Gigi Hadid and Bella Hadid walk down the runway as Jean Paul Gaultier bids adieu with his final extravaganza

Days before Jean Paul Gaultier’s Spring Summer show at Paris Fashion Week, the maestro announced his retirement as a fashion designer and all his ardent buyers went into mourning. We knew that the show would be remarkable and emotional but what happened at Theatre du Chatelet bowled us all over. His career which spanned for over 50 years, had the perfect end at his Haute Couture show at Paris Fashion Week. But what an exhilarating and heartwarming spectacle it was, celebrating the designer’s five decades long values. The French fashion designer put up more than 200 looks and said, “I knew I had too much and that afterwards I will clean. But I didn’t clean—at the end I put it all in!” Joy, unabashedness, humanity, creativity and humour are Gaultier’s core values and the show celebrated them all. 

The show was staged at Theatre du Chatelet which was inaugurated by Empress Eugenie and where Nijinksy debuted his scandalous play L’Après Midi d’un Faun, it was perfect for an iconoclast like Jean Paul Gaultier himself. Today we talk about body positivity, gender inequality, race-related issues, recycling, upcycling, conscious fashion and whatnot. But for Gaultier these things were a part of his DNA since 1976. He made models from different ethnicities, age groups, body sizes and skin colours walk together for his show because they reminded him of the everyday people you cross paths with and that inspired him. 

The show was star studded with supermodels like Gigi Hadid, Bella Hadid, Winnie Harlow, Irina Shayk and Karlie Kloss walking in the designer’s out-of-the-box outfits. Nautical stripes, ruffles, frills, breast plates, hippie prints and corsets. The show was jam packed with everything. 

This was followed by a masterclass on recycling, the New Look jackets which had a bustier mounted on a plate in front of them. Denims and embroidery rings mounted on round crinolines functioned as a dress. His love for corsets was very evident since he first got to know about them from his grandmother. 

Hermes scarves were cut up and interwoven into a swirling skirt and also fall leaves were camouflaged on sheer tulle to turn it into a gown. He played with gender fluidity since the beginning when it was considered a societal taboo. Dita Von Teese soon struck a pose in a dress made of blush pink satin belts. Could we ask for more? 

Collars were blown up in sizes and Paris Jackson rocked in head to toe hippie prints. It is impossible to comprehend Jean Paul Gaultier’s extravaganza in a few words. After all how can you compress a legacy into a few words? And that is what he will be remembered for; his unabashed sense of humour towards fashion. The people who attended his show laughed, cried and gave him a standing ovation which went on forever. What do you think about Jean Paul Gaultier’s Haute Couture show that was actually a carnival? Comment below and let us know. 

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