Questions about fashion’s enfant terrible, from the cone bra and the marinière to the guest-designer era and Duran Lantink, answered from Ayerhs’s reviews of Gaultier couture.
By Shreya S · Last reviewed 31 October 2026
On this page: The house and its founder · The designers · The collections · Codes and business · The Ayerhs view
The house and its founder
Who is Jean Paul Gaultier?
A French designer, born in 1952 outside Paris, who never went to fashion school. He sent sketches to Pierre Cardin, who hired him at 18, and showed his first collection under his own name in 1976. He added haute couture in 1997 and also designed womenswear for Hermès from 2003 to 2010.
Read on Ayerhs: Jean-Paul Gaultier – The complete guide · A–Z of Jean-Paul Gaultier
Why is Gaultier called fashion’s enfant terrible?
Because he broke the rules of Paris fashion with humour. He put men in skirts, turned underwear and corsets into outerwear, mixed punk with couture, and cast models of every age, size and gender long before the industry did. The shock was always playful rather than cruel.
Read on Ayerhs: How Punk Fashion Changed the Cultural Landscape · Underwear as outerwear
Did Gaultier design Madonna’s cone bra?
Yes. The pink satin corset with conical cups that Madonna wore on her 1990 Blond Ambition tour was Gaultier’s, developed from corsets he had been showing since the early 1980s. It became one of the most famous costumes in pop history. He also designed the costumes for Luc Besson’s film The Fifth Element (1997).
Read on Ayerhs: A History of the Corset
The designers
When did Jean Paul Gaultier retire?
He retired from the runway with his Spring 2020 couture show in January 2020, a 50-years retrospective with more than 200 looks and a crowd of friends and muses on the catwalk. The house continued without him designing.
Read on Ayerhs: Gaultier Couture Spring 2020: 50 Years of Genius
Who were the Gaultier guest couture designers?
From 2021 the house invited a different designer to make each couture collection from the Gaultier archive. Ayerhs reviewed four of them:
| Season | Guest designer | Review |
|---|---|---|
| Couture Spring 2022 | Glenn Martens | We need Glenn Martens everywhere |
| Couture Fall 2022 | Olivier Rousteing | 90s JPG with Olivier |
| Couture Fall 2023 | Julien Dossena | Dossena’s Dazzle |
| Couture Spring 2024 | Simone Rocha | Roses Meet Rebellion |
Who designs Jean Paul Gaultier now?
Duran Lantink, the Dutch designer known for collaging and reworking existing clothes, was named the house’s permanent creative director in April 2025, ending the guest era. His first collection was Spring 2026.
Read on Ayerhs: Duran Lantink Fall 2021 · Duran Lantink Fall 2025 · Gaultier Spring 2026 · Gaultier Fall 2026
The collections
What did Gaultier’s own couture look like in his final decade?
Ayerhs has reviewed nearly every Gaultier couture show from Spring 2012 to Spring 2020. Highlights include his tribute to Amy Winehouse (Spring 2012), big-cat glamour (Fall 2013), the Le Palace nightclub (Spring 2016) and Indian winters (Fall 2017).
Read on Ayerhs: Spring 2012 · Fall 2013 · Spring 2014 · Spring 2016 · Fall 2017 · Fall 2019
Codes and business
What are Gaultier’s signature codes?
- The marinière: the Breton sailor stripe, his personal uniform.
- The corset and cone bra, underwear as outerwear.
- Skirts for men, from the 1980s onwards.
- Trompe-l’oeil body prints and tattoo motifs.
- The torso bottle: the body-shaped bottles of Classique (1993) and Le Male (1995).
Who owns Jean Paul Gaultier?
Puig, the Spanish fashion and fragrance group, which became the majority owner in 2011 and also owns Rabanne and Carolina Herrera. The Gaultier perfumes are a large part of the business.
The Ayerhs view
Is Duran Lantink right for Gaultier?
The jury is out. His Spring 2026 debut disappointed Ayerhs on every level, but by Fall 2026 Lantink had moved beyond shock value towards clothes with real ideas. The guest era showed how many ways there are to read Gaultier; Lantink now has to find one that lasts.