Gaultier’s Autumn/Winter 1991 men’s collection, ‘Les Prisonnier,’ was inspired by the British science fiction spy thriller The Prisoner. The show explores the journey of a former government agent (known only as Number Six and played by Patrick McGoohan) who abruptly resigns from his job, and is knocked out with a suspicious gas, only to awake in a mysterious seaside village.
The TV series was set in Portmeirion, an Italianate folly village in North Wales which was designed and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975. You can stay at the houses in the village, which I’ve done a few times and can highly recommend.
Throughout most of the series, the protagonist No. 6 was dressed in a rowing blazer which had white piping around the collar, and ‘broken’ piping on the lapels, continuing along the lower front and rear bottom edge. Although the colour of the dark fabric appears black, it is in fact dark brown. This iconic blazer looks to have been given the Gaultier treatment for the collection, with a black dinner jacket sporting white piping broken up with horizontal, coloured stripes. From the low-quality runway photos, there appears to be a negative version of the jacket which is white with black piping.
A prisoner can’t change its stripes
The runway collection boasted men’s leggings teamed with tight tops in simple blocks of yellow, black and red, with bold stripes. The women’s catwalk show “French Cancan” included a dress that picked up the colour block theme in the same colour combination of black with bold yellow stripes and red cuffs, with additional stripes for the “V neck” neckline. Many of the items in the collection appear to be balanced stripes designed with a symmetrical layout consisting of bright, multicoloured contrasting vertical stripes ranging in thickness.
The stripe theme could be influenced by the striped scarves that most of the inhabitants of the village wear. Or did it come from the distinctive striped canvas top and seat covers of the Mini Moke car driven by Patrick McGoohan, around the Village? Without a stripe in sight, an orange duffle coat, perfect when escaping a coastal village, bounds onto the runway in a shock of colour.
If I hadn’t seen this sweater identified as coming from the ‘Les Prisonnier’ collection by Instagram’s best Junior Gaultier resource, @gaultierjuniorhigh any indication of its provenance would have passed me by. The pullover boasts a similar array of stripes to the collection, but the most interesting component is a very robust patch on the sleeve. This patch is one of many brandings used on Junior clothing that could have been inspired by the logos of several well-established clothing brands, such as Dickies, Everlast, or Coca-Cola.
Vote for No. 6
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. Two graphical Junior Gaultier t-shirt designs unashamedly flaunt the “Vote for No. 6” command, combined with Jean Paul’s face. I would adore to own the version (below) with the slightly menacing Mr. Gaultier peering through the number six. The end credits of the TV show feature a cutout of Patrick McGoohan’s head, exactly like the shirt, only with prison bars appearing over it.
The image of Gaultier is the exact one featured on the cover art for his single, “Aow Tou Dou Zat” (How to Do That) designed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino in 1989. The image is further repurposed as an embroidered patch for the inside of some Junior Gaultier articles of clothing.
There is a second, grungier version of our hero’s head and shoulders, looking back at us. Interestingly the worn typewriter font on this design spells out number six as “n. 6”. There are other simplistic items in this collection that 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”.
Another Junior Gaultier item from the same collection, that revels in the stripe theme, is a jumper with a three-dimensional “Junior” spell out. The blue version I had was too small for me, but a size large is definitely on my wish list. The jumper was available in yellow and red, as well as the vibrant blue version below.
Even after all these years, Number 6 never escaped, but at least he’s imprisoned in style.