Jean Paul Gaultier Is About To Take His Final Bow

[Melancholybaby]

Jean Paul Gaultier has announced via Twitter that his next couture show, which is scheduled to take place on 22 January, will be his final catwalk spectacular.

“This [spring/summer 2020] show celebrating 50 years of my career will also be my last. But rest assured haute couture will continue with a new concept,” said the designer.

The legendary French couturier, who founded his company in 1976, shuttered his ready-to-wear and menswear lines in 2014, citing the frenetic treadmill of the fashion industry as the reason. He opted out of the endless merchandising, commercialisation and marketing that comes with creating 16 collections per year in order to focus on his profitable couture line, as well as his creative work in the fields of theatre and film.

A firm fixture on the couture calendar since 1997, Gaultier has always brought an alternative lilt to the high-fashion landscape and marched to the beat of his own drum. For his last autumn/winter 2019 collection, which centred around the construction of a hoodie, Gaultier dipped into his storied archive and upcycled select pieces. A soundtrack of ’80s hits, including Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It”, also suggested the one-time enfant terrible was feeling nostalgic.

What will a culmination of five decades of master tailoring, fabulously camp and sometimes shocking Jean Paul Gaultier hold? One heck of a party, that’s for sure.
vogue.co.uk

 

[Phuel]

Hopefully he's evolving his design efforts into, as he stated "a new concept". There's still much to his creative vision. I'm glad he ended his RTW and now his HC on his own terms before it became so hollow and a pale shadow of his brilliance.

 

[CommanderTMugler]

Kind of sad, he closed his his RTW a while ago and I thought it would be for the better and the Haute Couture would take Center stage with more creativity and thought into it but it’s remained the same.

I look forward to his show, they’re always a joy to watch and glad he’s doing it on his own terms. I wonder what concept he has lined up so the couture will continue?

 

[dior_couture1245]

Good for him.

Better to go out with some dignity. His couture has been pretty mediocre for a while, so I’m glad he’s packing it up now instead of indefinitely wrecking his legacy (looking at you, Marc Jacobs and Madonna).

JPG is such a lovable creature, though, so it’s hard to have any hard feelings towards him and his creative decline. I only wish him the best and am grateful for his decades of fabulous work.

 

[Lola701]

I wonder what is his innovative concept. He is doing Couture because he loves it, not necessarily because he needs to do it. He is rich enough to stop working and the royalties he has from his fragrances are beyond.
No shows maybe means presentations? Or exhibitions? It could be interesting to have the Couture shown as exhibition each season at his headquarters...

The Gaultier archives are big enough to maintain an Atelier for decades.

 

[dodencebt]

Honestly I think this means he will continue to create couture pieces for loyal clients and celebrity friends few times a year. I hope I'm wrong, and we actually get something more substantial.

 

[mathiaskatz]

Apparently rumors of Jacquemus taking over JPG?

 

[Lola701]

Apparently rumors of Jacquemus taking over JPG?

He wasn’t even at the show. And I really doubt Gaultier would give access to his Ateliers ( he doesn’t work with Lemarié and co) to someone who is not a technician.

 

[Cute]

EXCLUSIVE: Sacai to Design Jean Paul Gaultier’s Next Couture

 

[GERGIN]

Omg this is genius!!!!

 

[Lola701]

Fabulous!
That’s how you maintain a brand and an Atelier...
I wonder if designers who are tied with contracts will be approached. Ghesquiere is one of his alumni and it would be great to see what he can do with Couture.

It’s the greatest idea ever. Couture offers so many possibilities and at a time where designers a producing a lot of collections, to have 6 months to produce it is great!

Bravo Jean Paul!

 

[Yohji]

This is exciting!

Would love to see Alber Elbaz, Stefano Pilati and Christian Lacroix.

 

[dodencebt]

Oh, how exciting! I had no idea that new concept was going to be the Moncler Genius model, which sounds like it would work for couture; plus Jean Paul Gaultier has an extensive archive that designers can reinterpret for decades. Can't wait to see the results.

I just hope the invited guest designers don't go from "talent" to "hype" real fast to generate more buzz.

 

[jeanclaude]

Sounds interesting! I hope Maria-Grazia and Virginie are not invited!

 

[Lola701]

Sounds interesting! I hope Maria-Grazia and Virginie are not invited!

They are already ruining two Couture Ateliers and are hardly capable of interpreting the Chanel and Dior archives...So I don’t think they will be invited.

 

[Phuel]

^^^ Imagine all the names (contractual agreements allowing of course…). Maybe too ambitious and hopeful— but besides Nicolas, Jean Paul would be the only one that could lure Margiela out of hiding. And Olvier Theyskens, Galliano, Rei, Yohji, even Demna would be exciting.

 

[dontbeadrag]

I actually hoped he would leave it as it is, JPG was looking quite (or much) outdated for the last years. The only hope is that invitees would change that, of course, then it would be good. However, Chitose Abe is a weird choice, do people really care?

 

[GERGIN]

I actually hoped he would leave it as it is, JPG was looking quite (or much) outdated for the last years. The only hope is that invitees would change that, of course, then it would be good. However, Chitose Abe is a weird choice, do people really care?

I care ​

 

[dior_couture1245]

I think this is a nice strategy. Everything is too in flux these days in the industry, people are coming and going so fast, things don’t work out, people are confused and searching creatively....it doesn’t make sense to make any permanent decision about who should or could take over JPG in any long term way at this point. Plus, there’s something playful about this plan.

But I agree with dontbeadrag...Chitose? Really? She seems only capable of sewing dresses onto bomber jackets...

 

[Lola701]

I actually hoped he would leave it as it is, JPG was looking quite (or much) outdated for the last years. The only hope is that invitees would change that, of course, then it would be good. However, Chitose Abe is a weird choice, do people really care?

I see at as a way to keep the Ateliers going. Everything at Gaultier is in-house (he does not work with Lessage, Lemarié, Desrues...etc) and with him not doing collections, besides costumes for shows, the Ateliers won’t have that much to do.

It’s also a great strategy to keep the name Gaultier relevant but having his stamp of approval on the « new generation ».

And yes, a Margiela designed collection for Gaultier would be the ultimate dream!
Except for the Japanese, almost all the good designers are tied with contracts...