Provocative Religion and Fetishism in Gaultier’s “Les Rap’Pieuses” S/S 1990

Jean Paul Gaultier’s Spring/Summer 1990 Les Rappieuses collection mixes religious imagery with provocative fashion elements. It explores themes of belief, sensuality, and rebellion. Gaultier’s work in the late 80s and early 90s, the lifetime of the Junior Gaultier label, was marked by a readiness to push boundaries and to explore themes of sexuality, gender, and religion in ways that many considered shocking.

The Pious Rap

Four years before the controversial “Chic Rabbis” collection, Jean Paul Gaultier’s Spring/Summer 1990 collection provocatively mixed religious imagery with fetishistic elements and featured nuns’ habits paired with garters and harnesses. 
In 1989, the Grande Halle de la Villette, also known as the Halle aux Boeufs, which once served as Paris’ cattle market, was transformed into a cathedral for the collection that will remain one of Gaultier’s most symbolic. 

The show opened with “Organ Donor” by DJ Shadow, with church bells, plumes of incense, and Gregorian chants creating a dramatic atmosphere. Praying models rise into view on rotating platforms, wearing nuns’ wimples and beautifully tailored pinstripe jackets. Musical artist Neneh Cherry introduces the collection’s sportier element, flamboyantly rising to the runway in an orange hooded chevron jumpsuit and green tights. Nuns don sunglasses to protect their eyes from the sight of men’s bulging underwear. By now, the nuns have gone feral and are smoking cigarettes, which is a terrible habit!

There is a lot of Junior Gaultier in this show, and if you’ve ever seen tops and cycling shorts with a circular cutout and the word “short” emblazoned on them, this is the collection they come from. 

The finale showcased vibrant satin, cage jackets, and harnessed outfits, which completed Gaultier’s distinctive fusion of high fashion and subversion. 

Gaultier’s Art Deco jewellery

Although it’s hard to see in the darkness of the show, there are a large number of Art Deco-style items of jewellery in the collection, from bracelets to massive dangling clip-on earrings. All of the variations are in a silver tone metal, and adorned with enamel, bearing inscriptions such as “Wonder”, “Diamant”, “Argent” and “Massif”. In the bottom section of the earrings, below, you can just about make out “ETE 90”, solidifying their place in the collection.

When religious art and fashion collide – Jean Paul Gaultier couture Spring/Summer 2007

For S/S 2007, Gaultier reinterpreted Catholic iconography from its roots in religious art, reimagining the halos of saints in perspex and metal, nun-like wimples morphing into the back of dresses, stained glass depictions of baby Jesus, sumptuous silks and satins, translucent fabric, and burning hearts imprinted into metal plates.

Models sporting faux tears in makeup and crystals mirror those from ‘Our Lady of Sorrows’, a popular theme in Catholic religious art in which the Virgin Mary is portrayed sorrowful and in tears, with either one or seven swords piercing her heart. A striking grey dress in the collection is divided by a blood-red organza section emanating from an appliqué heart and sword.

Despite the provocative elements of the collection, I sense Gaultier’s reverence and appreciation for the beauty of religious art in his designs. Sarah Mower’s Vogue review almost agrees, “… the tone, if not precisely reverential, wasn’t calculated to mock. Instead, his ingenious skew on church iconography seemed gently appreciative of its capacity for shining beauty.”

Watch a video of the show here to truly appreciate its sense of drama and grandeur.

Richard Lindner’s fetishistic cubist influence

Richard Lindner was a German artist who moved to America in 1941 to escape the Nazis, befriending other German displaced settlers, such as Albert Einstein and Marlene Dietrich. Linder was a successful illustrator for Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, only taking up painting in his 50s. His style draws inspiration from cubism and pop art, resulting in abstract portraiture, often inspired by his experiences of the vulgar, fetishistic aspects of life in New York.

I have to say, I’m not a massive fan of Richard Linder, but after a bit of poking around, I can see some paintings of his that look like they could have influenced the “Les Rap’Pieuses” collection.

Corsage, from 1971, is a stylised, abstract painting of a female torso wearing a corset rendered in bright and saturated colours, including blues, yellows, reds, and greens. A long, vertical zipper runs down the centre of the torso, and the image could be seen as a blueprint for Gaultier’s 1990 collection. Incidentally, Lindner’s mother owned a custom-fitting corset business.

Another interesting painting is Girl with Hoop, which has geometric colour blocks with a single exposed breast, reminiscent of items from the collection, as well as the Junior Gaultier magazine adverts of the season.

Boutique Junior Gaultier in London’s Carnaby

Squint at the text in the black arrow in the advert below, and you’ll see it is promoting the Boutique Junior Gaultier store at Foubert Place in London’s Carnaby. If you take a look at the Soho Cityscape 1991/92 – The Comprehensive Guide to Soho & Theatreland map, you’ll see where the Boutique Junior Gaultier resided, among other shops of that time, including Zoo, Benetton, The Metropolitan Club, Bankrupt Clothing Company, Supreme, Pan Hogg, and John Richmond.

Interestingly, I have a vintage Junior Gaultier carrier bag that puts the Junior Gaultier store at Newburgh St, Carnaby, 100 yards around the corner! If you didn’t want to leave Knightsbridge for your shopping, Harrods had an in-house boutique called ‘Way In’ which I used to visit in the late 80s, that stocked Junior Gaultier.

The Joker-esque face in the advert below belongs to Claudia Huidobro, former supermodel and muse to Jean Paul Gaultier. The advert, as with many in the 80s and 90s, was designed by Thierry Peres.

Taking inspiration from the iconic Morris columns of Paris

The shape of the posh (and not very cost-effective) carrier bag below is based on the iconic green cast-iron advertising columns that are dotted around Paris. They were created in 1868 by Gabriel Morris, an enterprising French printer who specialised in event posters, to discourage flyposting. Knowing the history behind the design makes the bags even more impressive.

An invitation to the first Junior Gaultier store in Paris uses the same artwork as the paper bags, reading ‘Junior Gaultier Invites you to the opening of its first boutique, 7 rue du jour 75001 Paris on Monday, September 5 1988’.

As part of the Junior Gaultier collections 1988–1995, this collection contributes to the narrative of the label’s most influential era.