Fashion enfant terrible and master of haute couture Jean Paul Gaultier finally revealed the successor, officially announcing that BALMAIN’s current Creative Director Olivier Rousteing will take over as the brand’s guest designer.
Just a week after BALMAIN’s AW22 fashion show, Olivier Rousteing immediately announced this news, perhaps indicating that after the fatal disaster he suffered last summer and living under the shadow of the ongoing war in Ukraine, he was determined to erase past pain with greater motivation in the new year. However, if you paid attention to BALMAIN’s presentation this season, you should not be surprised by this news – because, on that day, JPG was rarely seen in the front row position at the show.
This time, Olivier Rousteing takes over, becoming the third guest designer invited to join JPG after Sacai’s Chitose Abe, Y Project, and Diesel’s Glenn Martens. At the same time, he is also the first French designer to be invited to continue the brand’s haute couture series in a collaborative form. Olivier Rousteing shared: “I have always been obsessed with Jean Paul Gaultier’s world and drawn inspiration from it. I think he has brought a lot to the fashion world and the fashion industry.”
For this invitation to collaborate with JPG – also his first official release of haute couture designs – he described it as an “honor.” Lucky to be able to reshape the work of this figure, who is considered one of the most important designers in the fashion world in the past fifty years, with a personal and fresh perspective, Olivier Rousteing believes: “In terms of his aesthetics, what fascinates me the most is how he wonderfully presents tailoring, craftsmanship, Savoire-Faire, and all the dazzling sensations and sensuality on the fashion stage.”
Although Olivier Rousteing was still a child when JPG rose to fame, he attributed his relationship with fashion to JPG’s carefree and inclusive approach. He even jokingly credited the iconic padded shoulders, sailor stripes, and tight bustiers that he has been presenting in Balmain as his debt to JPG (as these elements are all classic design elements of JPG), advocating for JPG to use his imagination to drive social change.
“I believe he has helped many of us in this generation to freely become who we want to be. People need to remember who was the pioneer at that time, always fighting for what we are fighting for today.” The Jean Paul Gaultier haute couture collection, led by Olivier Rousteing, will make its debut in July during Haute Couture Fashion Week. Fashion enthusiasts, do not miss it.
資料及圖片來源：Web Photo
