Achieve Your Blonde Ambition in a Special Junior Gaultier Lurex Top “Memories of Buried Pasts, As Time Goes By” F/W 1990/91

Jean Paul Gaultier’s Fall/Winter 1990–91 collection looks back at past fashion eras and reinterprets them for the present. It blends nostalgia with modern materials and styling.

This is a special item from “Memories of Buried Pasts, As Time Goes By” that gives a very posh look to a hoodie! It’s made of lurex, a type of yarn with a metallic appearance. The chevrons are all you need for a pattern with material as glittery as this, and it gives off a very understated glamour. 

Even chevrons can be slinky and fashionable — pattern and silhouette in Junior Gaultier FW 1990–91

The chevron is considered one of the oldest symbols in human history. It appeared on pottery throughout the ancient world and in heraldry from the 11th Century until now. These V-shaped symbols are still very much part of the modern world. They are used to denote the rank of military personnel and to warn motorists of sharp bends in the road!

For both the women’s “Les Rap’Pieuses” and the men’s “Rap’sody in Blue” collections of Spring / Summer 1990, almost identical versions in slinkier material and acidic colours were available. These hooded tops were also worn in Madonna’s Blond Ambition tour, which opened in April 1990 in Japan. Madonna personally requested that Gaultier create the tour costumes. You can view runway footage of the men’s “Rap’sody in Blue” collection and footage of the women’s “Les Rap’Pieuses” collection.

Gaultier champions genderless fashion — exploring androgyny in early 1990s design

One of the things I love most about Gaultier is that his clothing blurs the lines between masculine and feminine fashion. In a New York Times interview in 1991, Gaultier recounted working with Madonna, saying, “She knew what she wanted – a pinstripe suit, the feminine corsetry. Madonna likes my clothes because they combine the masculine and the feminine.”

It’s Gaultier’s fearless attitude towards breaking down gender stereotypes that has led him to be one of the great pioneers of the gender-neutral fashion phenomenon that we see today. 

As I can’t find this particular version in any runway footage from Spring / Summer 1990, I’m guessing that, as it appeared in a magazine article from Elle France in July 1990, it was being promoted for the following season. Thank you to @gaultierjuniorhigh on Instagram, whose post I referred to.

Simple sequins — the role of texture in Junior Gaultier FW 1990–91

If you could go back in time to the winter of 1990, stroll up Newburgh Street in London, and walk into the Junior Gaultier store, you could buy this dress for £385. The tight lycra has a slight metallic sheen to it, and the sequins sit in bands in between lines of raised embroidery. Simple elegance, but with the average take-home monthly wage for London being £1,050 in 1990, you probably couldn’t afford dinner at L’Escargot on the way home.

Fair Isle fantasy — how traditional knitwear patterns appear in the 1990–91 collection

This vest is an example of how difficult it can be to determine which season an item originated in. I’ve seen more intricate Fair Isle patterns with flower and star elements in jumpers from the “Boarding School” collection of fall/winter 1988-89. The “Europe of the Future” collection from fall/winter 1992-93 followed a similar pattern. However, as confirmed by The Face magazine in July 1990, the vest, using deconstructed components of the earlier pattern, is from the fall/winter 1990/91 season.

Fair Isle is one of Scotland’s most remote islands, known for birdwatching, lighthouses, and, of course, its distinctive knitwear. Fair Isle knitting is a technique that dates back to the 18th century. Typical Fair Isle knits use an ‘OXO’ pattern (a combination of lozenge forms ‘Os’ connected with diagonal stripes ‘Xs’), with local knitters including motifs inspired by their surroundings, such as flora, animals, and marine life.

Pollock’s splatter — abstract print and artistic influence in Junior Gaultier FW 1990–91

As in the men’s Les Pieds Nickelés collection, a Jackson Pollock-inspired splatter pattern makes its way into Memories of Buried Pasts, As Time Goes By, nodding to his “drip technique” of splashing paint onto a horizontal surface.

Contentious catsuits — the role of fitted silhouettes in Gaultier’s 1990–91 collection

Relying on some clever detective work for Junior Gaultier expert @gaultierjuniorhigh, who noted that this catsuit was included in the January 1991 issue of the German monthly women’s magazine Petra, we can place this in the collection.

While catsuits can be seen as empowering, worn by strong TV characters such as Catwoman in Batman or Emma Peel in The Avengers, their interpretation is subjective, with many seeing them as overly sexualized or objectifying.

As part of the wider Junior Gaultier collections 1988–1995, this collection helps illustrate the evolution of the line.