applies to me too: I couldn&#39;t do this job without friends and many different personalities, able to inspire me through multiple types of beauty. 
 
What did 50 years of fashion teach you? 
Fashion is always in contact with life and reality. It is an expression of contemporary society. What is it capable of reflecting today? A complex and chaotic reality in which politics and environmental issues are decidedly essential. My job has always been to feel and perceive what is happening in society.

After 50 years of career, what do you wish for today? 
The most important thing: to continue to be free. 
 
 
&nbsp;

Photo Marco Tassini 
Text Ettore Bandiera 
Art director Alexandra Mas 
Models Larsen Thompson @Next Models and Gavin Casalegno @Next Models 
Make up artist Anne Arnold 
Hair stylist Christophe Gaillet 
Production Mas Tassini Studio 
Studio assistant Andressa Monteiro Dur&atilde;es

Jean-Paul Gaultier the freak king

Recommended posts for you

Fashion Week

Milan Fashion Week: The Fall/Winter 2026 Women's Fashion Show Calendar

Fashion Week

At Valentino, a liturgy of the gaze and epiphanies of clothing

Fashion Week

At Schiaparelli, Couture evokes agony and ecstasy

Fashion Week

At Doublet, a collection to give form to the invisible

Fashion Week

Haute Couture Week: What you need to know about the upcoming shows

Fashion Week

At Chanel, the founding grace of Haute Couture

Fashion Week

Thom Browne Fall 2026: Rodin, Sport, and Radical Tailoring in San Francisco

Fashion Week

At Proenza Schouler, the dawn of a new woman