Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture F/W 13.14 Paris

[mistress_f]

^ouch, wtf? from hedi it was expected, but i assumed jpg would be above it all. i'm gonna go look at tim's review now, made me curious

 

[Phuel]

I guess this is going to be the direction of Gaultier's HC from now on...

That brilliant fusion of Parisian chic and otherworldly extravagance that ran from the start of the late-1990s to the mid-2000s seems long gone now. Gaultier HC seems to be all about 80s camp with brief flashes of Parisian-chic. Oh well, at least the tailoring is impeccable, as always. And yeah Morphe, I also instantly sensed classic Claude Montana in the structured monochromatic outfits; the trench and the leather suits are great Montana send ups-- too bad those are so few, and that shade of serpentine-green on that dress is pure bliss. The rest looks too drag queen-does-Patti LaBelle with all that tacky sparkle and shine for my taste.

Yeah, very unexpected of Gaultier to lash back at a negative review... Maybe it's personal because he and Tim are/were good friends...? Tim Blanks is the only fashion critic I truly respect and admire: He is always sharply observant, well-versed in his fashion history, eloquently intelligent, always up with the Joneses, and tells it like it is.

 

[Deleted member 130879]

The last sentence from the first part is giving me some bad feelings... does anyone have the critic? Because if Tim is being rude to the girls, I'm going to be 100% on JPG side.

 

[Deleted member 130879]

"Given that Gaultier's catwalk vedettes in his glory days included Madonna and Björk, Benattia seemed a bit down-market, but the show had a sheeny brashness that she suited."
From style.com

WOW. Now that was INDEED rude. The response was more that deserved.

 

[StoneSkipper]

Here's the Tim Blanks review on style.com.

July 3, 2013
PARIS
By Tim Blanks

Jean Paul Gaultier works a theme like a last nerve. Today's was clearly big cats…big lady cats, to be precise: lionesses, tigresses, cougars. His Couture collection was a celebration of Woman as Predator. The outfits—and the names that Gaultier gave them—had a man-eating subtext: p*ssy Faster was a leopard-spotted biker jacket, Catwoman a dark maîtresse-stern concoction of animalist jacquard and Lurex lace, and Cruella de Ville starred ocelot spots in a coat of feathers artfully "camouflaged" as fur. And Black Panther, the last look before the Bride, was modeled by Nabilla Benattia, a mantrap who is tabloid bait in France for her reality TV antics. The word bustier could have been invented just for her.

Given that Gaultier's catwalk vedettes in his glory days included Madonna and Björk, Benattia seemed a bit down-market, but the show had a sheeny brashness that she suited. There was a definite emphasis on exaggerated, almost cartoonish curves rather than elegant lines. There was exaggeration too in the peculiar pannier/pocket hybrid that helped shape the silhouette. They looked a bit like something Bowie might have worn once. Gaultier clearly had him on his mind, because he used his song titles for other outfits. Suffragette City was a plain black velvet dress underpinned by a fiery orange petticoat, stockings, and matching shoes. Stark and sensual—that did the trick. A few outfits later, a "millefeuille de mousselines" echoed Yves Saint Laurent's way with color, as a reminder that Gaultier was once considered the one true heir to the throne of French fashion. But that was once upon a time, and that time has, sad to say, well and truly passed.

 

[Deleted member 1957]

Amazing as always!!I get an African and Russian vibe from it as for the response i believe it was warranted, the reviewer insulted the model by calling her down market

 

[just me]

I wonder what Tim Blanks had to say about Dior and Chanel. I bet he loved both shows...

 

[vandekamp]

Soooooo good. One of my faves this season.

 

[simple_elegance]

I miss the old JPG couture collections...

 

[Tekka]

Where can we see video of full show?

 

[Nymphaea]

Where can we see video of full show?

 

[Crying Diamonds]

I think it's strange that Tim Blanks decided to slam one of Gaultier's more wearable collections..
If there's something I admire Gaultier for it's for his unashamed influences, notably from the 1980's. Unlike everyone else who is constantly trying to reinvent the 80's, or have just a hint of the 80's, 80's eau de toilette if you like, Gaultier is just straight parfum.
He's not embarrassed to use jewel coloured silk taffetas or emphasize the form to a Mugler extreme, or mix tracks with Whitney Houston or have an instantly recognizable Boy George outfit walk down the runway.
Whereas, Raf will send out a shockingly constructed limping effigy to an African influence and Lagerfeld will have the hair and the set look Bladerunner but the clothes looking like Doctor Frankenstein's second experiment with a bag of cement and a seat-belt.
Gaultier does it so well because he is just doing what everyone else is doing - looking back in the archives. The difference is, Gaultier remembers designing those archives, his archives are in the 80's, he was designing and still is designing for his own label stemming from his own taste.
I think this collection shows exquisite construction, some clever ideas such as the vent at the back of a coat or dress matching the opening on the front as so when the model opens her legs it looks as if she's wearing a pair of trousers. I remember a beautiful green silk dress trimmed in mink, and generally a good, desirable set of fabulous clothes.

 

[Nymphaea]

^Well spoken.
The video does the collection more justice than the pics only. The collection was very JPG, love that. Some pieces were wonderful (I want that blue leather coat dress), some less. Models were like rich ladies with an attitude. I can see that it may seem dated, but that's just the styling/music. Wonderfull collection, good job.

 

[Littleathquakes]

...
Whereas, Raf will send out a shockingly constructed limping effigy to an African influence ...

best description of that collection

 

[matteverhart]

I feel like I should like this collection but I really don't. I feel like JPG just rehashes old designs and doesn't try to innovate anymore. Love that Liu closed though.

 

[Phuel]

Thanks StoneSkipper for posting the review.

I'll always adore Gaultier for his everlasting bounty of contributions to the fashion world, but Tim always speaks the truth-- and sometimes, that truth is not so nice, even hurtful.