The Paris Fashion Week This October was one of the most anticipated by the number of brands that inaugurated a new stage in their history and renewed their creative direction in recent months. Jean Paul Gaultier It was one of them.
The Dutch designer Duran Lantink He was recently in charge of the French luxury house and achieved with his first presentation to be a trend in social networks for his controversial designs. It is not an easy task when the focus is shared with firms such as Dior, Chanel and Balenciaga.
However, Lantink’s debut took all eyes and generated various repercussions for his designs they reproduced Explicit images of naked male bodiesdressed in women models.
«It is the equivalent in the fashion of an unplayed photo of an crotch«said Vanessa Friedman, fashion criticism of the The New York Times. While Nicole Phelps, director of Vogue Runwaydescribed the collection as «disruptive» and seeks a young audience, with intentions of «disturbing» adults.
Argentina Mica Argañaraz paraded gold for Jean Paul Gaultier in Paris. Photos: Xinhua.Duran Lantink was appointed the new creative director of Jean Paul Gaultier in April, after five years in which the brand invited different designers to honor its founder – who announced his retirement in 2020 – and take care of each parade of the last seasons.
After the passage of designers such as Haider Ackerman, Glenn Martens, Rick Owens y Olivier Rousteing For the brand, finally the luxury house decided by a definitive creative director and this October was its controversial debut, with the aforementioned Bodys that reproduce human anatomy, 3D silhouettes and designs that turn a classic garment into attire that is not feasible to use in the street.
Jean Paul Gaultier was extremely revolutionary throughout his career: he designed for Madonna the famous corset with a cone shape, climbed men in Pollera to the catwalk and paraded Naomi Campbell half -naked, covering her breasts with her hands. Some of the many reasons why he was nicknamed «l’en terrible» (the terrible child) of fashion.
Madonna with the bodice made by Jean Paul Gaultier. PHOTO AP.Would give the impression that Lantink seeks to go on the same path. The Dutchman had already appeared in Paris Fashion Week for the first time in 2023, with his own brand, and in his parades he already presented some features of what could be seen this month on the catwalk, such as garments stuffed with foam and male and female breasts of latex. A false nudity.
In this new stage, it seems to want to combine its personal and provocative style with the traditional Gaultier codes, such as the tattoo prints, marine inspiration stripes and transparencies.
The collection called Junior, which was presented at the Branly-Jacques Chirac spring museum, combined striped sweaters with disruptive silhouettes, vibrant colors and daring decisions in the moldings that harvested fans and detractors on social networks.
One of them was Renzo Rosso, the founder of the Diesel brand, Who left his opinion in a publication on social networks: «This is not fashion …», he said. While the fashion journalist Ayo Eye described it as «the worst collection I saw in all Paris Fashion Week.»
While there are those who coincided with these opinions, others expressed themselves in favor, highlighting their «audacity.» «It is good to see young designers without fear of getting angry at one of the great fashion houses. Irrevence is part of Jean Paul Gaultier’s brand. It is the terrible enfant. What happened to the fun,» said an X user.
The truth is that the young designer achieved a transgressive debut, where the boundary between body and garment blurs, and leaves high expectations for his next presentation, which will be in January, during the haute couture week.
