Jean Paul Gaultier in Montreal


One of the most memorable experiences that I had in Montreal wasn't the Jazz Fest (sorry Cubano) or the impressive art and foodie scenes. I was actually blown away by "The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From The Sidewalk to the Catwalk" at the Montreal Museum of Fine Art.  I expected to spend a few hours browsing through this traveling exhibit but I ended up devoting six straight hours to this exhaustive, multimedia, display of  the art of fashion.  Walking up the black carpeted steps with Jean Paul Gaultier's name in lights, I didn't  quite know what to expect. This didn't look like any museum exhibit I had ever witnessed.



How right I was. This was clearly unlike any museum show, fashion or otherwise. I was greeted by a talking mannequin of Jean Paul himself, shown above. He spoke in his own voice, in French, English and Spanish. The mannequin's face flashed with expressions and movements. It was eerie but fascinating all the same.


The exhibit showcases 130 ensembles and accessories designed by Gaultier from 1976-2010. Even if you've never heard of Gaultier or know nothing about fashion, many of the designs will be familiar. His cultural impact is so broad that pieces like his cone bras popularized by Madonna, or the corsets that are now hot again, cross all sorts of social and categorical boundaries.  The sailor dress above, is from his "Odyssey of Jean Paul Gaultier" section.


Gaultier is known for dipping into religious as well as cultural iconography so the crowns and altarpiece tapestries weren't surprising.  The head covering on the mannequin above appeared even creepier by the eye movements that it made.


This is another example of Gaultier's religious mining, with a modified halo. Photos were only allowed in the first section, so I didn't get pix for the "Boudoir" section, which was filled with corsets, cone bras and lots of bondage symbolism that represented his reinterpretation of the "imprisoned female body."  There was also a catwalk with rotating outfits, a display of his fashion illustrations, and a film section showing clips of movies that Gaultier designed costumes for including "The Fifth Element," Bad Education" and "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and His Lover". (I highly recommend all.)  There was even a showcase of Gaultier's childhood teddy bear and the cone bra that he fashioned for it out of newspaper.


Famous for pushing boundaries, Gaultier designs provocative pieces for women and men. The sailor designs above are tame enough but the designer was the first to put men in skirts, below.


There was so much to absorb in this exhibit that I can't begin to cover half of it.  I left with aching feet and a mind exploding with colors, shapes and analysis. The exhibit is in Dallas now and will move to San Francisco in March before heading to Spain, The Netherlands and Sweden.  Don't miss it if you have any opportunity to see it, it is not just for fashion lovers.  Here's a video that gives a glimpse of what it covers:

Comments

What fantastic designs. So well shown in the photos here. The video is a very nice touch, too. (Men in skirts, though? I'm not too sure about that...)
Fly Girl said…
Andrew, lots of men where kilts, it's not that different!
Unknown said…
nice post i am so excited here can you more prefer us in feature? also i will back to you soon as soon possible.
Thanks for sharing with us....



Schengen Visa
I love the idea of men in skirts! Yes, skirts, not kilts. It's only in the past couple of centuries that skirts were gendered as exclusively feminine, anyway. Skirts are awesome, and sometimes are lot more comfy than pants.
Fly Girl said…
Visa, thanks for dropping by.

Wanderer, yes, you're right, skirts weren't strictly for women until recently and skirts are awesome! Thanks for dropping by.
It's OK, you're forgiven. :-) Actually, I like Gaultier. I'm not much of a fashion person, but I find the ads for his perfumes very endearing and well made. I enjoyed this post very much. Thank you.

Greetings from London.
Fly Girl said…
Cubano, Gaultier pushes cultural buttons in a way that I know you appreciate.

Tiffany, I thought so too!
Fly Girl said…
Andi, they were even more amazing in person, my pix don't do them justice. Thanks for dropping by!
MinnieRunner said…
Six hours?! What can I say, you must really love Jean Paul and his works.
HummingLoon said…
Just love this! I think that my sister saw a similar thing in New York. We had a similar exhibition here in Holland in Janaury, but I missed it.
Fly Girl said…
Minnie, that how in depth the exhibit was!

Loon, I think that was the McQueen exhibit in NY, the Gaultier exhibit is traveling and I believe it will be in Amsterdam.

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