Shocking the world of fashion with his avant-garde designs and legendary corsets

The creative director of Hermès was born in a Parisian suburb in 1952. He spent a large part of his youth skipping school to stay at his grandmother's house, drawing imaginary high fashion collections and listening to the gossip of the ladies of the town who came to her for beauty treatments and tarot readings. When he reached the age of 17, Gaultier boldly sent his design sketches to Paris designer Pierre Cardin, and soon after his sketches were published in the French fashion magazine Mode Internationale setting him as a fashion design prodigy.

Each designer has a story about entering the world of fashion, how was Jean-Paul Gaultier born?
It was the first time I saw the movie Valplace; which is a French film about an Haute Couture house in the 1940s. I found myself deep in a charming and breathtaking world, though I didn’t think that one day I will own my own Haute Couture house. But here I am, the child whose dream has come true. Do you know how lucky I’m to have a job and a life in the world that I first loved when I was ten years old? No one can sense my happiness.

How did the “naughty boy in the fusion world” become the creative director of Hermès?
This is the same question that Jean-Louis Dumas asked me during a conversation, he asked: “Martin Margiela—Hermès creative director at that time—is leaving the house. Who do you think should take his seat?” I suggested a couple of names, but later that night I asked myself “why shouldn’t it be me?” and I felt overwhelmed and compelled to do this job.

Later on, I met Jean-Louis and directly told him “I want to become the next creative director of Hermès.” And once I said it, a huge satisfied smile came on his face, and he agreed immediately. That was at the start of 2003, while the presentation of my first Hermès show was in March 2004.

Your own style is so different from Hermès; you love the streets and the popular culture, while Hermès is all about luxury and classicism. How do you manage both styles?
The prêt-a-porter at Hermès presents the soul of Jean-Paul Gaultier side-to-side with the spirit and routes of the house, taking in mind its high-end techniques and deluxe materials. While my label represents my own soul and character.

Everyone agrees that you have successfully managed to give Hermès a modern, fun and “naughty” spirit without losing its classical character. What’s your formula?
A very simple one that has been refined via a 170-year-old heritage; do not forget the history of Hermès and do not ignore it. In fact, this history awards me with a lot of inspiration and helps me understand and protect its elegance, classiness, luxury and every other element that characterizes Hermès, and allows me to add my artistic and fantasy touches.

I love to think of it as playing with its codes, moving them here and there directing them through the present and the future. It’s an Haute Couture Parisian house with a lot of roots and potential although it produces prêt-a-porter clothes only.

Do you have more space and freedom designing for your label or designing for Hermès?
I work with both brands in two different ways, and I’ll explain both as a movie. At Hermès I have a written scenario and my role is to direct, while at Jean-Paul Gaultier I write the scenario and direct the movie at the same time.

Is it still possible for you to be controversial? Do you still find it as simple as it was in the past to engage your audience?
The point was never to break the rules; I never did that to be known for it. When I did the skirts for men, it was not to provoke and shock people, it was only because I thought that it was no longer a shame to express femininity. Is it feminine to dress up seductively? Why should seduction only be feminine? To me it felt natural that people were ready for change. It was something I did innocently—not completely though, knowing it was provocative—but I did not do it in intention to provoke.

Since the 1990s we have been noticing a hand-bags-mania, have you ever felt like you need to design one that shakes the ground, or does the huge success of Hermès bags suffice?
I never felt that I must follow the obsession in the world of fashion, I’m working with Hermès for a basic and important reason; trend-mania is not in our dictionary, our vision is not short termed. Moreover, I do love playing with the iconic bags of Hermès each season without changing them majorly.

Is the Haute Couture—with its fewer clients—more exciting to design than ready-to-wear?
There is no comparison at all. Although I love both, but I tend to admire the Haute Couture more since it’s being designed and made at my workshop, giving me the feeling of more space to express my visions and unleash my imagination.

How do you find inspiration every season?
Everything around me inspires me, even walking in the streets give me new ideas -and for sure the cinema, music and painting. My eyes take the role of a camera; they catch everything and record it, and later on, I work on these images in my memory. I don’t just intend to create sexy designs, they come spontaneously as a reflection of what I think and the way I live and love.

Do you have a godfather in the world of fashion?
The late Yves Saint Laurent.

It is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, what is your definition of beauty?
To be normal and spontaneous. While for the physical side, to significance for every part; the face and body must sway and pulsate you higher.

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