Deutsche Welle (English edition)
After 50 years, Jean-Paul Gaultier takes final bow in Paris
Iconic French fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier has announced that his haute couture show on January 22 in Paris will be his last. But the irreverent fashionista promises a new high design "concept" is in the wings.
The news came as a surprise: The revered French designer Jean Paul Gaultier bid adieu to his fashion collection shows on social media with a quirky video in which he makes the announcement on his phone. In the conversation with his fans, he sends out an invite to "celebrate my 50 years in fashion" on January 22 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.
But though the curtain will come down on the French fashion designer's catwalk shows, a "new concept" was in the works, he promised.
Born in an outer Paris suburb in 1952, the untrained designer began his career when he landed a job as a drawer and assistant for Pierre Cardin in 1970. It wouldn't take long for his outré creations to transform the French fashion landscape.
Gaultier's first individual collection appeared in 1976, while from 1997 on he also dedicated himself to haute couture. Meanwhile, the designer released dance music singles and hosted the TV variety program Eurotrash on Channel 4 — usually in a skirt — from the 1990s to 2007.
Read more: Chanel pays tribute to Lagerfeld with his final collection
The Parisian trendsetter became known for his use of catwalk models that do not correspond to orthodox standards of beauty, or gender identity — including the short, shapely front singer of the band Gossip, Beth Ditto.
Designing dresses and skirts to be worn by both women and men, Gaultier was the first fashion designer to work with androgynous models like Tanel Bedrossiantz. The fashion designer also brought the transgender Eurovision Song Contest winner from 2014, Conchita Wurst, onto the catwalk.
The human body is the basis for his work that has also never been shy of nudity and eroticism. As he stated in a video posted to Twitter that documents an "open