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TERRIBLY
GAULTIER
Provoking with panache. Fearlessly excelling. With Jean Paul Gaultier, every perfume bottle and every creation makes a statement.
His fashion shows excite us, his fragrances seduce us and his commitments inspire us. Tolerance, inclusion, liberty — these valuers are no passing fad but his artistic driving force. From a sculpted corset to a perfume that troubles the senses, Gaultier creates items that tell a story, liberate us and make us question. They invite us to embrace the other, celebrate the individual and welcome difference.
Gaultier’s values are an olfactory and textile manifesto. Are you ready to dive into a world where activism fuses with provocation?
DIVERSITY AS A CREATIVE FORCE
Flouter of conventions, Jean Paul Gaultier puts differences in the limelight to create the most compelling fashion events. For him, rules are there to be broken, bent and rewritten. Gender, culture, body, materials — everything fuses and is celebrated — there are no limits. Everyone’s invited to the party: sun lovers, night owls, out-of-towners, those with scars and disfigurements, and other fearless individuals who dare to do things differently.
In couture as in perfumery, Gaultier likes to blur the lines so men smell like women, women smell like men and everyone is free to live their own identity. Long before people were talking about inclusion, Gaultier was already celebrating atypical beauties and plural identities. Difference isn’t a fad, it’s a driving force.
Want to learn more? For a deeper diver, head to this page.
For Jean Paul Gaultier, creation is a form of activism.
CREATION AND ACTIVISM: THE BEAUTY OF MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Flouting conventions, celebrating difference, and breaking down taboos are his manifesto. Fashion and perfume became his weapons for upholding the values of tolerance, diversity and freedom. To combat the stigma associated with HIV and AIDS, Gaultier works with Sidaction*, fearlessly lending his voice to raise awareness. As he mischievously puts it: — "My only regret? Not inventing the condom. It is the most beautiful thing you can wear. Have fun but stay safe.”
A trailblazer in queer issues, he celebrated LGBTQIA+ identities long before it was fashionable. Powerful women, men as objects, androgynous bodies — he obliterated clichés. In 2005, he launched the “Mariage Homo” collection featuring multiracial and homosexual couples. Each year, his Classique and Le Male bottles sport the colours of Pride.
Beyond borders, Gaultier pays tribute to the cultures of the world. From the Day of the Dead to the Carnival of Rio, he showcases local traditions and fledging talent. Jean Paul Gaultier does not follow fashion. He invents it! His most beautiful creation? A more tolerant world.
* Sidaction, founded in 1994, is a French voluntary organisation involved in the fight against HIV and AIDS by funding research and supporting those who have been affected. Every year, it runs a large-scale fund-raising campaign.
GAULTIER, THE HEART IN ACTION
Jean Paul Gaultier presents "Bangay", a 16mm documentary pulsing with pride, resistance, and queer beauty. In the heart of Brazil, a samba school becomes both a refuge and a stage for expression. Amid burning rhythms and tender gestures, a community chooses to live, shine, and resist—unapologetically.
Chosen family, bodies in motion, dissident beauty: here, space is not requested, it is claimed. Gaultier honours these voices in their truth—unfiltered and unadorned. Because amplifying without betraying is also an act of love.
True to its heritage, Maison Gaultier gives "Bangay" space and visibility, transforming difference into creative strength.
TOTAL ARTISTIC VISION:
ART WITHOUT BORDERS.
FOR JEAN PAUL GAULTIER, EVERYTHING IS ART. FASHION, PERFUME, CINEMA, THEATRE... NOTHING ESCAPES HIS INFINITE CREATIVITY. HE CREATES WORLDS WHERE DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES INTERTWINE.
PERFUME AS A WORK OF ART
Feminine corsets for Classique and Gaultier Divine, masculine torsos for Les Males, a torrid perfume for the Scandal collection — you only have to look at the bottle with those legs to realise that Scandal is no pushover but one wild ride! Gaultier's signature? Sculpted fragrance bottles that enhance his iconic creations.
CONTEMPORARY ART AS A MEANS OF EXPRESSION
His global exhibition “The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier” fused fashion and contemporary art in an immersive setting. Cinema, theatre, circus, dance, musical performances: Gaultier is not afraid to try anything. His approach to art, although non-conformist, always remains accessible. He collaborates with ECAL and Art Basel, cementing his links with contemporary art.
Fashion, perfume, art — the same language, the same rebellion.
CINEMA AS A STAGE. THEATRE AND MUSIC AS TOTAL PERFORMANCES.
He dresses bodies like he perfumes the senses. From “Kika” by Almodóvar to Besson’s “The Fifth Element”, his costumes become characters in their own right. From childhood, Gaultier has been fascinated by feathers, sequins and the exuberant atmosphere of cabarets. His love of costumes and staging comes to life before bursting onto the biggest stages, from Mylène Farmer’s tours to her “Fashion Freak Show”, first at the Folies Bergère before travelling the world. Collaborating with unique artists (Madonna, Beth Ditto, Dita Von Teese, Dua Lipa, Lil Nas X and many more), he celebrates fearlessness and uniqueness. In 1990, Madonna put his iconic corset firmly in the limelight during her “Blond Ambition” tour thus establishing Gaultier as one of the most influential designers of his time.
FEARLESSNESS IS FOREVER. AND JEAN PAUL GAULTIER IS THE EMBODIMENT OF THIS.
JEAN PAUL GAULTIER: A LIVING HERITAGE
Jean Paul Gaultier didn’t just design clothes and perfume. He opened doors, broke down walls and held up a mirror to the world. Free, provocative and committed, he gave a voice to the invisible and celebrated plural identities long before this became a trend.
His legacy? A rallying cry for freedom and the imperative to be yourself. He inspires a new generation of designers and activists to push back boundaries and create without compromise.
