Whilst in London the other week I popped along to the new exhibition at the Barbican Art Gallery, which is a bit of a concrete labyrinth from the outside.
The show, titled The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk, is a collection of some of the designer's most iconic and memorable pieces taken from his forty year career in the fashion industry.
This is the first comprehensive collection of Gaultier's work and is dedicated to celebrating the French couturier's life and designs. Gaultier is one of the world's leading fashion designers and his avant-garde style has been influential in revolutionising established aesthetic conventions.
Gaultier's work is daring, inventive, striking, bold, and definitely different, winning him his counterculture reputation. He subverts trends and styles, questioning the ways in which we design and make clothes, whilst allowing everyone to assert their own identities. He began his career early and first worked for Pierre Cardin in 1970, always staying true to the designer's lesson that "the idea is more important than the material used to translate it".
The first room was full of pieces reflecting Gaultier's love of maritime- with all the designs featuring bold sailor stripes.
The mannequins had real faces projected onto them and the eyes would follow you eerily around the room and were censored, so that when you approached a particular one they would wink or smile at you.
At the end of the room was Gaultier himself, in his trade mark kilt, talking about what inspires him to design the clothes he does.
Next there was a gold mermaid lounging, who belted out a song when you went in for a closer look.
This gold catsuit was worn by the ultimate diva queen: Beyoncé.
When he travelled to London in the early 70s, Gaultier saw, for the first time, the style adopted by punks and was profoundly influenced by their anti-materialist principles and non-conformist fashion. sense The next room showed off some of his punk pieces, inspired by the streets of London. The outfits are recycled, rebellious, and raw.
"The streets of London were very important to me. I thought the eccentricity and vitality of the music scene in London, particularly with Boy George, as well as the punk movement, was unique. I went to see the Clash and the Sex Pistols perform. That was a trigger. A designer who builds fantasy realms can't stay locked up in an ivory tower. He draws his inspiration everywhere. The punk phenomenon had an impact on me, it influenced me a lot. In London, kids in the streets dressed in black went against those wearing colours- it was a protest. I didn't know that someone named McLaren was the catalyst."
This mannequin was rocking the double denim look, maybe even triple denim?
The army camflouge ruffled gown below was worn by Sarah Jessica Parker to the MTV music awards in the early 2000's at the height of her Sex and the City fame.
There was also a revolving catwalk featuring a number of mannequins wearing the designs influenced by the theme of Paris; its female icons, its characters, monuments and neighbourhoods. Several of the dresses had the Eiffel Tower painstakingly stitched on. For Gaultier, it was the elegance and nostalgia of Paris that made him want to become a designer. He grew up in the Parisian suburbs and associated the city with the glossy images conveyed by the magazines and television programmes he saw in his childhood. Parisiennes who displayed unconventional types of beauty and an unusual style is what would really shape his later work.
The exhibition also showcased several pieces from Gaultier's recent Tribute to Amy Winehouse Collection, with mannequin's featuring her iconic beehive.
Gaultier was attracted to rebellious women who weren't worried about accentuating their differences from mainstream society. By the time Gaultier began designing, the women's liberation movement of the early 70s was over and women were beginning to reassert their femininity by reinventing the idea of the female sex object. Madonna, who most famously wore his corset designs, is indicative of this new type of sexually independent woman.
Venturing upstairs gave you a view of the floor below.
There was a room showing Gaultier's TV appearances over the years, including his guest role on Ab Fab alongside Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley. To sit on were a trio of Ben-Hur armchairs with wheels, made in 1992 out of aluminium and velvet.
These were two of my favourites pieces from the second floor:
You've got to love a bit of leopard print!
The colours and detail on this feathered design were stunning.
The display also featured photographs and videos of some of the famous women and men who have worn Gaultier, including Madonna, Kate Moss, Boy George, Beth Ditto, Lily Cole and Bowie.
The dress below was worn by Kylie Minogue for one of her music videos.
Overall the exhibition features 165 ensembles, mainly taken from Gaultier's couture collections, but also from his prêt-à-porter (ready-to-wear) lines. The pieces are dated from the 1970s right up to the present day and it is really worth visiting as many have never been on show before, and may never be again.
If you are a keen fashionista and want to learn more about one of the most influential designer's of our time, or simply need something to do on a Saturday, pop over to The Barbican for more information and tickets.
