I wanna be anarchy - Jean Paul Gaultier couture fall 2011

A Jean Paul Gaultier collection is never short of attitude, spitting sarcasm and slapping you senseless with irony. Couture week only breeds a bloodthirsty need to amplify and explore this audacious humour; just for one moment we are ejected from our place in reality and made to strut and thrive in a stylish little microcosm that sees no limits of the "unacceptable". 

Conical bras and skirt-wearing men are the prudes in this realm.

With a ludicrous knack for tailoring, JPG played to his strengths, firstly establishing this collection with tenacious pin-stripe suits that were made to be ripped open with passion. Bustling plumage ruptured from underneath, paving the way for leather which eventually flooded the introductory section. Something menacing lurked from within a cavalcade of avant-garde, yet vastly accessible pieces.

Teasing androgyny, women were temptresses pulling our curiosity with their manly-cut pant suits and abnormally modest hemlines. The men, of course, tipped the interchanging gender scale in flowing capes and plumage that blasphemed the dandy trend. Gothic thematics were also picked upon, amidst swishing draped layers of black, taut lace and tiers of flamboyant jewel toned fur interspersed between naked panels.

It was like a play or ballet, with every look enveloping a unique character; there were vampires, dancers, lords, ladies and mistresses and each became its own plot-point, intensifying towards an inevitable climax. Morgane Dubled, corseted within an inch of her life, emerged as the eccentric showgirl. Accented dangerously, her curves were overtly splayed with feather detail in a flesh tone which emulated her own skin, not to mention fringing that fell from her hip, playing russian roulette with flashes of flesh. But then came, Eve Savail playing against type as our heroine. With her gallant form and shaven head, she juxtaposed the sensuality of a soft white gown to make a bizarre yet poignant statement of forsaking convention. She was heavenly.

The creations themselves were bespoke and epitomised the endeavour of couture intricacy. The draping billowed with ease, the feathers had voluminous strength and the prints caught colour like hand-painted works of art. Jean Paul Gaultier doesn't care for the simplicity of real life, nor the sensitivity of our modern world. He's the maverick, the anarchist redesigning our understanding as it should be. Does it offend you? He hopes so.

morgane dubled

eve savail