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 skews 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.

The post Provocative Religion and Fetishism in Gaultier’s “Les Rap’Pieuses” S/S 1990 first appeared on Vintage Jean Paul Gaultier & Junior Gaultier Collections.

Casanova, the pimp, the gambler, the fugitive, and the travel writer

In the 18th century, men’s wigs were powdered to give them their distinctive white colour and were symbolic of decadence, something Giacomo Casanova would have enjoyed. Casanova’s reputation for being a womaniser was well documented, but he was also a very intelligent man, graduating with a law degree at age 17 and in the same year losing his virginity to two sisters aged 14 and 16. From reading about his exploits, he probably broke most of the laws he learned about. Of course, if you were pimping out your ex-lovers to King Louis XV, you would probably get away with a few indiscretions.

The shirt is a gossamer-thin mesh material emblazoned with the most intricate illustrative elements linked by chains. Large American eagles are gripping barbed wire as dainty skeletons dance and baroque beauties dangle from hoops. The two most endearing motifs are a motorcycle with “Junior” on its registration plate and an image of Jean Paul as Mister Universe, encircled with a bicycle chain(?), lifting dumbbells. As well as the periwinkle blue coloured shirt I’m sporting, there are also green and red versions available.

Marvel at Jean Paul Gaultier pumping iron

I love this collection and think that the opposing themes of decadence gym/club wear pair perfectly, with elegant ruffles and sharp tailoring mixed with sexy mesh and sporty leggings. One item that stands out is a lace-up bustier come vest version of the top worn by Naomi Campbell in the women’s collection of the same season, “Concours d’Elegance” (Competition of Elegance).

Photograph © juniorgaultier.com

Gym Shoes for a Dandy

This high-top version of the thick-soled, leather and suede sneakers from the men’s “Casanova at the Gym” collection compliments the sportswear theme of the women’s show.

The rubber patch on the tongue shamelessly parodies the Converse All Stars logo, with the arrow swoosh being a more subtle nod to Nike.

The post Big Wig Wins Mister Universe With Junior Gaultier “Casanova at the Gym” S/S 1992 first appeared on Vintage Jean Paul Gaultier & Junior Gaultier Collections.

Although many Junior Gaultier items were included in the mainline catwalk shows, in Fall / Winter 1992 they had their own mini collection entitled “The Nightmare”. Unsurprisingly a vampire character was to crop up in magazine adverts promoting the collection with the advert below being subtly updated with a bespeckled vampire to promote the Junior Gaultier sunglasses range.

I don’t know why the early black and white Dracula movies scared me so much as a kid, because Dracula was always overly dramatic and moved quite slowly! Together with me being in bed before dark and not being a nubile young woman, made me relatively safe from his fangs.

Even so, he was my favourite horror character next to a werewolf and that could be why I love this t-shirt so much. The mix of text and bold graphics, complete with gothic typeface in shiny resinous paint, makes this one of my favourite Junior Gaultier T-shirts. As we know, Jean Paul Gaultier has been influenced by many fictional characters, such as Robin Hood, The Prisoner, Fantômas and The Pieds Nickelés trio, so why shouldn’t Dracula be spared?!

Being a vampire sucks

The vampire character in this t-shirt I am wearing looks suspiciously like David Peel, a handsome British actor who created one of the most memorable vampires in horror film history: “Baron Meinster” in Hammer Films’ The Brides of Dracula (1960). The mugshot is framed and surrounded by text sections from an imaginary newspaper chronicling horrific goings on. Read about The Frankenstein Saga, dip into the Encyclopaedia of Horror and recoil at The Supernatural.

Several versions of horror-inspired designs exist, including Christopher Lee’s doubleganger biting a young lady’s neck, a gothic-looking woman titled “Vampira” and a colour block version of Nosferatu, the first vampire movie ever made.

Vampira gives me the willies

The Vampira reference is likely to be of Maila Nurmi, a horror movie TV host of the late-night 1950s, although there was a 1974 British comedy horror film of the same name, starring David Niven as Count Dracula. In this movie Dracula attempts to revive his long-lost love, Vampira by a blood transfusion, collecting blood from a bevy of Playboy playmates visiting his castle. However, one of the Playmates whose blood is drained is black, turning the revived Vampira into a black woman!

Thankfully such films are no longer made and fangs for reading.

The vampire suit

The red T-shirt I’m wearing is also from the collection, focusing on one part of the newspaper graphic. The same gothic font spells out “Junior”, but instead of the shiny paint, the word is highlighted using a red flocking. This technique was to crop up again in 1998, in what’s often referred to as the “Vampire Suit”, a Gaultier Jean’s black jean jacket and matching trousers with red flocking, suggestive of dripping blood.

Vampire couture in 2014

Gaultier returned to the theme of vampires, ghosts, and monsters for his couture show of Fall / Winter 2014. Just like the immaculately dressed characters from the 1992 movie “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”, Gaultier’s vampires looked like they’d never spent a night in a dusty coffin in their lives (or their afterlives).

Gaultier created the drama of gothic horror through stunning tailoring of textures in colours he described as “blood red, virginal white, black Sabbath, the silver of a knife, and the gold of religion.”

Dangerous yet alluring vampires sported red eye makeup (do vampires suffer from hay fever?), peroxide pompadour hairstyles, and more hoods and ruffles than you could shake a wooden stake at, completed the look.

A crinoline skirt adorned with a menacing appliqué chain formed an inescapable cage and there was also a black velvet jogging suit, should you be struggling to make it back to your castle before dawn.

Although in an otherworldly guise, the elegant vampire models adhered to Gaultier’s longstanding theme of female empowerment, with Vogue’s Suzy Menkes remarking “They were strong women, heaving with sexuality and attitude, as Gaultier first invented them in the 1980s.”

Marcellous L. Jones, writing for Fashion Insider Magazine, quotes Gaultier from his opening presentation “I had been seeing a lot of movies with vampires in them. They were everywhere. So this is how I got the idea to do a collection about them. But of course, I do it in my own way.”

The post You Can Count on Junior Gaultier’s Amazing Collection “The Nightmare” F/W 1992 first appeared on Vintage Jean Paul Gaultier & Junior Gaultier Collections.

What do you get if you cross a cowboy with extravagant ornamentation?

Western Baroque of course!

Although this t-shirt is not the most exciting of Junior items, I’d coveted it for a while (in the right size and condition). I don’t usually wear designer clothes that have their labels emblazoned on them, but the simple Junior Gaultier logotype upon the leopard print from the runway was something I had to have. As with many Junior items, the graphic was made from a hard-wearing plastic transfer. The sporty striped trimming bands around the neck and sleeves elevate the look and complement the black logo. Although some Junior Gautier t-shirts are made from gossamer-thin cotton, this material is quite substantial.

A leopard cannot change its spots – or its taste

Between the 20s and the 60s animal skin, particularly leopard skin, was very popular and an important status symbol among the wealthy, either hung on the wall as a hunting trophy or hung on women’s shoulders as a sign of style. Pin-up models such as Jayne Mansfield and her famous leopard spot bikini gave the print a slightly glamorous and erotic association. By the 70s wearing leopard print was seen as being trashy and tacky with Bet Lynch, a character from the UK soap opera Coronation Street, finally ending any glamourous association.

Of course, like many things rejected by conventional society, youth sub-cultures such as punks adopted leopard print as a wardrobe staple. This is a great article charting the use of leopard print in fashion

Hello chaps

Researching the collections that my items come from has been very interesting, leading me to watch many shows to spot Junior items. In doing so it’s given me a greater appreciation of Gaultier’s main lines and how they match the Junior pieces.

The Western Baroque collection is a prime example of this. In researching a simple t-shirt, I appreciate the varying levels of themes used across a collection. Stetsons, neckerchiefs and chaps are easy to interpret as part of Western attire and are abundant in this collection. Despite the extravagance and flamboyancy of the Baroque style, it had a particular strength of character. Tate defines it as “… the dominant style in art and architecture of the seventeenth century, characterised by self-confidence, dynamism and a realistic approach to depiction.”

Although I doubt many cowboys have ever seen a leopard, the same pattern of this t-shirt features heavily in the collection. The 1989 show started with the most ornate of patterned and adorned waistcoats, gold lurex jackets, crotchless chap-like shorts (overt your eyes or embrace the bulges), and highly embellished neckerchiefs worn over the face. Striped leggings moved to blazers as a more formal and tailored look evolved. The theme remained more subtle, with crotchless suit trousers as a nod to the chaps.

The jacket below is a great example of extravagant ornamentation, constructed in off-white brocade, with blue and black Grecian border designs woven into the fabric.

The post Be The Best Gaultier Cowboy and Look Dapper Bustin’ Broncs in “Western Baroque” S/S 1989 first appeared on Vintage Jean Paul Gaultier & Junior Gaultier Collections.

Iconic Junior Gaultier

Blink, and you’ll miss it, but four minutes into the runaway show of Jean Paul Gaultier’s Spring / Summer collection, you’ll see a model wearing a bodysuit with the same striped pattern and pinup graphic as this vest.

This great show features many iconic Junior items, including the red and black lace-up bustier and short sets, with white rubber buttons and rubber star logos. The lace-up trouser version of the shorts is then featured, topped with a regency striped blazer. In 2013, Gaultier’s signature wide-leg pants from the Concours d’Élégance collection got a new lease of life in a reedition collaboration with Italy’s Gibò SpA, his original partner in the Eighties and early Nineties.

Inspiration from 1960s cinema

In an episode of MTV’s House of Style from 1991, the interviewer asks Jean Paul, “Where or what or who was your inspiration for this collection?”

“It was a movie by Jacques Tati, it’s “Mon Oncle”, “My Uncle”, and it’s very funny because it’s at the time of the 60s, you know, with the house [that’s] very modern and some people like the neighbour is like an eccentric woman. Through that crazy extravagance, there’s some very modern fashion.”

The movie is a satire of all things modern and soulless, staged in a pretentiously geometric, automated home that amplifies the inhabitant’s machine-like existence. The theme of the movie is captured in the Concours d’Elegance show, if you are intrigued enough to watch “Mon Oncle”. If you’ve seen the Jil Sander Spring/Summer show of 2012, you can see a catwalk that could be right out of the garden of the film’s villa.

Rossy de Palma rides the bullet

Spanish actress and regular Gaultier model Rossy de Palma makes an appearance, sporting the iconic Converse-style high-heeled canvas sneakers. Keep watching, and you’ll be entertained with not only the Ride the Bullet song by Army of Lovers accompanying the show, but group members Alexander Bard, Camilla Henemark and Jean-Pierre Barda posing majestically on the runway.

Interestingly (and completely random), a Junior Gaultier t-shirt was produced with caricatures of all three members of the Swedish dance-pop group looking wonderfully camp. I’ve got a few of their records and remember their song “Crucified” being in the charts in 1992.

Victorian etchings

Despite the sporty side to the collection, as the collection’s name suggests, there are some very delicate and elegant elements, and this vest captures the collection’s spirit nicely. A wood block engraved image of a beautiful naked Victorian pinup girl sits on top of Peking stripes. She’s encircled with chains and roses, enticing you to hold your gaze on her. A scroll banner motif bears the Junior Gaultier name, in the thick resin-like overlay used frequently in graphic-heavy Junior clothes. There are also t-shirt versions of this design in a mustard colourway.

Toile de Jouy

Toile (cloth in French) de Jouy (the French town Jouy-en-Josas, where it was first manufactured in 1760) is usually an off-white or cream fabric with very detailed, pastoral, single-colour, repeating motifs. The patterns often depict idyllic scenes of farmers working the land, couples frolicking in the countryside and feeding each other grapes, or animals standing next to bales of hay.

On the jacket below, Gaultier subverted the delicate nature of Toile de Jouy by swapping the traditional off-white backdrop with a striking red. Look closely, and you’ll see a leather-clad motorcyclist from the 50s surrounded by cactus and other desert flora, as well as perched eagles.

This is such a cute, tailored jacket with the obligatory 80s shoulder pads, giving a strong silhouette. The catsuit worn underneath the jacket, I believe, is from the “Adam and Eve: Rastas of Today” collection of spring/summer 1991.

Inspiration from the high-top basketball shoe

The standout item, as far as I am concerned, is the lace-up cropped bustier and matching shorts that sport white rubber buttons and embossed rubber Junior Gazultier branded circles. These rubber patches feature five-pointed stars that “borrow” the sporting cudos of the Converse All Star logo as seen on the famous high-top basketball shoes. The white laces on the arms of the long-sleeved T-shirt from this design further emphasise the basketball shoe idea, with a tongue element at the cuff. Naomi Campbell wore the red version of this ensemble on the “Concours d’Elegance” runway.

Photograph © juniorgaultier.com

Sporty elegance

This high-top version of the thick-soled, leather and suede sneakers from the men’s “Casanova at the Gym” collection compliments the sportswear theme of the women’s show.

The rubber patch on the tongue shamelessly parodies the Converse All Star logo, with the arrow swoosh being a more subtle nod to Nike.

Photograph © juniorgaultier.com

Sporty elegance

These Junior Gaultier canvas boots from the “Elegance Contest” collection are inspired by the original Converse All Stars basketball boots right down to the Junior branded rubber ankle protector.

It may be a simple idea to take a sports shoe and add a wedge heel to transform it into a fun and feminine item, but Gaultier did it so well. The shoes were made in England.

The advertising campaign for Jean Paul Gaultier’s “Elegance Competition” and “Casanova at the Gym” can be seen here.

This collection forms one part of the Junior Gaultier collections 1988–1995, a timeline that charts the label’s most important years.

The post Triumph at the Beauty Competition to Win an Amazing Army of Lovers in Junior Gaultier “Concours d’Élégance” S/S 1992 first appeared on Vintage Jean Paul Gaultier & Junior Gaultier Collections.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

The post Achieve Your Blonde Ambition in a Special Junior Gaultier Lurex Top “Memories of Buried Pasts, As Time Goes By” F/W 1990/91 first appeared on Vintage Jean Paul Gaultier & Junior Gaultier Collections.

This is my favourite item of Junior Gaultier clothing, for its symbolic meaning, its uniqueness and the very practical reason of it being very warm! It is composed of the nylon arms of an MA-1 bomber jacket and the woollen body of an overcoat. Due to its size, I’m slightly unsure if it’s from the women’s “Boarding School” collection or if it spilt over to the men’s “Robin Des Bois” collection of the same year.

To me, whilst being a teen in the 80s, the MA-1 flight jacket was synonymous with the skinheads, alongside the bleached jeans and Doctor Martens boots. Interestingly, skinheads moved away from the Harrington jacket to the MA-1, designed by the US Air Force in 1949. By 1984, the company that was contracted to manufacture the MA-1 for the US military also made the jacket available wholesale to the public.

Gaultier has deconstructed the iconic MA-1 jacket in several ways to create a range of garments that subvert its military heritage. There has been a red quilted version with conical breasts, a cropped version (as in the advertising material below) and this fusion of working-class streetwear with the more formal overcoat.

The British street style of punks and skinheads

It’s well documented that Gaultier was obsessed with British street style, such as the punk and skinhead youth movements, both of which had distinctive attire accessorised by confrontational attitudes.

Gaultier explains “ . . . the raw side of punk, with its Mohawk haircuts, almost tribal makeup, allusions to sex, torn fishnet stockings, black, kilts, bondage straps, mixing of genders and materials—all that spoke to me, suiting me much better than some of the ossified conventions of the couture.”

Both movements had symbolic uniforms to express themselves and their position in society. Although both subcultures had working-class principles at their core, punks embodied a total rejection of conventional society, whilst skinheads exhibited a more militant working-class ethic.

The punk style, with its emphasis on distressed and altered garments, is one of the best examples of deconstruction in fashion. The concept of Deconstruction was first used by French philosopher Jacques Derrida in the 1970s and was the process of breaking down and analysing something to discover its true significance, which may be composed of multiple, and often conflicting, meanings.

Enjoy this meld of styles as you wish, and feel free to see your meanings within its composition.

• Is it a juxtaposition of the more casual service jacket fused with a more formal military coat?
• Is this deconstruction of the skinhead youth’s adopted uniform and the overcoat that a middle-class adult would have worn a social comment on the 80s class system?
• Was this street style just a way to give haute couture an element of a rebellious nature?

Gaultier’s Jean’s line, which followed on from Junior Gaultier, had a lot of elements of the punk and skinhead culture. If you check out this post, you’ll see me wearing a Gaultier Jean’s denim vest with safety pin fastenings.

London as an inspiration

In an Elle US interview, Gaultier discusses why London is his favourite source of fashion inspiration. “The English are so energising,” he says. “They have no fashion barriers. Going to London is like taking vitamin pills – it’s not just the street fashion that’s inspiring, it might be the colours of the bricks or the music- everything. In fact, all images inspire me.”

The Supreme collaboration

The ‘Flower Power Et Skinheads ‘collection of autumn/winter 1997, also known as the ‘Fight Racism’ collection, is one of Jean Paul Gaultier’s most famous and important collections. It was recently reworked through a Supreme collaboration. Pieces were designed using halftone images of skinheads, giving the feel of newspaper print and emphasising the cultural issues of the times.

Skull and crossbones

The ancient Greeks employed the skull and crossbones sign to mark tombs and cemeteries, making it one of the first documented applications. The Roman Empire later adopted the sign and used it to represent death and danger.

Unsurprisingly, the skull and crossbones motif has appeared in several collections. These include a skull and crossbones damask pattern from the Autumn/Winter 1995 ‘Mad Max‘ collection, the women’s “La Concierge est dans l’Escalier” from Spring/Summer 1998, and a bone pinstripe pattern from the men’s “Modern Retros” of Spring/Summer 1998.

Broach and belt from the “Boarding School” collection.

Suede shoes from the “Boarding School” collection.

This collection sits within the wider Junior Gaultier collections 1988–1995, which trace the evolution of the line across its most influential years.

The post Get That Amazing Deconstructed London Skinhead Style in a Junior Gaultier MA-1 Flight Jacket “Boarding School” F/W 1988-89 first appeared on Vintage Jean Paul Gaultier & Junior Gaultier Collections.

This suit jacket from Junior Gaultier’s “Modern Retros” collection has everything for me. From a distance, it has a casual stylishness for when you want to be smart, but not stuffy. Close up, a playful disregard for convention with pinstripes, not only far thicker than the accepted 1⁄30 inch but in the shape of bones from the human body. The sporty mesh lining that is also used in other items from the collection further challenges the style of traditional suit jackets and tailoring.

This repeating pinstripe pattern incorporates an occasional dot and is topped by a skeletal hand. The uniformity is broken up with the hand at a jaunty angle, which, in my opinion, looks like EEG oscillations. I have a sportier jacket using the same material, and ‘The Concierge is on the Staircase” offered a matching pair of leggings with the bones pattern.

Shoulder pads of the 80s

The 80s shoulder pads do it for me, making it one of my favourite Junior Gaultier items. This exaggerated shoulder silhouette was everywhere you looked during the eighties, initially used by women for female empowerment, to defeminise their top half and give them the physical space of men. In the workplace, shoulder pads symbolised equality for women, challenging men for the pay, respect and stature they deserved.

Cirque d’Hiver an iconic venue

Jean Paul Gaultier’s Spring/Summer 1988 collection was unveiled at a show at the Cirque d’Hiver in Paris, a historic circus venue with a domed roof resembling a big top tent. The photograph below depicts the venue’s scale, which originally accommodated an audience of 4,000 people, with the crowd arranged on red velvet seats fashioned like an indoor Colosseum. Gaultier also showcased his magic at this historic arena, the world’s oldest circus still in operation, in 1985, 1991, and 1992.

Metal plating as a decorative theme

One of my favourite Junior Gaultier pieces is a boxy jacket with stainless-steel pocket flaps that make a statement despite their lack of functionality; I like how the buttons are soldered to the metal pocket flaps. There is also a version of the jacket with steel plating on the front panels, giving it an armoured look.

Jean Paul Gaultier’s “Les Rock Stars” collection from Autumn/Winter 1987–88, which featured metal epaulettes and codpieces, could well have been the prototype for this usage of metal as a decorative theme.

Cropping the classics

Gaultier took the classic Perfecto biker jacket and gave it the cropped cut of a matador’s chaquetilla jacket, reflecting his signature blend of rebellion, individuality, and high-fashion craftsmanship. Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode, as well as Pete Burns, favoured this jacket.

The post Be Successful in the 80s Corporate World With Junior Gaultier’s Bone Pinstripe Suit Jacket From “Modern Retros” S/S 1988 first appeared on Vintage Jean Paul Gaultier & Junior Gaultier Collections.

Try this woollen vest from the Robin Hood collection (Robin Des Bois in French) of 1988. This item is striking in its simplicity, and although I haven’t worn it in public (yet), it’s one of my favourite items from the Junior Gaultier collections. Its very basic construction and woollen composition are pretty similar to the tabards worn in medieval times, which offered only the basic utilitarian functions of protecting one’s modesty and protecting one from the elements. Back in the day, you could complete the look with a cap embellished with a jaunty feather.

I don’t know how this collection relates to Robin Hood, as the green is quite bright and not the darker Lincoln green colour that Robin and his men were known to wear. Believe it or not, in medieval times, there were laws called ‘sumptuary laws’ which regulated the colours and materials that people were allowed to wear. These laws had the dual role of regulating personal spending on luxuries, and of ensuring class distinctions, to the point of restricting the lower classes from wearing colours such as deep reds, purples and ‘royal blue’.

I guess if you are robbing the rich to save the poor, you wouldn’t worry about being prosecuted for wearing purple tights, although it’s probably not the best way to stay hidden in Sherwood Forest.

Dagging in the forest

The zigzag pattern cut into the hem of the vest is known as dagging and was an extremely popular decorative edging technique during the medieval period. Woven textiles, especially wool, were produced with a dense composition to repel rain, which made it possible to cut shapes into the edges without the cloth unravelling.

On the back of the tabard is a patch featuring a maniacal-looking character in medieval attire that could be a court jester, with the word “Junior” on his head.

Junior Gaultier Robin Hood collection jester and bell belt

Belts were an integral part of a man’s wardrobe and were worn over the tunic to keep it in place, as well as to hang pouches, daggers and swords from. The belt pictured is also from the “Robin Hood / Robin Des Bois” collection of fall/winter 1988-89, sporting bells and obvious jester adornments.

Camp Jokers

Gaultier has been inspired by numerous comic book characters, including the lesser-known ones from Fantômas and Les Pieds Nickelés. In their advertising campaigns, Gaultier fragrances Le Mâle and Classique joined forces with iconic animated cartoon characters Superman, Wonder Woman, Popeye, and Betty Boop.

With the help of his companion “M”, who resembles Madonna in her famous cone bra, the hero “Super JPG” battles “Virus Man” in this commentary on safe sex and the AIDS epidemic,

It should be no surprise that Batman has influenced Jean Paul, but I was surprised that this t-shirt from the collection made homage to the charmingly camp original TV series rather than the comic book version. At first glance, the shirt appears to be sporting an image of a court jester, but when you look closely, you can see the unmistakable face of Cesar Romero, who played the Joker in the 1960s Batman television series.

Fashion detective work with the fleur-de-lys

I had to use some detective work to make an educated guess that the jacket below is from the Robin Hood collection. The whole basis is that the lining pattern of coin icons is almost identical to a main line jacket from the collection that also contained fleur-de-lys. Fleur-de-lys is a common heraldic emblem in the stylised shape of a lily as used on the traditional coat of arms of France in the Middle Ages.

“Robin Des Bois” contributes to the wider Junior Gaultier collections 1988–1995, documenting the label’s defining era.

The post All You Need to Look Fashionable in the Forest – Junior Gaultier “Robin Des Bois” F/W 1988-89 first appeared on Vintage Jean Paul Gaultier & Junior Gaultier Collections.

The collection, like many of Gaultier’s works, reflected a strong connection to pop culture, comic books, and artistic influences and just like the legendary character Robin Hood inspired Gaultier’s 1988 men’s collection, the fictional character Fantômas was the basis for the men’s fall/winter collection of 1989-90. Fantômas was created in 1911 and is one of the most popular characters in the history of French crime fiction, featuring in many novels and films. Fantômas is a ruthless and elusive criminal genius, often depicted as clothed in anything from a tuxedo and domino mask to a black leotard and hood.

When I first bought this jacket, I thought it was from the “Women Among Women” women’s collection from fall/winter 1989-90. It fit pretty well for a size medium, so I decided to double-check and was surprised to learn that it was from the men’s collection of the same season, Fantômas. It’s an easy mistake to make, as the women’s collection has a military inspiration and is made from the same woollen felt as the vest that I have. The runway included many other military influences, such as caps and brown, button-down shirts.

As I can’t see any of these obvious motifs of the Fantômas character used in the clothes designs, I’m guessing that this eclectic collection echoes his skill of being a master of disguise. In the runway show and advertising campaign, models wear plastic bowler hats and sport menacing waxed moustaches, really getting into character as sneaky criminals.

The jacket has four buttons, which are interestingly off-centre, with hook and eye fastenings securing the collar. The buttons have the same cross emblem, as used in many Junior Gaultier clothes and some Gaultier Jean’s items.

As I have a t-shirt from the same collection, I decided that I’d combine the two for this post. Like many people, as noted by Gaultier Junior High, I thought the design on the t-shirt was an ashtray, but it is in fact the metal cap that covers a champagne cork, which is known as a muselet.

“I have the receipt still” – Junior makes it to the Harlem Drag Ball scene

In the 1990 documentary film Paris Is Burning, the Grandfather of Vogue, Willi Ninja, from the 80s Harlem Drag Ball scene, introduced viewers to his Junior Gaultier earrings:

“I bought this in Japan. And as you can see, it says house couture. I can’t read the rest of it. It has the scissor, and it has Junior Gaultier ’89 on there. Of course, it’s a Gaultier label, emblem I bought it, mind you. I have the receipts still.”

The earring below is identical to the one Willi wears and includes the dog tag elements from the necklace I’m wearing.

Madonna’s hit single Vogue of the same year was inspired by seeing the House of Xtravaganza performing in a nightclub. The video featured Willi. Vogue created some controversy about cultural appropriation and profiting from the culture of queer people of colour.

Another Vogue-related link to Gaultier is that the Vogue video was the first time Madonna was seen in her iconic Jean Paul Gaultier cone bra. Later, she repeated the look in the costumes from her then-upcoming Blond Ambition tour.

At some point in his career, Willi also modelled for Jean-Paul Gaultier.

You’re invited to the show

The show was held on Sunday, 5 th February at the Grande Halle de la Villette, a former slaughterhouse and now a venue for trade fairs, exhibitions, and music festivals.

Promoting the Junior Gaultier line in 1989

A Junior Gaultier magazine advertisement that appears only to promote Gaultier’s dance single “Aow Tou Dou Zat” (“How To Do That”), which was released in 1989 and was available on an album that included multiple remixes of the same song by Norman Cook, JJ Jeczalik, George Shilling, Mark Saunders, Latin Rascals, David Dorrell, Tim Atkins, Carl Atkins, and Mantronik. Tony Mansfield co-wrote and produced the video, which Jean Baptiste Mondino directed. The song also included a duet with accordion musician Yvette Horner, who owned a large collection of Jean Paul Gaultier dresses.

The crossword is credited to Achille Baton, the father of Francis Menuge, Jean Paul’s boyfriend and business partner. Madame Junior from the horoscope is named Francoise, and she and Achille have appeared together in countless Junior advertisements.

Gaultier’s Fantômas camouflage has a heart of orange. (Other colours are also available.)

In a style feature for Arena magazine’s December 1989/January 1990 issue, a model sports a Junior Gaultier camouflage trucker jacket from the Fantômas collection whilst presumably running from police. Both the Fantômas and “Women Among Women” women’s collection from fall/winter 1989 use a heart motif on shirts and blouses, which were slightly distorted to fit within the camouflage pattern.

Needless to say, camouflage has been used widely throughout Gaultier’s career, in all his labels, in very abstract patterns, as well as in the more traditional style seen here. Photomontages of people’s faces have given the illusion of camouflage on Gaultier Jean’s trucker jackets, in particular a pattern using the likeness of Russian poet, playwright, and artist Vladimirovich Mayakovsky.

All that glitters is not gold

A stunning jacket from the main line fall/winter collection of 1989-90.

The Fantômas collection sits within the wider Junior Gaultier collections 1988–1995, which trace the evolution of the line across its lifetime.

The post Be a Great, Stylish Criminal Genius in Junior Gaultier’s Military Jacket From “Fantômas” F/W 1989-90 first appeared on Vintage Jean Paul Gaultier & Junior Gaultier Collections.