© © Xavi Gordo / Trunk Archive
January 1, 2024
Stephanie Pieper
Even though Jean Paul Gaultier has bid farewell to the official fashion circuit, he reinvents himself every day—remaining the eternal Enfant terrible.
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He was always ahead of his time. Even at five, when he gave his beloved teddy bear 'Nana' a styling that would cause a stir at Madonna's 'Blond Ambition' tour more than 30 years later. Whether with his own prêt-à-porter and haute couture collections, his perfumes, stage and film costumes (The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, The Fifth Element), or his designs for other brands like Hermès – the French (fashion) designer Jean Paul Gaultier was and is always good for surprises.
Today, at 71, he officially retired in 2020 after 50 years in the fashion circus, which for the extremely humorous eternal Enfant Terrible only meant a shift to a slightly different semi-retirement. For example, by staging his own life as a Fashion Freak Show, which is now touring the world and will also stop in Germany in July.
You retired in 2020 after 50 years in the fashion circus. What has changed for you since then?
To be honest, not much. I used to leave the house in the morning to go to the studio for fittings, preparations, and discussions with my assistant. Today, I prefer to do everything from home. I prepare scenes for my various shows like the Fashion Freak Show or sketch costumes. Sometimes I even draw in bed. I have actually returned to my youth. Back then, I spent all day in my grandmother's house. She was a nurse but also liked to give unsolicited styling tips to her patients. A different hairstyle, new makeup, or even a complete makeover. I found that very exciting and painted the before-and-after pictures in parallel. People loved it.
Do you miss anything today?
No, I am very happy! A little boy who fulfilled his dream. Besides, although I officially stopped with fashion at 68, I never really stopped working. I still do things I love. It's a gift. I curated an exhibition about fashion in film. Looking at the development of men and women. Both sides have changed.
The portrayal of men has become weaker, that of women stronger. Take the male object, which I also showed in my collections, something like American Gigolo or even Marlon Brando, who showed a certain sexuality in his role. Before, we were not allowed to call men sexy. Men used to have a position of power or were rich, but never sexy. Women, on the other hand, have increasingly developed towards Wonder Woman. They appear in strong roles, are even allowed to be violent. Society is changing.
Do you set the tone as a fashion designer? Actually, you’ve been living in the future for 50 years.
No, I don't think so. We designers are always supposed to present something new. But what is new? The change or inspiration doesn't come from fantasy, it comes from society. Ultimately, fashion is just a reflection of the zeitgeist, the taste of the time.
But isn't it the other way around? Society aligns itself with fashion trends?
Yes, but they're not really new. Punk, for example, was a movement of rebellion, and therefore new. The fact that I wear a lot of black comes from punk. It's a reflection. When I was younger, I liked to go to London because there was so much exciting there in the 70s. Like the vision of men.
People like David Bowie or Mick Jagger represented a completely new kind of man. The extravagance of these rock stars fascinated me. Female musicians, on the other hand, were less eccentric. Maybe Dolly Parton. And of course, I like Madonna. She was a fashion icon back then. And for an American, she had good taste.
What do you think about Madonna today?
I don't know if she's become a bit stuffy, bourgeois. But I shouldn't be disappointed. Maybe a little. But she's still a rock star. What I admire about her is that she knows very well what she's doing to show that she doesn't care what others think of her. "That's not appropriate for my age? Voila! Then I'll do it anyway!"
There is above all one taboo that she fights, just as she used to fight the taboo of being sexy and treating men like a male object. Today the last taboo for women is to grow old. And Madonna says, "I don't care!"
And presents herself on Instagram like an 18-year-old influencer…
Why not? She still has something to say. And she says things that shock people. She rebels in her way by showing: "I'm still young." You know, she could also be a lovely old lady. But no, she is still a feminist. Just like before, when I worked with her.
Madonna was the first to wear her cone bra.
The first to wear a cone bra was my beloved teddy bear Nana. I was five then and actually wanted a doll. Since I didn't get one, I dressed my bear like a woman. With a bra made of newspaper. But it's true: on stage, Madonna was the first with the corset. She was exactly the woman who wanted to be sexy, feminine, and provocative, but not to please men, instead because she loved it and wanted it herself. That was after the wave of the first feminists.
Today, diversity is the big topic of society. You are considered a pioneer of this idea.
A big change is happening right now, and that's a good thing. Women and men are becoming more equal and diversity is conquering all areas. Leading the way, of course, is fashion. In a way, fashion must always have a vision. But for me, fashion was always a big party. When the collection was finished, we celebrated. Especially at the beginning, I had no money at all. But that wasn't a problem because it forced me to be even more creative.
Sometimes it feels like fashion is losing its lightness, that a kind of "wokeness" dominates everything.
Yes, fashion has become overly correct in a way. But that's the case in many areas. There are similar tendencies in Hollywood. Sometimes I wonder: does a criminal role have to be played by a real criminal in the future, so everything is authentic and "correct"? In the end, we won't have any actors left.
What can we do to bring back the lightness of play?
I don't know. Is it the responsibility of politics, or is it up to social media? Somehow you feel helpless. It's as if you can't do anything.
Maybe we need more people like you?
More like someone younger, who has the energy. I mean, I have the energy, but for something like this, you need more brains.
You once said: "I realized some things I hated in the past, and after one or two years, I suddenly noticed they weren't so bad." What was that, for example?
In fashion, you can do some things honestly and sincerely. Sometimes you do too much of something. Like when you eat or drink too much. Then you simply hate things because you’ve seen too much of them. What I’ve learned is that you can be more easily inspired by something that is very bad than by something that is very good. Beauty can be paralyzing. But turning an insight into its opposite can be very inspiring.
The French are considered the inventors of beauty and good taste.
No, I don’t like the French. People say that the 'Parisienne' is very elegant, but I have never seen her that way. Where? Maybe in films. But I always wanted to be rebellious in that Anglo-Saxon way – more creative in a way. Because this creativity that comes from a rebellion is always more exciting and innovative.
So you are also a rebel?
In a way, yes. Yet I’ve always been rather shy all my life. But when I speak, I feel secure. In a way, it's paradoxical because this profession is constantly changing and offers no security at all. Maybe it was Paris that turned me into a rebel because Paris was so bourgeois?
But it was certainly also because I had two good and very different teachers. I first apprenticed with Pierre Cardin, whose design was very free and, in a way, revolutionary. I never went to fashion school. Then I went to Jean Patou, who was the exact opposite and very conservative. People there said, 'Oh, gold on beige, how great!' Or that black was only for widows. All these clichés …
How did you stand it?
I stayed there for two years. But I was a terrible assistant. I contradicted all the time and gave no peace. That's what I learned at Cardin: that you shouldn't always copy the old thing but find something of your own to be successful. Today the internet is full of self-proclaimed visionaries.
Do you follow someone on Instagram?
No, I don't follow anyone. I come from another world. I have nothing against the Internet, but if you get involved with it, you end up addicted. I don't even know what people say about me on social media, to be honest.
But you even have your phone hanging around your neck?
But only in case I need help, like if I've forgotten my stuff or can't open my garage door. You know, that's a disaster. I'm totally dependent. But not to know what's happening in the world, but to ask: 'Help, where do I have to go now?'?
