How to Look Like a Number One Rapper in Junior Gaultier “Rap’sody in Blue” S/S 1990

Jean Paul Gaultier’s Spring/Summer 1990 Rhapsody in Blue collection brings together sportswear and tailored fashion. It creates sleek, modern looks with a strong focus on movement and fit.

I have so many garments from this collection, I thought I’d revisit the Spring / Summer of 1990 and “Rap’sody in Blue”. I didn’t set out to invest so heavily in this collection, but it offers such an eclectic mix of designs that it’s no surprise so many of its items are in my wardrobe.

Why I love Jean Paul Gaultier catwalk shows

I’m no style guru or fashion aficionado; I just like to make a bit of an effort to wear something interesting when I go out. This collection is perfect for that, as there’s something for all occasions, which you can mix and match for an occasion you didn’t even know existed!

Although I love the theatre of catwalk shows from the likes of John Galliano for Dior, Alexander McQueen’s Gucci partnership, and, of course, JPG, clothes worn in everyday life have more of a story to tell. I think as soon as you acquire an item of clothing, it changes as it’s styled with other items from your wardrobe and begins its own catwalk show throughout your life. That said, in understanding the journey of a shirt or jacket made in the eighties, to adorn my body, catwalks and editorials are a must-have.

Smoking mummies on the catwalk

The “Rap’sody in Blue” show starts with a model wrapped in bandages and sporting sunglasses, puffing on a pipe before revealing his face, all accompanied by LL Cool J’s “Why do you think they call it dope?” As soon as this mummy disappears from the runway, a slightly less mummified model struts onto the runway wearing a swimsuit. Nena Cherry’s “The Next Generation” is sliced into LL Cool J as more models with fewer bandages and more… underwear do their thing. It’s great underwear, and just when you are getting to the point when you’re wondering if Boris Karloff wore satin knickers under his bandages, attention is turned back to the clothes.

There are some very interesting shapes made in the contrast between black square-necked catsuits and asymmetrical waistcoats, and the white shirts beneath them. More technical interpretations of the collection can be seen in pieces such as the Lycra cycling shirt.

Inspiration from photographic techniques

About five minutes in, one of the Junior Gaultier holy grails makes an appearance – the X-ray T-shirt. In a 1990 interview with Elle US, Gaultier discusses his collection, specifically his T-shirts and raincoats with X-ray prints of spinal columns, clavicles, and rib cages. Although these skeleton-printed items may evoke thoughts of Halloween or hospitals, they have nothing to do with tricks, treats, or medical procedures.

“I’m interested in the interior of people and what could be more evocative of a person’s interior than an X-ray?” says Jean Paul.

Models develop a certain swagger from now on. Seven minutes into the video, two models emerge wearing different colourways of the No. 1 T-shirt paired with three-stripe trousers à la Adidas. Now, George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue is the soundtrack, with a heavy drum beat giving a sense of urgency to match the rate at which we are introduced to Jean Paul’s creations.

Out pops a model wearing a T-shirt with images of a running man and a toddler in the style of Eadweard Muybridge. Eadweard Muybridge was an English photographer known for his pioneering work in Chronophotography, the photographic technique which captures several phases of movement to aid in the scientific study of locomotion. He’s most famous for his images of a galloping racehorse, although he did capture women walking downstairs and women drinking cups of tea – all in the nude, of course!

Incidentally, some of the models are wearing Junior Gaultier branded pac-a-macs attached around their waists, as well as the wide belts with Junior branding.

Now we see a bomber jacket with the crossed elastic straps that are featured on my jacket, shortly followed by a dark blue version of my jacket, worn with a neck scarf and off-white trousers. The elastic straps with the exact colour as those on my jacket can be seen on the dress below, from the women’s collection “Les Rap’Pieuses” from the same season. The photo has been used with the seller’s permission, and the dress can be purchased here.

Who needs imagination?!

I do love this outfit as it’s got a lot of character, but not too in your face! I’m rubbish at styling and feel a bit of a fashion victim (and lacking imagination) by wearing items from the same collection, but so what? The colour of the jacket is an amazing aquamarine, and the burgundy and yellow stripes on the back banding contrast beautifully. The jacket is 100% cotton and unlined, except for a second layer of fabric at the yolk, which I think is there to make it easier to slip on and off. The result is a very casual and lightweight item for the summer. In the main photo, the T-shirt looks to have stripes behind the number 1, but with the jacket removed, you can appreciate that it’s the word JUNIOR in the same font used in the Junior Gaultier logo. This graphic also appears horizontally on the lycra cycling jersey from the same collection.

In the photo, the jacket and T-shirt are teamed up with a pair of Junior Gaultier trousers in an interesting wet sand colour, as well as a belt from the same collection. Slip on the suede winklepickers from “Robin Des Bois” F/W 1988-89, and I’m ready to swagger down to the pub!

Found within the Junior Gaultier collections 1988–1995, this collection reflects the creative direction of the period.