In the first international exhibition devoted to the celebrated French couturier, the National Gallery of Victoria presented The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk, featuring seven galleries with more than 140 superbly crafted garments in addition to photographs, sketches, stage costumes, excerpts from runway shows, film, television, concerts and dance performances.
I almost missed this amazing exhibition, which ended the 8th of February, and I’m thrilled I didn’t. Despite not being a fashionista, I’ve been a fan of Gaultier’s work for about 20 years and this show was fantastic. I was excited to see his work. Here are a few of my favourites. All these photos were taken with my iPhone 6.
The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk at the National Gallery of VictoriaVirgins or Madonnas collection haute couture springsummer 2007Virgins or Madonnas collection haute couture springsummer 2007Virgins or Madonnas collection haute couture springsummer 2007The mannequins are animated They look around blink smile and so forth The one of Gaultier welcomes you to the showAs a boy he was fascinated by corsetsReworking the early twentieth century corsets and 1940s waistcinchers dug out of his grandmothers closets he went on to create new classics such as the cone bra and underwear as outerwearFar from being an instrument of torture imprisoning womens bodies for Gaultier his corset embody a new feminine powerMany stars have worn various iterations of his corsets with concentrically topstitched bra cups including famously Madonna during her 1990 Blond Ambition World TourMadonna wore this 3D leather cage corset with conical breasts during the MDNA World Tour 2012In the early 1970s Gaultier had his first look at the styles adopted by the punks of LondonGaultier found inspiration and new materials in the energy of Londons streets and the glam rock movementA moving runway showcase from various Gaultier collectionsThe Skin Deep galleryThe Skin Deep gallerySome of Gaultiers more scandalous workThe high waisted skirt with bare breast suspenders shown at the top left was worn by Madonna in Jean Paul Gaultiers benefit runway show for amFAR The Foundation for AIDS Research in Los Angeles on 24 September 1992The Urban Jungle gallery showcases work inspired by what Gaultier calls the melting pot of the new ParisThe Urban Jungle gallery
With more than 140 garments on display plus design illustrations, photographs, and other props, you can imagine that this blog entry hardly does it justice. It was impressive.
Fascinating stuff.
xxx Hugs xxx