DESIGNER BIO: JEAN-PAUL GAULTIER

Image from the 2004 "Pain Couture" exhibition

There are very few designers in the history of French fashion who have made a contribution as long-lasting and important as Jean-Paul Gaultier. Aside from being one of the few designers still living who has created a true Haute Couture collection, Jean-Paul Gaultier has created several ready-to-wear lines, costumes for film, television, and concerts, and has even produced his own album of remixed dance tracks.

His career began in the early 80's, when after brief stints with Pierre Cardin and Jean Patou, he launched his own signature collection of clothing. The designs were shocking, irreverent, funny and masterfully tailored, and immediately lauded by French fashion editors. One of his most famous designs - the cone bra -  appeared in Madonna's 1990 Blonde Ambition tour, and has irrevocably intertwined both designer and muse. He most recently designed for Madonna's 2006 Confessions tour.

At Butch Blum you will find a carefully edited selection of the master's work, including but not limited to his collaboration with the Fuzzi factory - called "Soleil." Gaultier prints his wild designs on Fuzzi's signature nylon tulle fabric, creating beautiful sheer fantasies of fabric, to be worn layered underneath his other garments, and thicker, opaque garments to be worn on their own. We are proud to have this collection exclusively in Seattle.