After 50 years in the fashion industry, it was no surprise that the final Jean-Paul Gaultier runway show was a spectacular highlight reel of the legendary French designer's brightest moments.
Having made the shock announcement of his departure from the runway world last week, all eyes were trained on the 67-year-old's catwalk at Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week. Held in the Théâtre du Châtelet last night, the event was a suitably theatrical testament to his legacy.
This show celebrating 50 years of my career will also be my last. But rest assured Haute Couture will continue with a new concept. pic.twitter.com/PJCC53K4tm
— Jean Paul Gaultier (@JPGaultier) January 17, 2020
In the short video, the designer promised "quite a party", and a party it was.
Supermodels Coco Rocha, Karlie Kloss and Gigi and Bella Hadid joined creative icons like Spanish actress Rossy de Palma and burlesque star and muse Dita von Teese, walking the runway in a dazzling mix of Gaultier's reimagined classics.
Gaultier – who created such iconic pieces as Madonna's conical brassiere worn on her 1990 Blonde Ambition tour – referenced his older works throughout the show, sending models down the runway in the classic French sailor's stripes that he elevated to haute couture.
The "Dixie cup hat", worn by many navies around the world, featured prominently, paired with a sheer white bodysuit on Kloss and an ethereal extreme-hourglass-shaped sailor outfit on Gigi.
Corsets and the conical bra were reimagined with silky, nude-coloured buckles for Dita von Teese and Karen Elson.
The dazzling show saw many stars honour not only Gaultier's designs, but his role in the trajectory of their career.
A highlight came when Canadian model Coco Rocha took to the stage wearing a voluminous tartan ensemble, kicking her heels up in an Irish jig the length of the runway.
It was a touching nod to Gaultier's Autumn/Winter 2007 collection of Highland tartans, during which then-18-year-old Rocha showed off her skills as a dancer, pulling off another flawless Irish dance.
Another show-stopping moment came when a black coffin, adorned with two cones in a nod to his famous bustier, was brought out on stage and opened to reveal Issa Lish, who walked down the runway wearing a frilled mini dress.
The sensational show came to an end with Boy George performing Culture Club's Church of the Poison Mind, and Gaultier – in his simple but chic navy boiler suit – was hoisted upon the shoulders of the models.
The show was also notable for Gaultier's fierce message about sustainability. Already a critic of fashion waste, Gaultier called his presentation his "first upcycling haute couture collection", encouraging others to recycle and upcycle their clothes. He said that of the roughly 200 outfits he sent down the runway, only 50 were "completely new".
"In my first show and this, my last, there are creations made with the jeans I've worn," he said. "It's the most beautiful of materials. Like a lot of humans, it becomes even more beautiful as it gets older."
"Goodbye to the spanking new, hello to the spanking old!"
