Jean Paul Gaultier: Be My Guest

From the outset of his career Jean Paul Gaultier has designed the invitations to his catwalk shows and devised the iconic advertising campaigns that have shaped his image. This was the first time this extraordinary body of work has been exhibited. The unique invitations to his catwalk shows, seen only before by industry insiders, alongside the groundbreaking advertising campaigns, reveal the themes and concepts that led to his long-standing reputation as fashion’s enfant terrible.

This graphic design work traced a trajectory through the evolution of his work and included campaigns for seminal collections, including ‘A Wardrobe for Two’ prêt-à-porter collection of spring/summer 1985, in which Gaultier introduced his concepts for androgynous clothing, through to his ‘Tribute to Frida Kahlo’ collection of spring/summer 1998, which highlighted the cultural influences in his work. The exhibition reflected how Gaultier has shaped his image and translated his visionary catwalk collections into iconic invitations and advertising campaigns.

This exhibition was a collaboration between London College of Fashion, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and Maison Jean Paul Gaultier, Paris, in co-operation with the Barbican Art Gallery.

Jean-Paul Gaultier: Be My Guest was curated by Alison Moloney and Thierry-Maxime Loriot and commissioned by Ligaya Salazar.

Image courtesy of Fashion Space Gallery.