Jean Paul Gaultier Net Worth

Biography of Jean Paul Gaultier

The childhood and youth of Jean-Paul Gaultier

Jean Paul Gaultier was born on April 24, 1952 in Arcuel, a suburb of Paris. There he spent his childhood. From an early age, he was attracted to everything beautiful. He preferred watching movies to noisy boyish games, from where he drew inspiration for the creation of his first images. He embodied children’s design ideas in costumes for a teddy bear. Spending a lot of time in the company of his mother, aunt and grandmother, Jean-Paul learned all the subtleties of female psychology. Skipping school lessons, the boy devoted his time to drawing and browsing fashion magazines. Parents in every possible way contributed to the self-realization of the child, and therefore supported his desire to devote himself to the world of fashion.

At the age of 18, Gauthier sent his first serious sketches to the eminent Pierre Cardin and in return received not only high praise from the couturier himself, but also an invitation to his personal assistant. Such success was a complete surprise for the future fashion designer and his family, because Jean-Paul did not have a special education. The invitation, of course, was accepted and the young Jean-Paul went to the capital of fashion. He stayed at the Cardin fashion house for only one year, after which he worked with fashion designers Jean Patou and Angelo Terlazzi. Four years later, in 1974, Gaultier returned to the Cardin fashion house to create a collection of clothes for the United States. It took a year to develop it.

Gaultier’s path to fashion Olympus

In 1976, Gauthier, with the support of school friends Francis Menuzh and Donald Potara, opened his own company. Menujs took over as director, where he remained until his death. In 1990 he died of AIDS. Then the second companion D. Potar was appointed to his post.

Already in the works of the first line of Jean-Paul, his individuality was manifested, the designer’s craving for mixing materials and styles was traced. But the circumstances were such that there were no journalists or celebrities at the first show of Gauthier – on the same day a show of a more famous fashion designer took place. Gauthier took into account his mistakes and realized that the best means of advertising is scandal and shocking. He arranged subsequent shows of his collections in the most unusual places: in the carousel museum, the tram depot, and the former prison. He also changed the approach to choosing models: at his catwalk shows, one could see not only slender, but also puffy, undersized or elderly fashion models. With such actions, the fashion designer wanted to show the public that his clothes are relevant everywhere and for everyone. For such outrageous antics, Gautier received the nicknames “fashion hooligan” and “enfant terrible” (unbearable child), and his style became known as “garbage design”, because the fashion designer created his first works from improvised means – napkins, batteries, tea strainers. Experiments with all sorts of materials to this day remain a hallmark of Gauthier’s style.

1978 brought the young fashion designer a good sponsor – Gaultier signed a contract with the Japanese company Kashiyama, commissioned by which in 1980 he released a collection called James Bond. It was thanks to this clothing line that Jean-Paul was noticed in the world of high fashion.

The nickname “fashion hooligan” finally stuck with Gaultier in 1981, after the release of his next collection, “Hi-tech”. The audience was struck by improbable audacity for France: the models paraded in outfits made from trash cans, cans and accessories made from cat food or boxes.

The next collection, “Dadaism” in 1983, made a splash in the fashion world due to some vulgarity of outfits, which brought Gauthier the fame of an avant-garde artist.

Between 1984 and 1985, the world saw several more Gauthier collections. At the show of the “Culture Shock” clothing line, the girls defiled in underwear – corsets, hairpieces, pointed bras, which caused a wave of discontent among critics. Gaultier was accused of deliberately disfiguring female beauty. In the “Male-object” collection, designed for the stronger sex, the fashion designer presented to the public outfits consisting of vests and skirts. In the works of this period, Gauthier tried to equalize the strong and weak sex, as well as break the stereotypical division of male and female attire.

In 1986, Jean-Paul released two collections: “Dolls” (inspired by the image of a prostitute, the designer dressed models in stockings and black satin lingerie) and “Russian Collection” (its main motive was inscriptions in Cyrillic).

In 1987, Madonna herself offered her cooperation to Jean-Paul, which brought world fame to the fashion designer. Since then, it was Gaultier who has been working on the images of the singer and sewing stage outfits for her, including the famous cone-shaped bra.

In 1989, Jean-Paul received several commissions to design film costumes. Outfits from Gauthier appeared in the films The Fifth Element, The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, Kika.

In 1993, the first perfume brand Gauthier was released. Between 1993 and 1994, three of his new collections were presented: Rabbi Chic (inspired by the image of a Hasidic rabbi), Tatu (provoked a fashion for tattooing, piercing and ethnic jewelry) and Mongols.

In 1995, the End of the Century collection, dedicated to the outgoing century, saw the light of day.

Gaultier’s first haute couture collection was released in 1997. In 1999, Gautier ventured to put up for sale 35% of his company’s shares, as he needed money to expand the business. The shares were acquired by Hermès.

Since the beginning of the new century, Jean-Paul Gaultier has been known as a fashion classic and design genius of the end of the last century. In 2007, Jean-Paul was awarded the Fashion Group International Award for “breaking down clichés and removing fashion boundaries”. Today, Gaultier creates his own fashion without regard to the viewer, in which he invests, in addition to a fair amount of avant-garde, and the necessary touch of sophistication.

Personal life of Jean Paul Gaultier

Gaultier is one of the few fashion designers who do not shy away from publicity. He often appears on television and even agreed to become the host of the cult Eurotrash program on MTV.

Jean Paul Gaultier is an open homosexual. In the life of the great couturier there was only one true love – his friend, business partner and life partner, Francis Menuge. In 1990, after 15 years of marriage with a fashion designer, Menuge died of AIDS. It was Francis who once managed to convince Jean-Paul to open his own company, because after his death, the fashion designer intended to leave the fashion world, or at least disband his company and work with other fashion houses. But the designer realized in time that his life partner would not want such an outcome, so he returned to work. After the death of Francis Gauthier lives alone. The fashion designer regularly supports AIDS organizations.