The Fashion Universe of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Street to the Stars

Suzy Menkes is a fashion journalist and editor for the International Herald Tribune and the New York Times. Nathalie Bondil is the director and chief curator of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Florence Muller teaches fashion history and contemporary fashion at the Institut francais de la Mode and has been UFAC Director and Curator at the Musee des Arts de la Mode in Paris. Jean Paul Gaultier is a grand couturier and fashion legend.

Dubbed the enfant terrible of fashion ever since his prêt-à-porter collections were first shown in 1976, Jean Paul Gaultier, whose avant-garde and bold fashions very early on reflected the issues facing contemporary society, is one of the leading designers in recent decades. Published by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and Abrams in conjunction with the first-ever retrospective on Gaultier, this stunning hardcover book in a slipcase explores the ties between the designer and the pop/rock music scene, film, and dance, and sheds light on his sources of inspiration, which are as eclectic as they are impertinent. The first major monograph on Gaultier brings together archival documents and over fifty interviews with Gaultier's muses and colleagues, as well as the artists he has created costumes for: Pedro Almodóvar, Catherine Deneuve, Madonna, Helen Mirren, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, Martin Margiela, Pierre Cardin, Dita Von Teese, Marion Cotillard, Kylie Minogue, Polly Mellen, and Tom Ford, to name just a few. It features many previously unpublished illustrations thanks to the collaboration of renowned fashion photographers and the Maison Jean Paul Gaultier. The publication also includes two interviews with Gaultier, one by Florence Müller, art historian, and the other by Thierry-Maxime Loriot, as well as an interview with Valerie Steele, fashion historian and director of New York's Museum at Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). An essay written by Suzy Menkes looks at Gaultier's fashion shows and examines their visionary reflection of society's evolution over the past thirty-five years.

Jean Paul Gaultier celebrates the three-decade career of this provocative French fashion designer, who began as an assistant with no formal training and has risen to the rank of grand couturier. His risque and often irreverent styles-think Madonna's iconic cone bra from the 1990 Blonde Ambition tour-have earned him the designation of couture's enfant terrible. This stunning monograph explores the range of Gaultier's collections: his interpretation of modern Parisian life, play with gender roles, metropolitan style, and streetwear lines dubbed EurotrashA" and X-rated.A" Gaultier himself contributes a foreword and an extensive interview about his biography, his inspirations, and the themes of his collections, from his first in 1976 to his recent work for Kylie Minogue's international tour.Packed with images of the celebrities who have worn his bold styles, including Madonna, Lady Gaga, Naomi Campbell, Marion Cotillard, and Helen Mirren, this luxurious volume is the perfect homage to a modern master.