It wouldn’t be a good Gaultier show without a lot of highly stylized theatrics and some puzzled head scratching. He is, after all, the famed “enfant terrible.” For his Fall ’12 menswear collection I got the sense that Jean Paul was dressing a cast of roving bandits in some science fiction alternate reality where Steampunk met the ’40′s. But it seems that his message may have gotten muddled in the vastness of ideas that he presented in many confusing layers.
Yet hidden in all the over the top drama of what is on the surface a seemingly disjointed collection (not to mention a disturbing amount of brick patterned fabric), are incredibly gorgeous pieces that I’ve featured here. Mr. Gaultier just wanted to make you dig deeper to find the goods. Which was perhaps his intention all along? Sometimes you have to sort through the rubble (bricks) to find the beauty and the lesson…
However; while I respect Mr. Gaultier’s famed and non-conformist approaches to fashion; I hope that for Spring ’13 he returns with a stronger theme and a more clearly defined (and edited?) collection.
On a related note, The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco are set to present the first major exhibit devoted entirely to Mr. Gaultier at the famed De Young Museum; which just happens to be a few blocks from my house. I’m super excited to see this show which will feature 130 ready to wear looks from Gaultier’s archives dating back to the late ’70′s. The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk runs March 24, 2012 - August 19, 2012. Visit the De Young site for more details.
[Photos via GQ]
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