Teacups & Couture A Fashion Blog by Roxanna Bina
Wow… It’s really the end of an era. I remember first discovering Jean Paul Gaultier when I was still in high school during the mid -nineties …. Bjork (Debut), Madonna during her Blonde Ambition Tour and MTV’s House of Style days. I admired his ability to marry avant guard (without being too weird) with effortless Parisian chic. To me, he was and still is my most favorite designer, besides Chanel. I remember when Gaultier came out with his perfume line, I saved all my pennies from waitressing at a diner after school to purchase a corset- shaped bottle. It smelled divine! According to my oldest son, it smells like maple syrup and waffles… I still wear it everyday, 20 years later. So, when I see Gaultier is closing up shop for his ready-to-wear collection, it really breaks my heart. I bought my oldest son his first Gaultier shirt on our last trip to Paris- a striped French Navy shirt. So glad I did… All the accessories and clothes I bought from the Gaultier boutiques all have extra special meaning to them, now that there will never be another opportunity to buy them ever again. Will I ever be able to visit his stand alone boutiques again in Paris (behind the Tuileries) and Cannes? Probably not. Luckily, Gaultier will still churn out two collections a year of his brilliant couture work, but I feel like this is just the beginning of his permanent retirement. Above are photos from his final ready- to-wear show. Au Revoir, Monsieur….
photos: Style
