My Favorite Fashion Brand—— Jean Paul Gaultier
After leaving Pierre Cardin, the 24-year-old Jean Paul Gaultier founded his eponymous label Gaultin 1976 and launched his first womenswear collection two years later. When I say I like the brand, what I really like is Jean Paul Gaultier’s designs and the meaning behind them. Unlike other clothing brands, Jean Paul Gaultier’s designs were full of street, punk and subculture elements that appealed to my hormonal youth and broke my stereotypes of the fashion industry as a serious, old-fashioned place.
Jean Paul Gaultier SS 1991, a show that featured a mix of men and women in the form of couples, expressed the idea that no matter what the gender or race of the other person, please be brave enough to love. Jean Paul Gaultier’s Cyber Show, which was dubbed ‘the Best Show’ by Vogue, saw models of all races, sizes and ages on the same stage as animals and even pregnant women.
Today’s models had the same cold expressions or the same range of smiles, a stern, neat pace and a dull, lifeless look that always bored me after a while. I love Gaultier’s runway, which is more like a fun show than a serious exhibition, it is simply a playground. The stage is free, no model is prescribed how to walk and for how long.
What should men be like? And what should women look like? For Jean Paul Gaultier Paris Men’s FW Fall 2011, the ‘alternative’ look on the male models actually questioned the traditional image of masculinity – is it okay for men to have long hair and wear dresses? Can men like to wear stockings and have lipstick? I don’t think all boys should be tough, boys are allowed to be soft. Boys are allowed to wear skirts just like girls can be strong and handsome. This bring me to the cone bra, a classic style in which Gaultier turns the shackles on women into armour, changing the image of femininity to one of sharpness. And this is part of the image that the new generation of women wants to express: female strength, independence, strength and competence.