French Designer Jean Paul Gaultier was born in April 24, 1952 to a middle-class devoted family. His love of the feminine form and corsetry began at home with his grandmother; Gaultier spent a large part of his youth skipping school to stay at her house, drawing imaginary high-fashion collections. Possessed with Haute Couture and supported by his family, the timid young talent was hired as an assistant for Pierre Cardin in spite of his lack of formal fashion training in 1970. Being the junior member of Cardin, he was laid off but overcoming the set-back he began working temporarily for Jacques Esterel, where he learnt much of what was growing to be his signature style. He Returned to Cardin in 1974 and was sent to Manila to represent the fashion house, there his designs proved to be extremely popular but after his grandmother passed away he returned home.
Returning to France in July 1975, Jean-Paul raised enough money to present his first collection, with the help of Francis Menuge, the man he has described as the love of his life. But it was not until 1978, that he received the financial backing to produce his own label and soon enough became a big part of the 80's pop culture.
His collections are constantly filled with erotic references and occasionally politically incorrect; (a show he did in 1996 was “inspired†by the Hasidic look, the models were wearing dim long coats with curls pasted to the side of their faces, the show created a firestorm...). But his famous creation is probably the well remembered Madonna's cone-bra he created for her 1990's Blonde Ambition world tour.
In 1997 director Luc Besson appointed the look & feel of his film, The Fifth Element, to the controversial Frenchman, allowing him to achieve his boyhood dream of releasing his own couture line. And in 2003, fashion house Hermes announced Gaultier to be their chief designer, the first time in 25 years the imaginative designer has designed for any label other than his own.
Jean Paul Gaultier, always referred to as “fashion’s bad boyâ€, sassy & cheeky. Constantly shaking up the world of fashion, questioning beliefs; it seems as if Gaultier will always challenge the spirit of his generation with his designs, a constant reminder to his playful use of stereotypes (Men skirts, corsets, garter belts & bras as a must apparel etc.), his couture skills are ever more exceptional among creators reminiscing his style by creating amazing manifestations such as John Galliano.
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