In 1976 Jean-Paul Gaultier produced his first independent collection. The small audience that was at the Palais de la Decouverte to witness the 24-year-old designer's show, featuring dresses inspired by straw placemats, thought him not worthy of further attention. Today Gaultier's shows are among the hottest tickets at the Pret, with everyone from adolescent fashion groupies to Madonna anxiously awaiting what promises to be one of the most entertaining shows of the week.

Over the years Jean-Paul Gaultier has enshrined himself as (caution: cliche ahead) Paris fashion's "enfant terrible." From season to season Gaultier's creations reflect his ever-contradictory sources of inspiration: sexy femininity and androgyny; hedonism and religion; uptight bourgeois traditions and raw street life. In 1989 he was hired by director Peter Greenaway to design the costumes for "The Cook, the Thief, his Wife and her Lover." A year later he designed the famous pointed corsets for Madonna's Blond Ambition tour. His sense of the theatrical got him a record deal and a spot as co-host of the British television show Eurotrash.

Jean-Paul Gaultier was born in 1952 in the Parisian suburb of Arcueil. As a teenager, he spent most of his time skipping school to design imaginary collections, and to learn make-up and hairdressing from his grandmother. His first fashion break came at 18, when Pierre Cardin saw some of his sketches and hired him to work for his couture house. After leaving Cardin he spent time designing for Jacques Esterel, Jean Patou, and eventually returned for another stint at Cardin. He finally produced his own independent collection in 1976. It took several years before Gaultier was appreciated by the Paris fashion establishment and after unsuccessfully seeking financing in France, he finally found a patron in the Japanese Kashiyama group. With Kashiyama backing him he created his first thematic collection, James Bond for fall-winter 1979-80. In 1981 he got additional backing from Italian companies Gibo and Equator.

The newest Gaultier creations include a diffusion line called JPG, and a perfume inspired by scents reminiscent of his grandmother. In 1996 when Gianfranco Ferre was fired as head of Dior, rumors circulated that Gaultier was secretly hoping to replace him. The job went to John Galliano, but it's Gaultier who got the last word. He presented his first-ever haute couture collection in 1996.

Writen by Shoshana Gilbert

Address:
Jean Paul Gaultier
70 Galerie Vivienne
75002 Paris, France
Website:www.jpgaultier.fr