There is an exiguous number of designers who can really shape the look of contemporary fahion. When Suzy Menke says that fashion is applied art instead of pure art, it is difficult to justify it when I see Gaultier's work. Remember the insect-inspired Fall 2013 collection? Or butterfly haute couture for Spring 2014?
His creativity, summarizing everything around - nature, pop culture, traditional etnics from around the world, and translating it into masterfully crafted clothes, is beyond. And as all great couturiers, his greatest desire is for his creations to be worn, lived in, and seen by all the world. After all, that's actually what's true fashion is all about. It might be inspired by something, but then, as a complete circle moment, fashion should eventually be something ispiring.
The exhibition "The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk", showcasing his almost 4 decades work in one place, will come to London, the city of rebellious state of fashion. Sidewalk, as now saturated with the trend of so-called street style, undeniably plays an important part of Jean Paul's work, and the following archives of Jean Paul Gaultier's work show that he is a true genius.
Weightless and bridal-white amid a mass of glossy foliage, Tinker Bell is floating in a Gaultier silk tulle web. As delicate as butterfly wings vulnerable to the gentlest breeze, yet safe in his signature corsetry.
Poppy Delevingne in Gaultier Paris, Spring/Summer 2009.
The location was stark and reminiscent of 60s Sci-Fi movies. And then Dita is suddenly upon us in an aura from outer space, released in a brilliant and daring apparition. Strapped and caged in empowering Gaultier, her poses reverberated with ever more force. So very The Fifth Element!
Dita Von Teese in Gaultier Paris, Fall/Winter 2008.
At the strike of midnight amid the splendour and magnificence of the Victoria & Albert Museum, Erin O’Connor sashays from one vast hall to another in dramatic Gaultier with an explosion of silk tulle ruffles, cascading from an armour-like bustier. The French windows tremble fretfully as she swishes past the the Dorothy and Michael Hintze Sculpture Galleries, and her light thump echoes throughout the museum.
Erin O’Connor in Gaultier Paris, Spring/Summer 2011.
With references to bygone eras, a thespian look brought an ancient legend to life. A series of mysterious and liberated silhouettes ensued and the theatre began. Pirouetting vigorously in ethereal Gaultier, Noémie Lenoir evoked Isadora Duncan’s untrammelled spirit and ignited her unfathomable energy.
Noémie Lenoir in Gaultier Paris, Spring/Summer 2009.
Photos © MoDa's Touch
The exhibition in London will start tomorrow! Hover to Barbican's site for more!
Signorfandi, Suzy, fashion can be pure art, yes?