After 50 years in fashion, Jean Paul Gaultier stepped back from designing for his eponymous avant-garde label and instead opted for a rotating cast of designers to interpret his legendary couture house’s savoir-faire. Following his glamorous send-off in 2020 titled the “Fashion Freak Show,” Gaultier invited designers including Y/Project and Diesel’s creative director Glenn Martens, and founder of Sacai, Chitose Abe, to take over the brand for a one-off capsule collection following his retirement. Now, Balmain’s Olivier Rousteing is next in line to design an homage capsule collection for fashion’s enfant terrible.
The young designer took to his Instagram Thursday morning to share several posts and stories as he visited the Jean Paul Gaultier headquarters in Paris to begin getting to work. Rousteing snapped a few shots with a Jean Paul Gaultier gold-plated tin crossbody bag resembling the designer’s famed fragrances packaging. He captioned the initial post, “So excited and proud to be the new guest of Jean Paul Gaultier next couture SHOW.” He then invited his 7.6 million followers to be a part of the journey “Get ready for July, you will be part of my journey. Imagine all what we gonna do, Share with me your fav moments of JPG and let’s build this new haute couture together.”
The fashion crossover doesn’t come as much of a surprise for fashion aficionados. Gaultier is typically spotted in Rousteing’s star-studded front row for his Balmain collections each season. Rousteing has also noted that Gaultier has been an inspiration for his own love for fashion. “I think he brought so much into the fashion world and the fashion industry,” Rousteing mentioned in an interview with WWD. “What I love about his aesthetic is all the incredible work on tailoring, on cuts, the craftsmanship, the savoir-faire, and the incredible glamour and sexiness he brought to the runway.”
While Rousteing starts getting to work in the atelier, set to debut during Couture Week in July, it seems Gaultier is taking the time for more laissez-faire activities. Last month, the 69-year-old retired designer swapped the runway for daytime television to discuss all-things fashion in a surprise appearance on Lorraine Kelly’s show. The legendary designer sat down with the talk show host to discuss his Fashion Freak Show extravaganza returning to London this summer at north London’s iconic Camden Roundhouse space on July 15.
