PARIS, July 4 (Reuters) - With sultry tuxedos and a gown
that appeared to waft down the catwalk like cigarette smoke,
French designer Jean Paul Gaultier celebrated smoking in all its
forms on Wednesday in a fashion show filled with tongue-in-cheek
digs at overly rigid attitudes.
Reinterpretations of "Le Smoking" - or tuxedos for women
popularised by late French couturier Yves Saint Laurent in the
1960s - dominated the Haute Couture collection, with black and
white combinations of jackets and ruffled dresses for instance.
Models present creations by French designer Jean Paul Gaultier. (Pic: Reuters)
The designer took smoke as his inspiration for a see-through
dress decked out in swirling embellishments, or a wedding gown
with a featherlight, waspy train that looked like it could
vanish into thin air as it twirled on the runway.
A creation by French designer Jean Paul Gaultier as part of his Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2018/2019 collection. (Pic: Reuters)
Gaultier, the self-style "enfant terrible" of the fashion
world, was also deliberately harking back to a period when
smoking was more widely acceptable.
"I don't smoke, but I was always surrounded by people that
were smoking," Gaultier said after the show in Paris.
Jean Paul Gaultier is always surrounded by people who spoke. (Pic: Reuters)
"I don't say 'don't smoke or smoke', it's only that people
should do what they want."
Smoking was banned in public places in France in 2006,
echoing clampdowns in many other countries by authorities for
health reasons.
The collection also featured a pair of male and female
models walking in step and showcasing their breasts behind
transparent panels with the slogan "Free the nipple".
Models bare it all as part of the Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2018/2019 show. (Pic: Reuters)
Gaultier said that felt that society had taken some steps
backwards following the "free-all" protest movements of
feminists in the 1960s and 1970s.
"Now there is again a kind of puritanism that arrived. Me, I
am for the bra, but ... to oblige people to wear a bra, no, I'm
not for that at all," added the designer, famous for creating a
stage costume for singer Madonna featuring a conical bra.
Gaultier's couture brand is owned by private Spanish fashion
and fragrance group Puig.
Paris Haute Couture Week - where a select club of fashion
houses present their one-of-a-kind creations and showcase some
of their most elaborate styles - runs until July 5. On Thursday
top jewellery brands are presenting their collections.