After 50 years on the catwalk, Jean Paul Gaultier presented his final Haute Couture collection in Paris, held at the Théâtre du Châtelet.
For more than an hour, models, friends and muses flooded the stage in more than 230 outfits made out of recycled old collections. There were sailor tops, tuxedos and trompe-l’oeil creations, corsetry-inspired tops and dresses, sexy hosiery, faux nipples, Breton stripes and cone bras – all the signatures of the man known as the ‘’enfant terrible’’ of French fashion, who is retiring from the runway at the age of 67.
His all-star cast included Erin O’Connor, Coco Rocha, Jade Parfitt, Karlie Kloss, Gigi and Bella Hadid, Jourdan Dunn, Lily McMenamy, Karen Elson, Anna Cleveland, Estelle Lefébure, Noémie Lenoir, Winnie Harlow and even Farida Khelfa, his former muse and couture director.
‘’There were maybe 50 looks that were completely new, and the rest was a mix of ready-to-wear, things that I bought in China’’, said the designer.
‘’I was thinking there are too many clothes, so maybe recycle it. Rather than burning them, or something like that, you can make something else. It’s part of my education because of flea markets, things like that. So for me it was an adventure and I was in reality very excited to see what I should do’’, he continued.
©Jean Paul Gaultier
