Paris Catwalk Report: Jean Paul Gaultier
Gaultier showed his latest collection in homage to Fred Chichin of the French electro duo, Les Rita Mitsouko, who died at the end of last year. Chichin was a true French gent, in the mold of Serge Gainsbourg or Yves Montand and Gaultier's collection captured that twisted elegance. Click on pic to zoom.
The most obvious reference was A Clockwork Orange with a ubiquitous bowler hat, trousers tucked in boots and thuggish posturing. The sharp tailoring created strong silhouettes and there were plenty of examples of very on-trend slim cut trousers. However it was the more relaxed styles which caught my eye, like the grey-brown tweed suit pictured.
Shawl neck jackets were also a feature of the collection as were leather trousers (totally spotting a trend here) and cut leatherwork stripes appliquéd onto suit trousers.
This is why Gualtier, even at the age of 55, is still famous as the enfant terrible of French fashion: he can still produce a collection which looks fresh and exciting but holds together brilliantly.
[Pics from Catwalking.com]