An afternoon in
THE FASHION WORLD OF JEAN PAUL GAULTIER
Kunsthal Rotterdam, February 8, 2013
There was a lot of Dutch and European press that attended the press conference with Jean Paul Gaultier today. They all came to have a first look at The Fashion World Of Jean Paul Gaultier in the Kunsthal in Rotterdam. The press conference was started and introduced by Thierry-Maxime Loriot (the curator of the exhibit).
After his introduction Gaultier entered the stage and made sure to make everyone smile instantly. He responded to each and every question with great detail, only to sometimes forget that he was holding a microphone and due to the many hand gestures his voice was sometimes hard to be heard. The man is hilarious! Jean Paul Gaultier told all about the exhibition and explained he wanted the exhibition to have a living feeling to it, not dead. He created someting extraoridinary; the mannequins have faces projected onto their faces and they’re talking, creating an illusion that real life people are standing here. Gaultier said that the exhibition here was his favorite, he loved the place and thought it was beautiful. Gaultier said that in everyone and everything he sees beauty, and wants to find a way to express that through fashion. As a small boy he developed his fasination with the corset after finding one in a closet, he then created his first cone bra for his teddy bear (displayed in the exhibition).
Of course Gaultier spoke about his collaboration with Madonna. The first time he worked with her was for the Blond Ambition Tour and most recently for the MDNA Tour. Gaultier said he first was a fan of her, before she became a fan of him. Together they are like two crazy little children. The first time that she wore one of his creations was during the Desperately Seeking Susan premiere. Gaultier wanted to show a mixture of a strong, masculine and feminine woman through her. He said it wasn’t his idea to put a cone bra on her male dancers, this was entirely her own idea. He ended his story on Madonna perfectly by saying that with Madonna it is not only the voice and the music, but when you love her, you love who she is and what she stands for, the person Madonna.
After the interview with Thierry it was time for a short Q&A with the press, only four questions were asked and MadonnaUnderground got the privilege of asking the fourth and final question: Of all the costumes you created for Madonna, which one is your own personal favorite? He responded by saying that those were probably the ones still hanging in his closet, the ones that were never used.
After a brief photo call for the press we got to see the exhibit for an exclusive first look. Immediately you see the golden and salmon coloured corsets used in the Blond Ambition Tour. Both costumes were Madonna’s, she herself has agreed to lend them for this exhibition. Because these are the ones she actually wore on stage, there is some damage to them (especially the gold one). Very interesting are the original polaroids shot during the fitting sessions of the costumes, as well as the original sketches. The most recent corset for “Vogue” worn during The MDNA Tour is here on display as well. A little further in the exposition you can see the costume of the openings section of The Confessions Tour as well as the infamous piece worn by Madonna during a fashion show in 1992 where she exposed her breasts and unofficially launched her Erotica era. The other creations are also breathtakingly beautiful, the details, the material, the fantasy and the final project = perfection.
After receiving a press pack and lunch, we spoke to Thierry-Maxime Loriot for a bit and met with no one other than Jean Paul Gaultier himself. He also was kind enough to sign some posters. Jean Paul Gaultier is an incredibly friendly and joyful man, someone that instantly brightens up your day. The exhibit is a true must-see for everyone interested in fashion, beautiful creations, Madonna fans, or just for people wanting to take a peek inside this talented man’s brain.
The exhibit will travel to New York in October, where for the first time ever costumes will be on display designed by Gaultier for Madonna that have never been seen before, a true world exclusive! These are costumes created for the Blond Ambition Tour, but were never used.
