1976

OCTOBER: First collection presented at the Palais de la Découverte.

1978

OCTOBER '78:First collection presented with his first licensee, the Japanese firm, Kashiyama.

1979

AUTUMN/WINTER - 79-80: JAMES BOND JAMES BOND

In the spirit of the 60's, miniskirts and leatherette trousers; musical accompaniment: "My Way", the Sex Pistols' version. A recycling of periods and a blend of tastes is well under way.

1980

AUTUMN/WINTER - 80-81: HIGH TECH

Inspired by upholstery, this collection reuses the perforated leatherette of car seats, another way of looking at carpet in a Chanel style suit and a plethora of jewelry made of tin cans. This is the winter of short kilts and stainless steel, book bag clasps and buckles, and the long windbreaker made of plastic. The models are not professional and he chooses them rather small.

1981

SPRING/SUMMER - 81: ETE PAPIER

AUTUMN/WINTER - 81-82: LES SORCIERES

1982

AUTUMN/WINTER - 82-83: PARIS GAULTIER

Winter clothing for the Parisienne. Square shoulders, volumes, a clear silhouette, pinched or thin waist, held in a wide belt. Typical in its black, with a touch of white in pearls hung around a stiff collar, a beret, pumps, but all done with a breath of fresh air, announcing the freedom to choose between long and short. For evening , a pointy bustier embroidered with steel nails for the rock n'roll yet elegant vamp.

1983

SPRING/SUMMER - 83: LE DADAISME

Initiated by a feminine gesture - the flick of the head making the garment slide off the shoulder, this collection is askance, teeters, tilts, exposes flashes of skin as the clothes move. Braces slide off shoulders, skirts sway around the hips, bathrobes and pyjama tops over trousers go to town and out for the evening, corset dresses appear, clothing is inside out, upside down, lingerie moves into a different category by becoming wearable clothing. The trick is clothing sewn together as a trompe l'oeil more suggestive than apparent.

AUTUMN/WINTER - 83-84:
LES CINQ DERNIERES MINUTES

The trench coat, reminiscent of film heroines and a wardrobe basic, reappears often in the collections, sometimes transformed into: a short belted overcoat, made in every possible fabric even a shiny metallic.

Jean-Paul Gaultier decides to present a collection for men every 6 months like the women's fashion shows.

1984

SPRING/SUMMER - 84: L'HOMME OBJET

COLLECTION FOR MEN
Everything flows, he opts for the destructured look and borrows from universal shapes like the djellabah. Taffeta vests on flowing trousers, gandhoura on sarouel, baby blue and sunbleached white, men's wear becomes seductive, notably with the advent of bare backs.

SPRING/SUMMER - 84: LE RETOUR DE L'IMPRIME

COLLECTION FOR WOMEN
Optical play, foulard ties, free form geometrics, all of it printed on flowing, stunning fabrics. The shawl-collared vest, the wide and straight trousers, the shirt and scarf, are blended in an engaging festival of bright colors and patterns. A kitschy spirit for chic hippies.

AUTUMN/WINTER - 84-85: BARBES

COLLECTION FOR WOMEN
All of Paris' cross-blends and intermixes in one collection. Fringes reveal just enough of a bare back or bright panties, shoulder shawls are wrapped like turbans, scarves over a black jersey dress are tied at the hip, African tunics worn under vests walk the streets, jackets large enough for another person are either too big and too narrow, and bend at the waist as if borrowed from someone thinner, prints are wild but beautifully blended, vivid colors blend generously, volumes take off and have fun, a gust of freedom blows on the silhouette.

1985

SPRING/SUMMER - 85: ET DIEU CREA L'HOMME

COLLECTION FOR MEN
Now a cult tog, it was the year of the trouser skirt for men: trousers with wide legs one lapped over the other like a loincloth. The short jacket is aerated and missing a few pieces, the body shows through. Sweaters are shorter, and shirttails hang over onto canvas trousers, another pretext to blend prints, often checks. Beiges, browns and sepias firm up in contact with luminous yellow or bright green.

SPRING/SUMMER - 85:
UNE GARDE-ROBE POUR DEUX

COLLECTION FOR WOMEN
A manifesto of mixes or how men and women can explore the clichés linked to both sexes: black leather lingerie, red lace, tuxedo-bustier, cowboy boots-chaps, high heeled sneakers? But the pair can take flight, draped in silks and madras under an Eastern jacket, regardless of being man or woman. And the finale showed the attachment: men and women bound together in the same garment.

AUTUMN/WINTER - 85-86: JOLI MONSIEUR

COLLECTION FOR MEN
The mix and match clothing from preceding seasons are now the basics of a men's wardrobe in a classical spirit of fabrics and prints: gabardine, wools, silks in solid reds and black, Prince of Wales and quiet checks. Man borrows the dress, but not from woman!

AUTUMN/WINTER - 85-86:
LE CHARME COINCE DE LA BOURGEOISIE

COLLECTION FOR WOMEN
Quilted fabrics on the honor roll shown in coats, ample skirts for the evening in warm tones, prune red notably. Viennese and Brandenburg harmonies are the prerogative of nostalgic people. The Irish sweater is colored and shorter over a velvet panel skirt or baggy fringed trousers. And the wig of the toppled queen lights up!

1986

SPRING/SUMMER - 86: HISTOIRE D'HOMME

COLLECTION FOR MEN
The sailor trousers ride all the way up to the armpits to outline a straight and long silhouette under baggy reefer vests or short and wide sweaters. Floral prints are everywhere, invading the wardrobe and shirts are worn loose over trousers. Jackets are combined with the ruffled shirt to form but one single trompe l'oeil piece?

SPRING/SUMMER - 86: LES POUPEES

COLLECTION FOR WOMEN
The glory of stretch fabrics and ultra femininity: a blend of periods, a blend of tastes, fluffy petticoats and undergarments from the last century are subjected to the influence of London's punks. Everything from a striped sailor's T-shirt, to the shapely dresses, the very short Perfecto, the stretch jacket, are worn over generously flounced petticoats, with yards of tulle and lacy lingerie.

AUTUMN/WINTER - 86-87: FRENCH GIGOLO

COLLECTION FOR MEN
Sensuality rules in these clothes with strict lines but assembled for a softened silhouette, close fitted shapes appeal to men. The mesh shirt follows the torso, double breasted jackets cover the superposition of skirts over trousers, the crudely cut double sided square jacket is worn over a form-fitting sweater with high neck. Volumes are rounder, fabrics create a supple shell, the colors, greys, khaki, violet, are shown mostly in solids?and hairstyles complete the look!

AUTUMN/WINTER - 86-87:
LA COLLECTION SANS TITRE

COLLECTION FOR WOMEN
Influenced by Russian art from the 1930's, notably the Constructionists, models are shown in shapes that respect a body movements and shows it off, notably those borrowed from bikers, and the graphics are the Cyrillic alphabet. The molded body, stretch fabrics only, hemlines above the knee, the collection is also the renewed tradition of a new jacket, a belted volume, a supple frame, in plastic coated weave. And the woman dressed in a Lycra box dress is never without her opera gloves and skintight stocking pumps!

1987

SPRING/SUMMER - 87:
SOUVENIRS DE VACANCES

COLLECTION FOR MEN
The man child has kept his canvas windbreaker but has grown up without it, the sexy man chooses to cover a lacerated T-shirt with a traditional suit?two attitudes, two seasonal charms, two ways of showing off the skin for two archetypes of male sensuality.

SPRING/SUMMER - 87:
TROIS FOIS RIEN PAR UN BON A RIEN

COLLECTION FOR WOMEN
Here come the "little nothings", basics in the new era of Lycra. Lingerie inspiration show up in the use of real girdle fabric, the body is molded in a short skirt, tuxedo jacket, leggings, and the spotlight is on legs. Jean-Paul Gaultier imposes his tailor's spirit. The catsuit is made of elastic mesh, and the jacket has lost its sleeves. Sometimes it is shown with short balloon sleeves gathered by a button topping a balloon skirt too, or for a stricter look, a pair of shorts. Fabrics, colors, cuts and easy to wear shapes, it's all a question of personality.

AUTUMN/WINTER - 87-88: LES ROCK STARS

COLLECTION FOR MEN
Extravagance on a daily basis, here are yesterday's rock stars whose vestimentary daring helped bring on their success, now back to influence the collection. Double breasted jacket with a fake panther fur yoke, a mixture of very British checks and tartans, velvet T-shirt over tweed trousers, mild mannered suits whose front pockets are replaced with a brightly colored glove, proof that the classics in men's wardrobes can handle any fantasy. And singer Fred Chichin from the Rita Mitsouko's proves it.

AUTUMN/WINTER - 87-88: FORBIDDEN GAULTIER

COLLECTION FOR WOMEN
This collections signals the alliance of tradition with technology, black rubber from sex shops is turned into an evening dress with premolded breasts and preformed hips. The fabrics, vinyls, plastics and smooth foam back shine while the others, more matte, form mini reliefs such as the fake astrakhan fur implying cold weather fashion. Rounded shoulders and rounded hips, the jackets affirm a super curvy body.

Launch of JUNIOR Gaultier, a complementary collection, to be mixed with the main collections. Less costly, its decor comes from the Paris Metro.

1988

SPRING/SUMMER - 88: LES RETROS MODERNES

COLLECTION FOR MEN
A bit British, wide striped jacket over sweat pants, a bit of a show-off, double breasted jacket over striped boxers, artificially nonchalant, linen tint-on-tint double breasted suit, the elegant man chooses a silhouette from the past revived with sports clothing.

SPRING/SUMMER - 88: LA CONCIERGE EST DANS L'ESCALIER

COLLECTION FOR WOMEN
Paced by Yvette Horner's accordion, the Parisienne with her little beret parades on the catwalks with freshness and spirit, bared shoulders announcing the return of the suit. Baggy and flowing trousers replace the former focus on a molded body, chiffon with Impressionist prints come between a pleated skirt, itself between boxers and jacket. Tennis stripes, club stripes, polka dotted scarf, and vivid colors blend and play a new melody.

JUNIOR GAULTIER is also present, with small impertinent items to be mixed and matched among themselves or with the major collection. The mini denim Perfecto over a combination rubber and lace trimmed dress, the parachute nylon jacket embroidered with "skull and crossbones", the chiffon dress printed with bones or skulls conceals its transparency over denim toreador trousers.

AUTUMN/WINTER - 88-89: ROBIN DES BOIS

COLLECTION FOR MEN
Medieval inspiration from childhood fairy tales, the silhouette prefers baggy trousers under a slightly tapered or straight jacket. A tunic without T-shirt shown in supple gabardine, deep V-neck and pockets, and the trousers-vest combination elongates the silhouette even more. Earth colors, metallic shine highlighted with bright yellow, lithe and soft fabrics, the traditional men's suit takes on a nonchalant comfort.

AUTUMN/WINTER - 88-89: LES PENSIONNATS

COLLECTION FOR WOMEN
Navy blue is no longer a fatality for these boarding school girls who opt for heavy and warm colors, browns, ochre and bottle green, assembled with subtlety. Skirts are longer of course, dresses and short jackets are concealed under short grandmother capes, catsuits warm up with little sweaters and monochrome accessories. Sailor stripes and ribbing play off of diagonals on pullovers. And far from the watchful eyes of monitors, the collar of jumpsuits slips off the shoulder, some of the boarders might just go out with their knickers and jacket only!

1989

SPRING/SUMMER - 89: WESTERN BAROQUE

COLLECTION FOR MEN
Straight jacket with narrow neckline, jeans cut trousers, cowboy boots, big belt buckle and Stetson, so much for the basics. Then add a fringed scarf, a leopard print blacksmith's apron, a leather vest, bandanna over the mouth, these city cowboys who haunt cinema screens, between spice tones and sun-faded colors, hone the classics of men's wardrobes.

SPRING/SUMMER 89: VOYAGE AUTOUR DU MONDE EN 168 TENUES

COLLECTION FOR WOMEN
Woman was gone for a long time, but when she did come back and unpacked her luggage, she wore her jackets slit high on the hips, and everything she had collected on her travels. As cosmopolitanism requires, the flounced cowboy trousers distract from an absinthe musketeer-style shirt under a saffron yellow silk vest, all worn with violet evening gloves; her fur-print shirts slide over her almost-orthopaedic lingerie, a leather jacket with its fringed collar covers a long, lace-trimmed, silk negligée. The sailor top clings over coolie trousers. Colors blend sensitivity and softness. And it?s summer - these are cage clothes, dresses, jackets, catsuits, all open at the waist, hips or shoulders.

AUTUMN/WINTER - 89 -90: FANTOMAS

COLLECTION FOR MEN
This engaging villain with his well-known attire, which encloses his body to give more freedom of movement, is the pretext for a collection which finds comfort in forms close to the body. Jersey leggings and trousers are worn with impeccably-cut jackets, stiff-collared shirts reminiscent of fencing suits, whilst frock coats and tails worthy of the most elegant English Lord lend our thief elegance in very ordinary world. White and mottled grey are everywhere, with splashes of fluorescent color notes.

AUTUMN/WINTER - 89-90: FEMMES ENTRE ELLES

COLLECTION FOR WOMEN
The jacket narrates the art of tailoring by displaying every stage of construction - tacking threads, yokes, lining and more lining all shown on the outside. The lingerie concept continues to develop and the leggings suit sees its zip follow the construction of the garment, giving it the illusion of being a suspender belt. This collection thinks inside out and outside in; the top layer as underwear, mixing all the signs and senses!

Release of the record «How to do that» by Jean-Paul Gaultier in collaboration with Tony Mansfield.
Design of costumes for Peter Greenaway's film «The Cook, the Thief, his Wife and her Lover».

1990

SPRING/SUMMER - 90: RAP'SODY IN BLUE

COLLECTION FOR MEN
Classic wardrobe meets sports clothes; jackets, top coats and overcoats with boxers or sweat pants; narrow tops with wide trousers. Still looking at the body in motion, the army battledress with all its pockets is dressed up with taffeta; the motorcyclists? belt shines bright over the shirt and full trousers; the trouser suit emphasizes asymmetry.

SPRING/SUMMER - 90: LES RAP'IEUSES

COLLECTION FOR WOMEN
Provocative, they burst from the ground in shafts of light, in a religious flurry, an attack on the image of uniform conformity. The shorts suit, over flowing trousers, the jacket with the cage back, skirts with girdle yokes, zippers begging to be unzipped; femininity rears its powerful head. Jersey, stretch net; the outfit reconstructs the body like the architecture of old-fashioned corsetry. The contrast between the fluidity of viscose mesh, warp and weft underline the theme again and again.

AUTUMN/WINTER - 90-91: LES PIEDS NICKELES

COLLECTION FOR MEN
Three vital, timeless items - the duffle coat, the bomber jacket and the suit - all inseparable from those who leave their mark and understand what a joke is - are now treated in party style: sequins, frogging and pendants. Far from received wisdom, joggers appear with a gold-sequinned blouson, the jacket has knitted sleeves, the wide, padded braces shine. Everything is done to put life into everyday basics.

AUTUMN/WINTER - 90-91: PASSES ENFUIS, SOUVENIRS, AINSI PASSE LE TEMPS

COLLECTION FOR WOMEN
This collection seems to say «burn all the dead wood»; a collection which mixes opposites. Nomads from the four corners of the planet exhibit their unlikely mixtures. Some of the clothes seem to have fallen into the house painter?s pot, and carry surprising prints! A nomad then mixes them with her Jacquard knit sweaters and catsuits, punctuates them with bright studs - memories of the East - or even with her silver-sequinned sheath. She hangs a boa round her neck, puts a mini-chandelier to her ear... Cubist inspiration; velvets and sequins, gold and garnet, the story of the pomp of a forgotten princess who mixes today?s classics - knitted pullovers, duffle coats, knee-length frock coats - with the shining glories of her former wardrobe. Eclecticism is the key word.

Design of all costumes for Madonna's "Blond Ambition World Tour 90".

1991

SPRING/SUMMER '91: LE COUPLE, ADAM ET EVE, RASTAS D'AUJOURD'HUI

COLLECTION FOR MEN AND WOMEN
Collection based around the couple, they enter two by two, and show their likes and dislikes through their silhouettes. They are classical - the lining of one outfit is used as the shirt of the other. They are sailors, their identical sailor tops are worn over underskirts or tight-fitting shorts. They are rustics; the flowery combination under the sequinned dress of one outfit becomes the print on the other?s trousers. They are romantics, the catsuit beneath its sheath of lace repeats the material of the other?s suit. They are relaxed, the one?s T-shirt dress worn over an underskirt complements the other?s tank top... And the hems from yesterday?s drapes dominate the collection, adding length to humour!

Design of Yvette Horner's stage costumes at the Casino de Paris.

AUTUMN/WINTER 91-92 LE PRISONNIER

COLLECTION FOR MEN
The fundamental problem of the hero is how to escape - he must ransack his reserves of ingenuity to find disguises to leave behind the world which holds him back. Each episode is his personality - each silhouette, his universe. A fur blouson over tapered trousers? A square padded jacket over a tartan jumpsuit? A riding coat over shiny tights with a calligraphic pattern? Everything is allowed, as long as it works!

AUTUMN/WINTER 91-92: FRENCH CANCAN

COLLECTION FOR WOMEN
Cora Vaucaire sings about the steps of the Butte, the atmosphere is Jean Renoir?s French Can-Can, dancers La Goulue and Valentin Le Desossé, and the brightly colored hair of Toulouse Lautrec posters. Basic geometric shapes; the square becomes a four-panelled skirt, then a basque of a jacket, followed by a dress with a train. Stripes dominate, colors are bright, the necklines are strewn with Marabou feathers, legs are sheathed in color - this is a story of audacious beauties inspired by their indomitable ancestors.

1992

SPRING/SUMMER - 92: CASANOVA AU GYMNASE

COLLECTION FOR MEN
A place for cross-blends, a gym is also a place to celebrate the body, a place where social membership is abandoned. Motorcyclist leggings with knee pads, jodhpurs, waisted jackets, long skirts split over shorts, frock coats, tight T-shirts, the clothes make a statement about sporting attitudes. They are worked in classic, masculine fabrics, plus stretch fabrics for comfort. Lots of virgin white as required by the cult of the body.

SPRING/SUMMER 92: CONCOURS D'ELEGANCE

COLLECTION FOR WOMEN
The eccentric cousin of a crackpot uncle dreamt up by Jacques Tati cannot be far away from this competition, whose jury no longer knows which way to turn. Everybody is trying to outdo everybody else in seduction, color and daring. Breasts are in pride of place - it is summer after all - in a sheath dress, a very open covering, made of multicolored straps, low-cut directoire-style bustiers within which bright silks glide. Transparent stretch lace dresses cover polka dot prints or plain fabrics; the reefer jacket is worn with a long, laced sheath skirt; the big cat stripes of a panel dress reveal shoulders veiled in tulle, as are the legs. Colors are fresh as turf. Shapes are dynamic and close to the body, volumes are seductive and the gait is ... canine.

AUTUMN/WINTER 92-93: LES FOUS DE LA PHOTOGRAPHIE

COLLECTION FOR MEN
Classic shapes, black and white prints: positive, negative, photographs of faces with today?s look mix and intermix to form a single picture where the borderline between abstract and reality is blurred.

AUTUMN/WINTER 92-93: EUROPE DE L'AVENIR

COLLECTION FOR WOMEN
The influence is folklore, especially tales from the East - red and black dominate with knitwear, long silhouettes. The body and the catsuit have glove-legs borrowed from the jacket. The red sweater has navy stripes at the bottom of its sleeves - a superb trompe-l?oeil. Mix and match as usual, it?s also a collection for scatterbrains. Waistcoats and jackets have eight pockets and are inspired by reporters? jackets. Jackets are playing at being offices; wallets on chains can?t get lost. One goes out for the evening carrying a metal helmet with an integral dressing table - lipstick, compact, mirror, etc.

Jean-Paul Gaultier presents a collection of travel- and movement-inspired furniture at the VIA gallery.

1993

SPRING/SUMMER 93: LES ANDRO-JEANS

COLLECTION FOR MEN
This is the meeting between jeans and classics revisited. The asymmetry is not out of place; one panel of the jacket is shorter than the other to reveal the clothes below; mixtures of colors and prints, more and more silky, more and more flowery, more and more brocaded. Netting T-shirts put a smoke screen with their drawings of revolutionary banknotes, and the tank top now smothers the jacket - the undergarment covers the outer garment!

SPRING/SUMMER 93:
LES CLASSIQUES GAULTIER REVISITES

COLLECTION FOR WOMEN
Simple, sober, chic without fuss: this collection is devoted to favorite clothing. The jacket is king with padded shoulders, straight and clean, mixes with the bra, oversize jeans, the classic front-plated trousers, denim bustier and a simple navy sweater. The coat-dress is decorated with open panels to reveal bare flesh or bright stripes; trousers and shorts rise above the breasts. Multi-functional garments appear; one-piece garments which give the impression of being two: the striped navy twin-set drops its sleeves to become a long sweater with American arm holes, the double knee-length dress becomes a long sheath with a train knotted on the hips...

Launch of the new "Gaultier Jeans" collection.

Launch of JEAN-PAUL GAULTIER HAUTE PARFUMERIE, his first fragrance for women. The bottle is in the shape of the corset which has become his trademark.

AUTUMN/WINTER 93-94: LES VIKINGS

COLLECTION FOR MEN
Naturally their caps would include horns! It's the return of men's skirts worn with close-fitting jackets and ample overcoats.

AUTUMN/WINTER 93-94:
HOMMAGE AU PEUPLE JUIF

COLLECTION FOR WOMEN
Inspired by the traditional costume of the Hasidic, and especially their long black coats, the line is getting longer and favours the slim bust where the chest is less valued and the waistline less emphasized. The silhouette is now long and straight with jackets whose collars are extended into long ribbons which cross and are tied across the bust, all under heavy coats. Black, whether shiny or matte is everything; a sign of elegance enhanced by satins, taffetas, dark velvets and silver jewellery. Fur makes a comeback. The body is concealed - enclosed but not constrained.

1994

SPRING/SUMMER 94: LA BRUTE ET LE RAFFINE

COLLECTION FOR MEN
A marriage of supposed opposites, this is the alliance between the repressed body and unstructured garments; a game of exchanges between current garments and those we have forgotten. Suits are tapered, borrowing sophisticated materials like brocaded silks and taffetas and take soft, pretty colors.

SPRING/SUMMER 94: LES TATOUAGES

COLLECTION FOR WOMEN
When Joan of Arc passes through Benares, she obviously returns in pieces. Only fragments of her armour remain and she has only saris or Nehru-inspired jackets to wear.
Spiritual meeting or romanticism - the voiles are layered: printed tattoos over real false-skin tattoos, intertwining on the hips and emboldening T-shirts, tank tops, and jackets. The vestiges of a western wardrobe then complete the silhouettes, men?s waistcoats, jackets and trousers, but always flexible. Colors oscillate between sky-blue and silver light; the prints are arabesques, sensual animals and magic symbols all blurring and intermingling - sliding over each other in the movement.

Launch of a budget-conscious unisex line "JPG".

Design of costumes for Victoria Abril in Pedro Almodovar?s film, "Kika", and Caro and Jeunet's film "City of Lost Children".

AUTUMN/WINTER 94-95: TARBULLBOUD'DEVILLE

COLLECTION FOR MEN
For the man who is Rasputin, Taras Bulba, Mink de Ville and Buddha all rolled into one, man displays the many sides of his seductive appeal.

AUTUMN-WINTER 94-95: LE GRAND VOYAGE

COLLECTION FOR WOMEN
Wishing for a glacial winter, with northerly winds piercing the body through? We could then borrow fleecy skins from Mongolia to get us through the rigours of the season. Yet another a pretext for mix and match, here we are behind the windows of the Trans-Siberian railway, taking in the countryside and the people dotted along the way. Generous shapes, brocaded silks, dragons and treasures; bright orange and the blue of frozen lakes, the culture of the steppes reveals its delights.

1995

SPRING/SUMMER 95:
LATINO LOVER DES ANNEES 40

COLLECTION FOR MEN
He shows off because he knows how good he looks with his narrow shoulders, fine hips, distinct waistline, and his knack of guessing what he doesn't actually know; his velvet-soft looks which are so keen to be admired! So chic and so roguish.

SPRING/SUMMER 95: FIN DE SIECLE

COLLECTION FOR WOMEN
In a museum of antique merry-go-rounds, with the procession led by Madonna pushing a pram, 90% of this collection is dresses which distil the quintessence of those from the 20's. 30's and 40's. Brought right up to date, the dresses use technical gadgetry, coated surfaces, etc.; staples replace zips. The trade becomes increasingly refined.

Launch of LE MALE, a fragrance for men. Its bottle takes the form of a well-built bust, this time sporting a striped sailor's top.

AUTUMN/WINTER 95-96:
CAVALIERS, ECUYERS DES TEMPS MODERNES

COLLECTION FOR MEN
In the stalls of the Cirque d'Hiver, with an announcement from a powerfully seductive drag queen, the clothes are in the spirit of the cavaliers, whose Viennese heyday is fixed in all our memories by the cinema. Brightly-colored frock coat suits, Pigalle red and Bagatelle green, jabot shirts rock-star-style or Parisian urchin - that's what today's crazies are all talking about.

AUTUMN/WINTER 95-96: MAD MAX

COLLECTION FOR WOMEN
Still fascinated by the notion of travel, now through a universe of comic book characters, Jean-Paul Gaultier subjects this show to the influence of "travellers" ploughing their way through the U.S. on snarling machines. Even through the dust of the Far West, they remain chic and the frock coat takes on velvety fabrics and acidic colors. At the end of the day, the biker nomads reach the eternal snows and party in quilted nylon princess robes!

1996

SPRING/SUMMER 96: PIN'UP BOY'S

COLLECTION FOR MEN
They're all there - detectives, sailors, louts - straight off the comic book pages. Undeniably sexy, they wear their clothes tight on the body, with tears to reveal flesh and pecs, a well-shaped thigh, stomachs exposed to the elements. Trousers flare at the ankle, jackets are absorbed into bare flesh; blousons and T-shirts are ready to come off, the torpor of summer points to adventure.

SPRING/SUMMER 96: CYBERBABA

COLLECTION FOR WOMEN
A full city wardrobe of crudely cut, soft, honey and white leather - classic shapes for a rebellious chic. Not far from this far west city, the animals who inspire the prints used in the fierce stretch sheath dresses are watching and waiting.

AUTUMN/WINTER 96-97: HOMME COUTURE

COLLECTION FOR MEN
A man's shoulder, like the turn of his waist or ankle, can be just as seductive as those of women. This is the concept behind this collection where the couture tradition, up to and including all its frills, dresses men whose virility is not in question.
Long evening dresses with mink collars open to reveal trousers - tapered trousers whose openings at the calf are decorated with sensuous flowers. Bare backs exploit shiny linings and sensible suits in taffeta, dupions, etc. redefine notions of sensuality.

AUTUMN/WINTER 96-97: LA BOULE ET LE CUBE

COLLECTION FOR WOMEN
Homage and a wink in the direction of Dim Dam Dom, the cult fashion television series from the 60's, which shaped his adolescence, the cube is in pride of place (A model repeats in computer-speak: "I am a cube, I am a large cube...") and prevails in the construction of sheath dresses whose volume is accentuated by ribbing and which cling to body without support. The clothes seem to rest on the body, like this cardigan cape kept in perfect balance by two plumb lines. The silhouettes, haughty and graphic, are sketched in bold, nervous, dynamic strokes.

1997

SPRING/SUMMER 97: LA MAISON DES PLAISIRS

COLLECTION FOR MEN
In surroundings which have all the references of the chic brothels and whorehouses where young aristocrats, the handsome nouveau-riches and foreign princes rubbed shoulders before the war, Jean-Paul Gaultier uses history to hybridize his silhouette even further. Crepes, taffetas, moirés and sequins of all kinds; the mens' suits compete with their luxury and subtle mixtures. A tipsy Maharajah has his naval blazer over a striped kilt, a dandy has chosen red polka dot silk for his shirt and matching trousers, and a fair-weather sailor has opted for traditional stripes - red this time - over his trouser-skirt. The colors following the look of the pimps and the harmonies of the Orient.

SPRING/SUMMER 97: LA PARISIENNE PUNK

COLLECTION FOR WOMEN
Like a final bastion of impeccable style and fashion, this collection rests on the toss of a coin: Heads - strict and elegant trouser suits whose three pieces - waistcoat, jacket, trousers - form a single garment. Tails - a bare back, sufficiently low-cut that the low lattice and string of color cheekily cover the trouser belt.

Launch of GAULTIER PARIS, his first couture collection.

AUTUMN/WINTER 97-98:
FLOWERS POWERS ET SKIN HEADS

COLLECTION FOR MEN
Liberty as the master word and the poetry that goes with it as graphisms
and fake tattoos Peace and Love on shaved heads. A beauty in the
violence of the image and a softness for reality. The silhouette is
lean, the thigh sensible under the pant fabric, the velvet bright coats
on wild prints, the suspenders in trompe l'oeil, the muscles showing
through a T shirt, and all of that under a leather windbreak. A bright
and dynamic collection, nostalgia of a very British rebellion, it plays
with great rigour the assembly of clothes from the 90's.

 

AUTUMN/WINTER 97-98:
THE BLACK CULTURE AND ITS STRENGTH

COLLECTION FOR WOMEN
Whether women in booboos from Africa, or beauties from the 30's in-Harlem, they always inspired Jean-Paul GAULTIER. Contrary to the western-silhouettes who give preference to the narrow waist and a body hugged-by the fabric, the black culture is different in its particular-attention to volume and loose silhouettes. The collection therefore goes-in this direction and the classical shapes have been revisited in an-oversize version and worn in layers, colours from the desert, leather-and woollens. The cape effect to muffle up, belted coats on a knit-fitted dress, a leather tunic over a wide printed pant, the clothes-design the silhouette.

1998