Jean Paul Gaultier doesn’t miss designing clothes

Jean Paul Gaultier doesn’t miss designing clothes.

The legendary couturier prefers to “do things about fashion” – such as curating exhibitions and television shows – but loves that he left making clothes behind him when he retired in January 2020.

After being asked if he missed making haute couture, the 70-year-old fashion designer told the Observer: “Oh, not at all, no! I like to do things about fashion but I don’t want to do fittings any more. So if somebody asks me to make an exhibition about a subject like denim or corsetry, I would love to do that. And that’s why I did the ‘Fashion Freak Show’, because I was getting to 50 years of fashion and I like to express myself about it.”

Jean Paul believes “there is a lot of beauty in difference” and this motivated him when casting runway shows.

He said: I wanted to show that there is a lot of beauty in difference. There is not only one type of beauty. I have always loved difference – maybe because I was different myself, in some way. So I didn’t want the models that were so professional. I prefer to see girls that I saw in a club, like for example in Le Palace [the Studio 54 of Paris], which is where the French punks went. I didn’t want Parisian chic. I wanted the opposite girl: the modern girl.”

The former ‘Eurotrash’ presenter is “very proud” to have his vintage designs featured as part of the 90s trend on the red carpet, being worn by Zendaya and Kendall Jenner.

Jean Paul said: “Very proud. It means that I didn’t make mistake! But also I didn’t make only fast fashion, fashion that only lasts one season, things that come and go. And I have pleasure to see that. Even though I don’t want to make any more collections myself, my idea to take a different designer each season [to reinterpret Jean Paul Gaultier designs] is going very well. I see even the wife of Willy Smith was wearing one of the dresses, the green dress is a Gaultier with [Y/Project’s] Glenn Martens.”