Since stepping away from the runway in 2020, Jean Paul Gaultier has launched a concept unlike anything seen before in fashion history: inviting a designer to reinterpret the house’s couture legacy. It’s a way to keep the spirit of freedom, provocation, and, above all, craftsmanship alive, that has always defined the brand. An unprecedented project, that Gaultier had envisioned back in the late 1980s for Christian Lacroix when he left Patou. It would take more than three decades for this idea to finally come to life.
Five years and seven collections later, this creative chapter ends with the appointment of Dutch designer Duran Lantink as the new Artistic Director of Jean Paul Gaultier Couture. A page turns, marking the end of a major chapter in the house’s history. Let’s look back at the reinterpretations that redefined couture at Gaultier.
Chitose Abe — combining couture and sportswear
The first to take on the challenge, Sacai founder Chitose Abe combined couture and sportswear, multiplying hybrid creations in a tribute to Gaultier’s work. She played with the house codes: deconstructed sailor tops, corsets fused with technical parkas, bold layering. Inspired by iconic Gaultier looks worn by Björk and Madonna, Abe delivered a highly conceptual debut, one that strayed quite far from the traditional idea of couture. Still, it was a promising first step, firmly rooted in today’s more conscious fashion scenario, mainly through upcycling.
Glenn Martens — Homecoming
The following season, it was Glenn Martens’ turn to brilliantly make his mark. Then head of the much-missed label Y/Project and now Artistic Director of Maison Margiela, the Belgian designer, a graduate of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, revisited the house’s famous optical illusions, twisted volumes, trompe-l’oeil effects, and asymmetric cuts. It was a visual fireworks display, where Gaultier’s signature trio: corsets, stripes, and lace met a bold, avant-garde approach to couture. This collection also held symbolic meaning for Martens, marking a return to the house where he began his career.
Olivier Rousteing — A precise tribute
The third guest invited by fashion’s “enfant terrible,” Balmain’s Artistic Director chose to pay a flamboyant tribute to the man himself, revisiting the house’s iconic signatures: conical corsets, “Classique” perfume-bottle dresses, oversized sailor tops…A popular, crowd-pleasing homage, peppered with nods to Gaultier’s perfume bottles and packaging. To honor this legacy, a giant screen was even set up outside the headquarters so the public could enjoy the show. All in all, it was a very straightforward collection, closer to what Gaultier himself once created, though punctuated with Balmain touches.
Haider Ackermann — Searching for the essential
The Franco-Colombian designer broke away from the exuberance of his predecessors with a sharply tailored collection. Lines were pure, volumes restrained, gestures measured. It was a return to essentials, aimed at honoring Gaultier’s craftsmanship sometimes overshadowed by the spectacular. Despite a collection of rare, almost contemplative elegance, Ackermann didn’t fully win over the audience: some saw it as more of a couture sketch than a true reinterpretation of Gaultier’s world.
Julien Dossena — Ménage à trois
Rabanne’s Artistic Director envisioned this Autumn/Winter collection as a true journey through the streets of Paris, with each look embodying a fictional character. There was no overarching theme, but fragments of stories unfolding with each appearance. Shiny Rabanne-style knits, Gaultier-inspired tartan, bustiers made from neckties, and a riot of animal prints…Dossena orchestrated a sensory epic, merging the worlds of Gaultier and Paco Rabanne, with himself as the director. A flamboyant vision that serves as a reminder: fashion is meant to be lived like theatre.
Simone Rocha — At the Opera
The Irish designer triggered a romantic, gothic breeze to the Spring/Summer 2024 season. Tulle, corsets, jewels, and liturgical references intertwined into a trio of colors: nude, red, and black. She tapped into the theatrical drama of Gaultier’s silhouettes while creating cocoon-like dresses, as if spun from chrysalises. Designed for the stage, these creations seemed to step straight out of an opera. With this collection, Simone Rocha explored sensuality in a subtle, almost subversive way, continuing her ongoing dialogue with femininity. A lover of adornment, she drew on the full craftsmanship of the house’s ateliers to transform each garment into a true jewel.
Ludovic de Saint Sernin — Shipwreck
Titled The Shipwreck, Ludovic de Saint Sernin’s collection was anything but one. Inspired by a 1997 look featuring a model wearing a boat-shaped hat, it called forth Gaultier’s iconic heroines — the mermaid, the pirate against a backdrop of stormy seas. As the final guest designer, Ludovic de Saint Sernin electrified both the audience and the critics, recalling the house’s most glorious moments. A grand exit, just before the ship sets a new course.
Titled The Shipwreck, Ludovic de Saint Sernin’s collection was anything but one. Inspired by a 1997 look featuring a model wearing a boat-shaped hat, it called forth Gaultier’s iconic heroines — the mermaid, the pirate against a backdrop of stormy seas. As the final guest designer, Ludovic de Saint Sernin electrified both the audience and the critics, recalling the house’s most glorious moments. A grand exit, just before the ship sets a new course.
Titled The Shipwreck, Ludovic de Saint Sernin’s collection was anything but one. Inspired by a 1997 look featuring a model wearing a boat-shaped hat, it called forth Gaultier’s iconic heroines — the mermaid, the pirate against a backdrop of stormy seas. As the final guest designer, Ludovic de Saint Sernin electrified both the audience and the critics, recalling the house’s most glorious moments. A grand exit, just before the ship sets a new course.
With Duran Lantink’s appointment as Artistic Director, the House of Gaultier is ready to set sail toward new horizons. After five years of ephemeral collections and multiple tributes, this new era promises to be perhaps more stable but just as full of surprises. Let’s hope for calmer seas and a clear, open horizon ahead.
