Jean Paul Gaultier was just 15 years old in 1967 when the British television series The Prisoner premiered. Patrick McGoohan plays the protagonist “Number Six”, an unknown British agent kidnapped and imprisoned in a mysterious seaside village. The TV show’s underlying themes of power struggle and resistance to authority may have inspired Gaultier’s subversive and provocative designs. He often uses fashion to challenge social norms and expectations, which is consistent with the show’s message of questioning authority and resisting conformity.
Fight the power
The TV show may have resonated with the French as, in May 1968, civil unrest occurred throughout France, sparked by student protests against capitalism, consumerism, and an oppressive hierarchical society. The protests escalated to the point that political leaders feared civil war or revolution, with President Charles de Gaulle secretly fleeing France.
Interestingly, the outrage from viewers of The Prisoner when many of the questions raised in the show went unanswered in the finale led McGoohan to leave Britain and go into hiding after disgruntled spectators stormed his home.
These protests could be simultaneously linked to similar movements worldwide, inspiring a generation of protest art through songs, imaginative graffiti and slogans. May 1968, Joan Miró’s graffiti-tinged painting created between 1968 and 1973, was inspired by the riots in France.
Free for All at the French Cancan
In the fourth episode of the series entitled “Free for All” Number Six is persuaded to run for election to the post of Number Two in the hope of getting to meet the entity in charge of the Village, Number One.
A scene from The Prisoner episode “Free for All” © ITV Studios Ltd.
It couldn’t be any more obvious that the episode was the inspiration for this T-shirt with the villager’s placards combining the face of Number Six with the “Vote for No 6” slogan. Even the same typeface that was used in the show adorns the T-shirt.
I love the slightly menacing Mr. Gaultier peering through the number six, in such a simple but bold design. The artwork for the T-shirt is in the form of a heat-transferred vinyl block, which luckily has stood the test of time. The Junior Gaultier logo sits beneath our hero’s chin, to confirm its heritage. Whilst the cotton material in this item is relatively flimsy, there’s another iteration with the same graphic that uses a far more substantial, fleece-backed material. Ribbed arm cuffs and neck in contrasting black and gold colours give a more luxurious and athletic feel to it.
There is a second, grungier design inspired by The Prisoner, with our hero’s head looking back at us. Interestingly the worn typewriter font on this design spells out number six as “n. 6”.
Other simplistic items in this collection just bear the lettering in a flocking, although the “Vote for No 6” words can be seen adorning the back of a skintight metallic top in the women’s catwalk show “French Cancan”.
The fleece-backed version of the long-sleeved T-shirt with ribbed arm cuffs and neck. Photo used with permission from pechugavintage.com
Mondino puts a (fashion designer’s) name to The Face
The design of this T-shirt is attributed to French fashion photographer and music video director Jean-Baptiste Mondino. He directed many music videos for artists associated with Gaultier, including Madonna, Björk and Neneh Cherry. The image of Gaultier used on the T-shirt comes from a photo Mondino shot for the December 1988 cover of The Face magazine.
The front cover of the December 1988 issue of The Face magazine. © Wasted Talent.
The simplicity of the cover is its strength allowing Gaultier’s charm and rebellious attitude to draw the viewer into his mischievous gaze. While writing this article, I tried to learn more about the story behind the shoot and how the photo came to be used for Junior Gaultier clothing. I believe the stylist for this shoot was the legendary Catherine Bab who has also worked on editorial shoots for Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Glamour, and Dazed and Confused. Her achievements are far-reaching as a designer, consultant and costume designer for film, and she is well worth discovering more about.
With such a stunning photo, you’ll want to make the most of it, which might explain why the same image appeared on the cover of Gaultier’s single, “Aow Tou Dou Zat” (How to Do That) designed by Mondino in 1989. The image was further repurposed in pop art style as an embroidered patch on the inside of some Junior Gaultier garments.
Mondino also shot one of my favorite album covers, Prince’s Lovesexy of 1988. The cover caused some controversy when it was released because it showed Prince naked among flowers, with a distinctly phallic stamen thrust skyward!
Left: Cover of Gaultier’s single, “Aow Tou Dou Zat”. © Jean Paul Gaultier. Right: Embroidered Junior Gaultier patch. Photo used with permission from @stanislas_jacobb
It’s wheely Gaultier!
When I originally started researching for this post I came across an image of a penny-farthing, which is the Village’s insignia and also appears in the show’s closing titles. What made this image interesting was that the larger front wheel was Jean Paul’s cheeky face! Because this image was such a blatant amalgamation of the designer and the influence, I disregarded it as fan art.
Co-creator and star of The Prisoner Patrick McGoohan stated that the bike represented slowing down the wheels of progress “I came up with the penny-farthing bicycle because I thought it was an ironic symbol of progress. The feeling that we are going too fast. I think we should pull back and consolidate the things we have discovered, as opposed to tearing off at faster speeds in bigger aircraft. I don’t see any merit in it at all. I think progress is the biggest enemy on earth- apart from oneself.”
Imagine my astonishment when, several months after publishing this post, I discovered the tie pictured below for sale. Despite never wearing ties, I decided to buy it just for a decent photo for this blog. It turned out that what I thought was fan art was actually an authentic Gaultier design!
