What a blast of a show! What a Parisian privilege for the Brisbane Festival! From commencement to conclusion it was a wonderfully explosive experience. South Bank Piazza has been converted into a giant tent that within, looks like a nightclub.
Obviously designed for a French-speaking audience, the show premiered in Paris in 2018. Paused by the pandemic, it’s been touring globally ever since. Very successfully so! Gaultier is the creator, director, and of course, costume designer.
We were taken on an exciting expedition deep into the mind of Jean Paul Gaultier.
The production is both a brilliant creative opportunity and an ingenious marketing strategy for a haute couture stylist. Gaultier is exhibiting his label globally and ensuring that those stunning, costly, 2018 creations are never last season.
Surprisingly, Gaultier was never formally trained as a fashion designer. As an adolescent Parisian he sent sketches of his designs to famous French couture stylists. He was hired by an impressed Pierre Cardin. Jean Paul was eighteen years old and starting at the top.
Gaultier was only 24 when he premiered his first individual collection in 1976. His eponymous fashion label was launched in 1982. His style is unique: bold, dramatic, and blatantly sexual.
Gaultier turned underwear into outerwear. Hidden for centuries, corsets suddenly became couture outfits. Out of sight bullet bras were inspiration for the iconic cone bra that he designed for Madonna. Gaultier blurred the genders: putting men into corsets, tailored skirts and heels and women into trousers with suspenders.
It’s impossible to comment on every item paraded because they were multitudinous. Changeovers were rapid and constant. The show was vividly alive and fast moving. The beautiful beings who wowed us are international catwalk models and graduates of European dance academies. Perfect creations taking us on a walk on the wild side.
A striking production, there was a plethora of thematic collections. Tribal feathers, military camouflage, netting, latex, denim… Every potential textile was utilised and ‘Gaultiered’.
This dynamic show features at the 2024 Brisbane Festival. I highly recommend the purchase of tickets!
Jean Paul Gaultier’s Fashion Freak Show
South Bank Piazza, 186 Little Stanley Street, South Brisbane
Performance: Sunday 8 September 2024
Season continues to 15 September 2024
Information and Bookings: www.brisbanefestival.com.au
Image: Jean Paul Gaultier’s Fashion Freak Show – photo by Genevieve Girling
Review: Michele-Rose Boylan