Originally posted by Fashion Wire Daily Paris July 9@ 2003
Jean-Paul Gaultier Madly Morphs La Mode
By Godfrey Deeny
Jean-Paul Gaultier has never studied at MIT or worked in Silicon Valley, yet technology and its ability to reinvent the real world were the basis of the rather wondrous show he staged in Paris Wednesday.
In a darkened Ecole des Beaux Arts, before an audience visibly wilting from the intense heat, the show was the latest proof that Gaultier is rapidly laying claim to being one of the greatest couturiers of all time.
It's not so much that he's mastered the technique or has such a rich imagination, it's more, simply put, that he creates such beautiful, albeit occasionally weird, clothes. His skill in couture is such that the former enfant terrible now attracts the crème de la crème of couture clients - Deeda Blair, Isabel Goldsmith, and Madame Pompidou among them.
Young Bee Wintour took a second row seat at the show Wednesday evening, while her mother Anna sat in front of her. Unlike at Ungaro in the morning, the Vogue editor decided to stick with her prime seating rather than express solidarity with her offspring in row three.
Gaultier's opening look set the stage for a powerful fashion statement, as Erin O'Connor appeared in a plaster white dress on to which was attached one half of the front of a double-breasted jacket. In a lesser hand it would have been heavy and foolish, in Jean-Paul's it had oomph and great style.
Morphing and various dissections were evident in nearly every look, from tight snakeskin tops with attached shawls to leather jackets whose pockets were gloves. At times, the show was an anatomy lesson, especially when O'Connor appeared again, in a body stocking on which was embroidered the body's circulatory system.
For his finale, Gaultier send out all the gals in body stockings, in chiffon, tweed, houndstooth, velvet, lizard, lace - you name it, it was there.
One could also not help sensing a distinct air of ad campaign-chasing by top photographers interested in working with Gaultier at his next destination, Hermes. Jean-Baptiste Mondino, Peter Lindberg, Ellen Von Unwerth and Dominique Issermann were dotted throughout the audience.
New technology, as we all know, is not a sure-fire thing -- and neither was Gaultier's fall 2003 couture collection. A few "technical difficulties" led to the show staring 75 minutes late, and even then several of the models walked without heels on their shoes. Gaultier made light of the kinks by taking off one of his own sandals when he took a bow.
But this was a tiny blemish in a collection that earned the designer a rousing standing ovation for the final major show of the Paris season.
i cant wait to see this 
