Jean-Paul Gaultier (born April 24, 1952, in
Arcueil) is a French fashion designer and past television
presenter.
Gaultier never received formal training as a designer. Instead, he
started sending sketches to famous couture stylists at an early
age. Pierre Cardin was impressed by his talent and hired him as an
assistant in 1970. His first individual collection was released in
1976 and his characteristic irreverent style dates from 1981, and
he has long been known as the enfant terrible (bad boy) of French
fashion. Many of Gaultier's following collections have been based
on street wear, focusing on popular culture, whereas others,
particularly his Haute Couture collections, are very formal yet at
the same time unusual and playful. He popularised the use of
skirts, especially kilts on men's wardrobe, and the release of
designer collections. Gaultier caused shock by using unconventional
models for his exhibitions, like old and fat women, pierced and
heavy tattooed models, and by playing with traditional gender roles
in the shows. This actions granted him both criticism and enormous
popularity.
Gaultier also designed the wardrobe of many motions pictures,
including Luc Besson's The Fifth Element, Pedro Almodóvar's Kika,
Peter Greenaway's The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, and
Jean-Pierre Jeunet's La Cité des enfants perdus (The City of Lost
Children). Madonna's Blond Ambition Tour also featured his
creations. He currently designs for three collections: his own
couture and ready-to-wear lines, as well as the newly relaunched
clothing line for Hermes, a French leather goods company well-known
for their equestrian background, scarves, and expensive and
difficult to obtain handbags.
Gaultier also co-presented the first six series of Eurotrash.
from wiki
