Gaultier haute couture by Julien Dossena: Multi-arrondissement mode

Gaultier haute couture by Julien Dossena is the latest installment of a novel interpretation of this house’s original ongoing project where a noted designer each season prepares a collection in the spirit of the founder.

 
There was a time when Gaultier was the ‘Enfant Terrible’ of Paris, now he is a proper card-carrying member of the establishment, albeit with a fashion legacy that will always shock. This collection did not shock.
 
Gaultier was known for his clever show terminology, and Dossena continued that idea – with a program that gave all 33 looks the name of a cool Paris neighborhood, bar or club.

Right from the opening, when Natalia Vodianova marched out in gilded military uniform, like Michel Ney being awarded a medal. It’s title – École Militaire, bien sur.
 
The capital’s funky Goutte d’Or neighborhood spawned a liquid gold metal cocktail finished with fabric flowers; while the Parc de Sceaux morphed into a play on the term the Garde de Sceaux, meaning the Minister of Justice, with a fantastic chalk stripe pants suits with angled pockets, diagonal hems and giant loon pants.
 
And Julien’s take on Anglophile Gaultier’s love of tartan, like his décolleté plaid dress embroidered with pearls, were a pleasure to behold.
 
At times, a little too much of Dossena’s day job at the house of Rabanne leaked into the collection – with an over-reliance on chain metal. One could not help forgetting that Rabanne and Gaultier are both owned by the Puig family of Barcelona.
 
Jean-Paul’s love of a gender bending was also on display – with a dashing couple in a double dress. The gal in a silver mesh cocktail, with a train so long her footman boyfriend needed to carry it folded in his arms. So long that the train ended as the tails of the boy’s frack.
 
Madonna inevitably got a look in, thanks to several conical bras. But at a certain point the collection, and concept, began to feel like one big gimmick. An exercise in style that was as much a clichéd in-joke as a joyful celebration of fashion.
 
Maybe this concept has run its course?