Jean Paul Gaultier retires from fashion

Jean Paul Gaultier announced last Friday that the Parisian show that would mark the 50th anniversary of his career would also be his last. The designer's first collection was presented in 1976 and had brought to Parisian fashion one of his most volcanic and iconoclast creatives. As early as 2015 Gaultier had stopped designing ready-to-wear to focus on haute couture, and the leave that the designer announced will not be a complete stop. Announcing his retirement, Gaultier said:

“This will be my last haute couture show. My last Gaultier Paris show [...]. But, but, but I assure you: Gaultier Paris will continue, haute couture will continue. I have a new concept; I’ll tell you about it later, I’ll tell you all the little secrets. But it is going to continue”. 

Among the most iconic moments of his career, we can remember the Madonna's Blonde Ambition Tour 1999, for which Gaultier designed the famous conique corsette; the introduction of the men's skirt for heis SS85 collection, Madonna's topless appearance during the SS92 collection show, her western collection designed for Hermès in 2009 and Karlie Kloss's epic vogueing at the SS14 show.

A spokeswoman for the brand also said that we will still see the designer at work, comparing him to Gaultier's friend and Kenzo founder, Kenzo Takada who, having retired from fashion, dedicated himself to designing furniture, moving his creativity to a new field.