JEAN PAUL GAULTIER COUTURE F/W 2009

I am still saddened that his Philippe Starck-designed boutique closed near my apartment in New York City.  Despite its diminutive size, one could easily spend hours ogling his exuberant wears.

How original is Gaultier?

Joe Zee from Elle tweeted that before the show models were handing out “fattening ice cream bars covered in chocolate! At a couture show! Oh the sweet irony!”

And yes, the designer did walk the runway with a Magnum ice cream in hand.

The quintessentially French designer always knows how to create a stir, and so he did this season with his couture show, which came complete with a pair of crocodiles and gleaming silver overalls.

There were ostentatiously beautiful furs, mixed with overly-structured suits, Parisian stripes, corseted one piece numbers with exposed legs. 

This was a collection fit for a fierce diva (Lady Gaga perhaps?). There was a wearability factor to nearly all the looks – something that isn’t always the case with Gaultier.  This was quite a feat, given how elaborate his pieces were.

There was certainly a film inspiration to the collection. There were strips of film, and the models all had diva-inspired hair and makeup (think Brigitte Bardot and Veronica Lake).

It was an old-Hollywood-meets-modern-science-fiction tale that would truly make any one of the French designer’s fans smile.


Gaultier combined luxurious details, powerful silhouettes (almost Mugler-esque at times), a glamorous silver screen Hollywood, and a modern attitude.

Who knew that tough and feminine could go so seamlessly well together?

This collection was easily one of Gaultier’s best in seasons.

Images courtesy of the Fashion Spot forums.

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