Julien Dossena was the latest in a growing list of designers to create one-off collections for Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture.
The Paco Rabanne creative director became the fifth Gaultier guest designer with his show in Paris on July 5, following in the steps of Haider Ackermann, Balmain’s Oliver Rousteing, Y/Project’s Glenn Martens, and Chitose Abe of sacai.
Held in Gaultier’s Paris headquarters, the show – which now comes across as a kind of a seasonal Jean Paul Gaultier Greatest Hits event – saw Dossena present a slew of looks inspired by JPG’s back catalog, including faux fur headwear like the ones seen during Fall 2019, embroidered corsets from Gaultier’s 1997 couture debut, and a take on the necktie seen during the Frenchman’s final show.
Reworks of the iconic JPG cone bra famously worn by Madonna in the early nineties made several appearances across the twenty minute presentation, while, according to Twitter, there were also references to a look Gaultier designed for Chris Tucker’s Ruby Rhod character from the 1997 movie The Fifth Element.
Elsewhere, beaded pubic bushes (yup) served as a nod to the way Gaultier often referenced sexuality within his work, as well as a slew of cocktail dresses, a celebration of the Frenchman’s penchant to party.
If anything, Dossena for Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture not only proved the Frenchman’s couture credentials (as if they were ever in doubt), but also that, in his heart, he’s just another Gaultier fanatic like the rest of us.
