Burlesque, opulent, extravagant, shocking: fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier enchanted the world with his creations for more than five decades. Now, three years after retiring from the catwalk, the Frenchman is returning to Munich to present the “Fashion Freak Show”. For the first time on a German stage, the mixture of revue and fashion show tells his life story with lots of music.
The 71-year-old looks exuberant before the costume rehearsal in Munich’s Isar Philharmonic, where the premiere took place on Thursday to standing applause. In black jeans and a t-shirt, he recalls the days when he was dressed contrary to social norms – be it kilts or cavalier boots. “Where’s your horse?” They would have asked him ironically at the time, he says in an interview with the German Press Agency.
“I thought instead of staying in the column, I’d go my own way,” says the designer. He became acquainted with the idea of creative freedom under the guidance of the fashion designer Pierre Cardin. It was his school, says Gaultier. “For me, the best thing is to be free,” he emphasizes his credo.
He revolutionized the scene
In the meantime, the designer has become a cult term. With punk influences, iconic cone bras or the abolition of gender roles on the catwalk, where men also wore wedding dresses, he revolutionized the scene forever. They want to rebel against constraints, he explains. “Breaking the barrier means there’s a change in society. So that means something has to change. So that’s good, very good.”
Was it all a circus? The comparison doesn’t bother the designer: “I would say it’s like a compliment. I love the circus, I think it gives emotions,” he says passionately. “I think the only faux pas in fashion is to pretend you’re something you’re not. That’s a faux pas for everything in life,” explains Gaultier.
The designer wants to “convey emotions”
His eyes sparkle when he talks about fashion. And with graceful hand gestures he describes the shape of a specially created world. “When I presented my collection, when I was still making fashion, I always wanted to convey a feeling. I hoped that both the clothes and the atmosphere would convey emotions,” explains the Frenchman enthusiastically.
This is controlled differently by fashion groups these days. Gaultier therefore wishes to return to a world in which young people can get started without having to work in a large company or have a lot of money. For some time, the fashion sphere has become an industry. Gaultier sees this critically.
Therefore, he would not seek a return to the fashion industry for the time being. “Well, not fashion. You have to be in the time when all social media exist, you have to be there – and I’m not,” explains the 71-year-old. “I can’t make a fashion statement that’s appropriate at this point in time,” he says, laughing.
