Paris Fashion Week: Jean Paul Gaultier’s fierce muse for Fall 2013

Jean Paul Gaultier Fall 2013
Photography by Peter Stigter
Jean Paul Gaultier Fall 2013
Photography by Peter Stigter

See Jean Paul Gaultier Fall 2013 collection photos »

Exquisitely tailored leathers, patchwork fur and punky toupées (that coiffed the models with wild two-tone hair): all the ingredients you might expect from a Jean Paul Gaultier show and then some.

The stage at Place Wagram was set like a Broadway production of Chicago; a double-tiered backdrop of square “cells” showcased about a dozen women frozen in provocative silhouettes. One by one each shadow came forward on the runway exuding a fierce don’t-mess-with-me attitude. Then, about 16 looks into the mix, a copy of the red and black checkered background reappeared as a print – at first on a butterfly sleeve dress, followed by a hoodie and eventually a pencil skirt, but most notably in a subdued pale green and grey palette on the fur-collared wrap-coat worn by muse-of-the-moment Jessica Stam.

More heart-stopping moments: the oxblood kimono-inspired robe with oversized obi tied over the hips, a floor-skimming shearling coat with a bottom-half frontal cut-out (all the better to see your legs, my dear!), plus Jean Paul Gaultier’s signature cone bras fused into leather peplum tops, followed by his mariner stripes placed strategically over a sheer tunic.

For the closing, two models in metallic suits marched in tandem down the T-shaped catwalk. The fitted blazers and tapered pants glistened under the spotlight. While one was clad in head-to-toe bronze, and the other in shimmery silver, it was a sensational finale of pure gold.

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