Jean-Paul Gaultier to Step Back from Fashion After 50-Year Career

On Friday it was announced that infamous designer, Jean-Paul Gaultier would be stepping back from his role at the head of his eponymous fashion house. After a 50-year career in fashion, Gaultier is finally taking a break from the runway, although he assured worried fans that he will continue to participate in other creative projects.

While Gaultier himself will be stepping away from his current position, his much-loved fashion house and equally successful perfume business will continue in his absence.
The designer broke the news to his 1.5million twitter followers in a spoof video. The clip saw him on an apparent phone call to a journalist, telling them “I’m going to give you a scoop” before continuing, “this will be my last haute couture show. My last Gaultier Paris show. You have to come, you can’t miss that”.
“But, but, but I assure you: Gaultier Paris will continue, haute couture will continue. I have a new concept; I’ll tell you about it later, I’ll tell you all the little secrets. But it is going to continue.”
The 67-year-old presented his first collection back in 1976 and has since gone on to enjoy great success in the industry thanks to his boundary-pushing styles, often blurring the lines between traditional gendered clothing. However, the Frenchman is perhaps most renowned for styling Madonna in the now infamous conical bra back in 1990.

Gaultier had already retired from creating ready-to-wear collections, deciding in 2015 to focus solely on haute-couture. But, this week’s news still came as somewhat of a surprise to many; it was as recently as last year the designer insisted he had no intention of leaving fashion. The designer will show his last collection on the 22nd of this month, an occasion increasingly poignant as it will mark his 50t anniversary in the world of fashion.
A spokeswoman for the Gaultier brand confirmed that the fashion icon would return, just in different areas of creativity. And with fellow designer and founder of Kenzo, Kenzō Takada, making his foray into the world of interior design, it will be interesting to see which sector Gaultier lays his talent to.

words Emma Cook