Paris Editor Gabriela Billini
Paris Editor Gabriela Billini
Gabriela is a non-native New Yorker who travels the world to understand why people wear what they wear and how. She is an independent fashion reporter, trend chaser, and self-proclaimed beatnik.

Jean Paul Gaultier Spring Summer 2018: Paris Fashion Week

Jean Paul Gaultier Paris Fashion Week FW18

When one thinks of the classic runway show during a time before the Instagram influencer and the obsession for quick fame, you have an experience where the product is the central subject and produces great emotion among show goers. The models appear to want to be there; a time when they were excited about their work — sometimes they even danced to show how the clothes they model move and how it made them feel.

This classic model of a fashion show of the 1980s and 1990s has been abandoned for a less stimulating and emotional display, where people show the pretension of having better things to do and not possibly caring to be present. There was something about Gaultier Paris’ S/S2018 show that had a very elegant, old-fashion-show air about it, just as when shows used to be fun and excite emotions.

 
Jean Paul Gaultier: Paris FW18

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Considering Jean Paul Gaultier’s resume and legacy in fashion, I was so pleased to attend this season’s couture show. Never did I expect to experience such a lively presentation that would give me such profound satisfaction! Upon receiving the invitation, I knew I’d be in for the treat, with the ’60s and ’80s blended design that was featured on one side.

Never did I expect to experience such a lively presentation

The designer created a stripped effect on a variety of fabrics, particularly beautiful on leathers. It gave the fabric a new range of textures that is both exciting and fashionable. Occasionally, the collection featured very elegant and polished pieces with others that were decayed and worn out – another opportunity to mix high and low in appearance.

One of the most interesting and translatable pieces was a cape-not-cape, which I think did well in rethinking the blazer in a very couture way yet reminiscent of a ’40s classic silhouette. I adored the abrasive silk upper thigh high boot, also seen at A.F. Vandervorst and can only hope this becomes a real thing in fashion. Though inconvenient, it is gloriously fabulous.

In terms of coloring, there was a lot of black and white, with a small subset in rich royal blue, then occasionally a monochromatic look in very vibrant colors. The crowd responded well to many of the sharp elliptical shapes seen on jackets, skirts, handbags and jewelry. Some pieces also donned my seasonal favorite dramatic 1920s fringes, such as in Ralph and Russo, but here they were far less conventional and a lot more emotionally extravagant.

The crowd responded well

There were some prominent 1960s futuristic thoughts, a time when there was an expectation of producing things that were forward-thinking and new. Never boring, darling!

The most charming moment of the show came at the end, when Coco Rocha appeared dancing in a cozy number at the head of the runway and revealed her daughter hiding in her dress. The two closed the show with the most fashionable mommy and me look paired with the most adorable dance the couture world has ever seen.

Bravo, Gaultier Paris.

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